The Toronto Sceptres will enter the 2024-2025 PWHL season as the likely consensus favorite, but that doesn't mean there aren't questions to answer for the team. Here are three burning questions facing the Toronto Sceptres.
The Toronto Sceptres will enter the 2024-2025 PWHL season as the likely consensus favorite, but that doesn't mean there aren't questions to answer for the team. Here are three burning questions facing the Toronto Sceptres.
The Toronto Sceptres were the PWHL's top team during the inaugural regular season, but found themselves on the wrong end of an opening round playoff loss to the eventual Walter Cup champions, the Minnesota Frost.
Toronto went out this offseason via the draft and free agency and added more depth, and more scoring to their already strong roster. Without question, the Toronto Sceptres enter the 2024-2025 PWHL season as Walter Cup favorites, but it doesn't mean they are without questions to answer.
Here's a look at three burning questions facing the Toronto Sceptres.
Can they withstand a major injury?
Toronto already has one major injury to consider in Natalie Spooner's, however, this isn't the position that could impact them most. While everyone looks at Toronto's immense forward depth, they could still a potential disaster if an injury struck one of their key blueliners, most notable Renata Fast, or starting goaltender Kristen Campbell. There's no doubt Raygan Kirk will be a capable backup for Toronto this season, but untested at this level, it would be a big ask for her to step in and replace Campbell. Kirk is proven in big games, but Campbell is the reigning PWHL Goaltender of the Year. Fast and Larocque played monumental minutes last season for Toronto, and over the season, it perhaps became too much. As Larocque continues to move toward the end of her career, more burden will be placed on Fast, who is unquestionably one of the top defenders in the world. Toronto added Megan Carter this offseason, and Kali Flanagan is capable of playing a bigger role, but any fracture to Toronto's top pairing could send ripple effects through their roster.
How will Troy Ryan deal with his forward depth?
When you look at the Toronto Sceptres' forward group, it can only be described as 'stacked'. Emma Maltais, Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse, Blayre Turnbull, and Julia Gosling are all Canadian national team members. Then they have former Patty Kazmaier winners Daryl Watts and Izzy Daniel. When looking at Toronto's fourth line, it's likely that recent national team players like Victoria Bach and Jesse Compher will be spending minutes in a bottom line checking role, which could also be true for their other top free agent signing Emma Woods. The truly baffling part for Toronto, is they still have Czechia national team standout Noemi Neubauerova unsigned, as well as former NCAA and SDHL star Anneke Linser, who both can play a physical game while contributing offense. Their roster is so deep up front, we'll regularly be seeing players who could be contributing on other rosters scratched to start the season. It will give Toronto an abundance of flexibility, and allow them to expose bottom lines on other rosters. It also could allow them to make a trade if they see a need at defense or in net.
Can they sell it out again?
There were two reactions this week when the Toronto Sceptres announced they'd sold out all season ticket packages for their 14 home games. One reaction was excitement from fans who got their tickets, and fans of the league in general. The other reaction was disappointment from the many fans who were waiting for their assigned date to have the chance to purchase season tickets. Many season ticket holders from last year were also snapping up extra blocks of seats for family and friends. There's no better problem for the league to have at this moment than seeing this success, particularly after the team moved to the larger Coca-Cola Coliseum this year due to demand. Could Toronto sell out every game this season before the puck drops like they did last year? It's highly possible, even with nearly 6,000 more seats available each game.