Toronto Sceptres general manager Gina Kingsbury admitted the last several weeks have been among the most challenging of her tenure, but believes the club took an important step toward reshaping its roster Wednesday by adding six players in the 2026 PWHL Draft, headlined by Wisconsin star Kirsten Simms.

"We need a lot of injections," Kingsbury said following the draft. "It's been a challenge for us. There's no denying that. The last couple weeks have been challenging on a lot of fronts."

Toronto entered the draft after an offseason that saw the club lose several significant pieces during the expansion process, including forwards Daryl Watts, Maggie Connors, and Jesse Compher. Emma Maltais is expected to sign with Montreal.

Kingsbury acknowledged the departures stung, particularly after the organization made strong efforts to retain its core players.

"We didn't go into this wanting to lose them," she said. "For Daryl, it was our priority and we really felt that we were in a really good place. What we offered her was what she got in Detroit, so there are other motives for wanting to go to Detroit, which I respect."

Maltais' decision to leave was particularly difficult for Kingsbury.

"It was very emotional, actually, when she called to let us know that she'd decided to accept an offer somewhere else," Kingsbury said. "I was a daily touchpoint with her and her agent just trying to see where she was. I still thought we might have a chance.

"She ended up coming back to us and saying, 'I found a place that I feel more confident going to.' You just have to respect that. These athletes have the right to make those decisions."

Despite the losses, Kingsbury believes Toronto's draft class represents the beginning of a new chapter.

"This is almost like a refresh," she said. "We're kind of building something new here as we move forward."

The cornerstone of that process was landing Simms with the fourth overall selection, a scenario Kingsbury admitted she didn't expect.

"We were definitely surprised," she said. "You can't really predict what people are going to go for. When it happened, we were like, 'Can't pass that up.' The type of offense and what she can bring to Toronto is going to be exactly what we needed."

Kingsbury described Simms as a naturally gifted offensive player capable of making an immediate impact.

"She can score goals in all different situations and scenarios," she said. "I think she's a great power play player. If ever you get in a shootout situation, she's your girl."

Beyond her offensive instincts, Kingsbury was impressed by Simms' passion for hockey during the pre-draft interview process.

"It was very clear that she's a hockey nerd," Kingsbury said. "She's a rink rat. She wants to be out on the ice, wants to be doing skills, constantly trying to get better. Those types of athletes that are hungry for hockey and love hockey, you can work with and build with."

Kingsbury cautioned that replacing the offense lost through expansion won't happen overnight.

"I don't think one replaces the other, and it would be great to have both, to be honest with you," she said when asked about Simms helping offset Watts' departure.

"I think this is going to be a little bit of a puzzle that we're going to have to build for one, two, three years here. The next draft, some trades or free agency moving forward will be important for us to piece together what we're going to look like for the next five years."

Kingsbury also praised Toronto's remaining selections, highlighting Jamie Nelson's consistency, Brooke Disher's leadership, the offensive upside of Princeton forwards Jane Kuehl and Emerson O'Leary, and local defender Alyssa Regalado.

Now that expansion and the draft are complete, Kingsbury said there is finally room to breathe.

"This one was a little bit longer," she said of the expansion process. "It dragged out the pain of expansion. But now where we are, we've got 12 healthy teams across the board, and it's pretty exciting.

"I can say that now because we're done with the draft and I think we can just breathe a little here."

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