Injuries and inconsistency have plagued the Sceptres' blue line. The team's performance has suffered as a result, despite strong individual talent.
What was supposed to be the strength of the Toronto Sceptres this season –its D core – hasn't yet materialized as such. Injuries and inconsistent repetitions have hampered the performance of the blue line which boasts a strong top four, and even five. However, the team has only played four out of 11 games with the full group.
Adding Ella Shelton to the team as a top minutes leader, left-shot offensive defender, and off-ice leader, the optimism was through the roof in Toronto. After all, they already had Savannah Harmon (Renata Fast's partner in her Defender of the Year campaign), and a bonafide second pairing of Allie Munroe and Kali Flanagan that gave them strong, reliable minutes.
When Munroe was hurt on December 23 against Ottawa, Fast was already out of the lineup with an injury and the shorthanded defense had to try to survive an Ottawa comeback, but ultimately fell in overtime.
According to coach Troy Ryan, Shelton also started the season with a bit of an injury (that kept her out of the Rivalry Series), so the defense has not had the opportunity to practice and play at full capacity. You can point to a lot of shortcomings that have hampered the team's performance, but the lack of consistency on the blue line has been a noticeable issue.
"No one would really think this, but Allie is as valuable as a player on our team as anybody, she really is," said Ryan.
"You know what you’re getting with her, she plays hard, no one would want to play against her, she's got everybody's back. She's everything you want in a player. And a lot of times people just evaluate the top-end skilled players but when she's out, it’s noticeable."
Munroe is trending towards a return before the Olympic break, but a lot depends on her next steps in the 'return to play' process, and practicing with the team in the 11 days before the Sceptres' final game on Jan. 28.
As for who picks up the slack defensively, Ryan points to someone who already bears a lot of responsibility.
"I actually believe someone like Renata, for her to be as good as she could be, it usually starts from playing similar to Allie. And then her skills take the next step that Allie’s skills don't necessarily allow her to do.
"But to me, Renata is the most dangerous when she's stingy and physical and kind of mean at times. One of the terms we use is, 'a defensive play is your first offensive option.'
"And that's how Allie plays the game because that's how she just naturally plays. So we ask someone like Renata especially in [Allie's] absence, that she's going to have to play harder defensively and physically."
The balance of the group looks uneven. Pairing Shelton with Fast seems like an easy go-to, but it leaves a second pairing of Kali Flanagan and Savannah Harmon that hasn't held up to heavy physical play and net-front danger.
When Munroe is available, she rotates in when the game requires a reset and a return to simple plays.
As Ryan put it, "As a coach, you're just so used to, when things get a little bit scattered on the bench, it’s like, 'Allie,' you just know she's going to give you a shift that is the right type of shift. She's so undervalued, I think by a lot of people. She's as valuable as anybody we have in our group.
"The whole thing on the back end has just been crazy -- you've got this great core,. You kind of want to work with. And I don't know, like we had Shelton out, we had Renata out twice. We got Allie out. So you know you just want to get it to a point where, you know, you can actually see it together."
Meanwhile, the team has suffered with the inconsistency and uneven play, dropping to sixth place with four straight losses going into the Battle on Bay Street.
"We’ve had issues with the back end the whole time," Ryan explained. "But I mean, that's nice if you can just stay relevant in the standings to have that ready to go at some point."