Maggie Connors had options this past offseason. She was a free agent and would definitely have fielded offers from other PWHL teams. But she stayed in Toronto, where she played the first two seasons, because of the team and the environment, but also the opportunity.
"I've never gone through free agency before," she said.
"But this market, the way they've treated me, the way that they've put so much time and energy into developing me, I obviously am very grateful for that and the relationships that I've built here.
"Obviously you have the opportunity to talk to other teams and things, but Toronto's somewhere that I want to be."
Connors is on one of the top two lines with center Blayre Turnbull and winger Jesse Compher. The Sceptres need her to help replace the offense they lost in expansion and free agency (Sarah Nurse, Hannah Miller, Julia Gosling, Izzy Daniel).
For Connors, the shift comes after two years spent mostly in a depth role. She showed flashes of pace and finishing — 3 goals and 6 points in the inaugural season, followed by 2 goals last year — but her minutes were limited, and her usage didn't allow for any offensive rhythm.
This year, the situation is different. Connors has been skating on a line with captain Blayre Turnbull at center and Jesse Compher on the right wing, a trio that plays at a high pace and is expected to drive play. The assignment alone signals that Toronto believes Connors is ready for more.
Part of the reason is the work she put into her offseason.
Connors made a significant change by training at the Gary Roberts facility, shifting to an environment she described as “incredibly professional” and fully individualized.
“I was really excited. I’ve heard really good things about it from Emma Woods and Daryl,” she said. “I talked to the strength coach Lucas, who was mine in particular. He gave me a rundown of what the summer could look like. I started going there in July, and then pretty much August I was there every single day until camp.”
The training focus was not generic conditioning. It was targeted.
“They kind of program your offseason in a way that’s incredibly personalized. For me, we worked a lot on rate of force production and things like that, which is going to help your speed,” Connors said. “It’s the most I’ve ever spent working on mechanics and different things. We worked on a lot of explosiveness. We would use lasers and test every three weeks to see where we were at, see what we needed to work on.”
The results were meaningful. Connors said she can feel the difference in her stride and efficiency.
“I have felt my speed increase for sure over the summer,” she said. “So you know mentally that you are technically faster from looking at your numbers. Anytime you go into a game, you kind of erase the numbers from your memory and you’re just focusing on getting to that puck or whatever the next play is. But when you play with Blayre and Jesse, you have to play fast. And I think that’s something I can bring to that line — keeping up with their pace.”
The Sceptres will need contributions from returning skaters who have shown flashes but haven’t yet carried sustained offensive minutes.
Connors understands both the opportunity and the expectations.
“Our team looks a lot different than we did last year, and we did lose a lot of our top offensive players,” she said. “As a team, we’ve talked about how we’re going to approach that. If everyone can step up and bring a little bit of our offense, that’s really going to help us.”
In her first two seasons, Connors worked closely with coach Troy Ryan to refine the smaller, less visible parts of her game — wall battles, defensive detail, pace under pressure. Those habits allowed her to stay in the lineup even without scoring, and they helped build trust with the staff.
She now believes the combination of that foundation and her offseason changes puts her in a better position to contribute offensively.
Connors scores the OT winner in Ottawa during the preseason“You learn a lot in your first two years,” Connors said. “Being the first two years of the league as well, you’re growing with all the other players in the league that are growing. I've had many conversations with Troy and our coaching staff on what I can bring and where I fit in.”
By year three, she said, the picture becomes clearer.
“You’ve had that experience of what it’s like to play in this league — what it’s like to have success, to go on winning streaks, or be in a bit of a slump. You gain a lot of experience,” she said. “In terms of my game, it’s knowing what you can bring and knowing your strengths. That’s what I’ve been trying to do in the last few weeks. I’m really happy with my offseason and hoping that this season I can show it and have an impact to help us win.”
Maintaining the gains from her offseason will fall partly to Toronto’s staff, including strength coach Jeremy Steinbach.
“Once you’re with Toronto, Jeremy does a great job of keeping us where we need to be,” Connors said. “We’re not going as hard as we would be in the offseason, but we monitor force and explosiveness with all the jumps and force plate work. It’s something you try to maintain, if not improve, throughout the season. But at the end of the day, the importance is on the ice.”
Connors has never lacked offensive acumen or the ability to snipe; what she needed was time, experience, and a role that matched her skill set. Her new line, her improved speed, and Toronto’s need for offense all align to create the largest opportunity of her professional career.
For Connors, the goal is straightforward.
“I’m happy with where my game’s at,” she said. “Now I want to bring more and have an impact. However that looks, that’s what I’m trying to do.”