Sounding Off With The Sirens is a bi-weekly column written by New York contributor Rick Menning. In each column Menning looks at what's going on with the PWHL's New York Sirens.
Could New York again be home to the ROY?
The ultimate Rookie of the Year winner is not nearly as clear cut this time around, but it is certainly possible that the PWHL Rookie of the Year for the 2025-26 season could once again be a member of the New York Sirens.
With forward Casey O'Brien joining Nicole Gosling (Montreal Victoire) and Haley Winn (Boston Fleet) among the finalists for the prestigious award, there is an argument to be made for any of the three.
And while back-to-back top rookie accolades would be exceptional for New York, the selection to be revealed on June 16 in Detroit is not a fait accompli like last year when Sarah Fillier was an easy choice for the honor over Jenn Gardiner (Montreal) and Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa).
With Filly's 29 points that season (13 goals, 16 assists) equaling that of Hilary Knight — and her overall scoring pace consistent with that of future Hockey Hall of Famer Marie-Philip Poulin — she didn't take a backseat to anyone as the league's best rookie over the 2024-25 campaign.
This year, however, the announcement will come with plenty of intrigue.
All three nominees -- O'Brien, Gosling and Winn -- played extremely vital roles for their respective teams, and that creates drama in who gets the nod for top rookie. O'Brien, who started playing youth hockey at Chelsea Piers in New York City, led all PWHL rookies this season with 22 points (7 goals,15 assists). Her helpers were most among all rookie forwards.
The University of Wisconsin alum recorded at least one point in 17 games and produced four multi-point performances, both highs among rookies. On special teams, she was one of three rookies to score a shorthanded goal and led all rookies with three power-play tallies. Selected third in the PWHL draft, O'Brien had a hat trick in her eighth career game. She became the only rookie and one of just six players overall to record a three-goal performance in a game this season, as well as the third rookie all-time to do so.
At the faceoff dot, O'Brien set a new PWHL single-season record for rookies with 266 wins on 496 draws -- 68 more than the previous record.
In front of a United States-record 18,000-plus in attendance at Madison Square Garden back on April 4, the Manhattan-born forward capped a career-best five-game point streak with an assist on the game-tying goal. That effort helped keep the Sirens alive before their eventual shootout victory.
Is the Sirens' protected trio a no-brainer?
While there is plenty of mystery surrounding whether or not O'Brien's name will be called for ROY on June 16, her name should absolutely be on New York General Manager Pascal Daoust's list of protected players ahead of this week's expansion frenzy.
In fact, it's inconceivable that Daoust will not protect O'Brien, Sarah Fillier and Kristýna Kaltounková as the Sirens — along with the seven other existing teams — prepare to have their rosters impacted by expansion teams in Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose in the coming weeks.
These superstars combined for just shy of 250 shots on goal this past season. Kaltounková was out of action for nearly the final third of the season, yet she led New York in goals with 11. Filly and Casey teamed up for 16 goals and 29 assists.When healthy, these three can form a solid nucleus around whatever roster upheaval is done through the expansion process.
Other clubs might have uncertainties, but the Sirens' three to be protected should not in question.
Who will be New York's new assistant coach?
Now that Josh Sciba will no longer be behind the Sirens' bench, the search is on for his replacement.
Sciba, a native of Westland, Michigan, has been a mentor to the Sirens' players for the past two seasons. However, the opportunity to return home and become the first head coach of PWHL Detroit was too good to pass up.
He expressed his gratitude to the Sirens' organization for giving him the opportunity to move up from the collegiate to the professional coaching ranks and join Head Coach Greg Fargo back in 2024-25.
"I want to sincerely thank the New York Sirens, Pascal Daoust, Greg Fargo, and the players for believing in me and allowing me an opportunity to teach and grow as a coach," Sciba said.
"I’ll always be grateful to the people I had a chance to collaborate with, and I'm appreciative of the relationships and experiences in my first two PWHL seasons."