Roster departures have left the Sceptres without a lot of offense. Now, a devastating draft lottery slide takes away their chance to land a franchise cornerstone and fix a glaring offensive void.
The Toronto Sceptres knew the expansion process would be difficult. With so many free agents, there was uncertainty along with an opportunity to reshape their roster. But as soon as the phases opened, general manager Gina Kingsbury faced adversity that was almost worst-case scenario.
The Sceptres couldn't retain scoring leader Daryl Watts. Then Jesse Compher departed for Detroit, Maggie Connors was signed by PWHL San Jose, and there's a strong possibility that Emma Maltais could leave in free agency.
Expansion was designed to spread talent across four new markets, and every original team was going to pay a price. What Kingsbury likely didn't expect was that the most important opportunity to replace that talent would become significantly more difficult.
When the PWHL announced the draft order for Wednesday's 2026 Entry Draft, the Sceptres found themselves slotted eighth overall, behind not only Vancouver and Seattle, but all four expansion franchises. For a team that missed the playoffs and desperately needs offensive firepower, it was a devastating development.
The issue isn't simply moving down a few spots in the order. It's who the Sceptres may miss out on as a result.
Toronto's faced offensive shortcomings throughout the 2025-26 season. Even with Watts in the lineup, scoring consistency was impossible. Now Watts is gone after signing an Expansion Franchise Offer with PWHL Detroit. The losses of Compher, Connors, and Maltais leave their forward ranks imploded.
As things stand, Toronto's projected group up front is built around captain Blayre Turnbull, veteran star Natalie Spooner, second-year forwards Emma Gentry and Kiara Zanon, and potentially Claire Dalton if she returns in free agency. There is talent in that group, but there is also a glaring need down the middle and a clear need for additional scoring.
That is why the draft felt so important.
This year's class is loaded with high-end talent. Players such as Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, Kirsten Simms and Lacey Eden all project as impact PWHL players. For Toronto, however, one name seemed to stand out in the project fourth spot.
Janecke appears tailor-made for the Sceptres.The Penn State star is widely regarded as one of the best centres available in the draft, combining offensive production with pace, abilities in all three zones and the type of offensive upside that organizations spend years trying to acquire.
Simply put, Janecke fills Toronto's biggest organizational need.
Unfortunately for the Sceptres, they won't have the opportunity to select her.
In The Hockey News' mock draft, Janecke is projected to go fourth overall to PWHL San Jose, where former Toronto head coach Troy Ryan is building an expansion roster. If that prediction holds true, Janecke will be long gone before Toronto steps to the podium at eighth overall.
It's easy to see Harvey, Edwards, Murphy, Janecke, Simms and Eden to come off the board in the first six selections. That represents a significant talent tier that Toronto will be forced to watch disappear before its turn arrives.
Instead, the Sceptres are projected to select Princeton forward Issy Wunder at eighth overall. Wunder is a talented prospect in her own right and could become a productive PWHL player. But there is little question that Toronto's ideal scenario likely involved access to the elite group expected to come off the board earlier.
That's what makes the final draft order so impactful.
Toronto finished fifth in the PWHL standings and missed the playoffs. Although the league waited to assign the order, the Sceptres appeared positioned to select much earlier than eighth overall if last year's model of giving non-playoff teams the top picks. Instead, the league awarded picks three through six to the expansion clubs following a randomized draw, pushing both Toronto and the New York Sirens further down the board.
The result is that a team already searching for offense now finds itself drafting after several organizations with fewer immediate needs at forward.
The timing couldn't be worse. This isn't merely another draft class. It may be the most important draft class the league sees for several years.
The PWHL needed to add roughly 100 players this offseason to support expansion to 12 teams, making the 2026 draft a critical talent infusion for the entire league. It also comes amid uncertainty surrounding the 2027 draft class following the NCAA's decision to extend athlete eligibility, a change that could convince many top prospects to remain in school another season.
In other words, there may not be another opportunity in the near future for teams to access this much top-end talent.
For Toronto, that reality only magnifies the importance of Tuesday's first round.
The Sceptres entered the offseason needing one thing: offense. Expansion took away several key contributors. Free agency offers few obvious solutions. Now the draft board appears poised to remove some of the most attractive options before Toronto has the chance to make a selection.
That doesn't mean the Sceptres are doomed.
Kingsbury needs to identify talent, make creative moves and find contributors in places others overlook. Toronto still possesses quality players throughout its lineup and could very well uncover an impact player at eighth overall or through a trade.
But as the organization prepares for one of the most consequential drafts in league history, it's difficult not to look at players like Janecke and wonder what might have been.
The difference between drafting fourth and drafting eighth could prove enormous.
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