The Sceptres headed into this weekend’s two-game preseason matchup with the Charge with plenty of question marks throughout the roster. The team had a limited number of practice sessions with the full squad, including the Canadian and American players who participated in the Rivalry Series. The coaching staff and GM Gina Kingsbury have had to watch closely to see what kind of team they might have this season, and fit the puzzle pieces together with new free agents, rookies, and camp invitees.
Top Six Looks Set
The forward lines didn’t start to take shape until Daryl Watts returned to practice after fighting through an illness. They had exactly one session where it appeared that units would be put together, including a forecasted top line of Watts with Emma Maltais at center and Natalie Spooner on the right wing. After that, the second line has Blayre Turnbull between either Maggie Connors or Emma Woods on her left and Jesse Compher on the right.
After the top six, you could throw the pieces in the air and put players wherever they might land. For now, there appears to be a battle for third line center with Claire Dalton, Sara Hjalmarsson, and Anneke Rankila in the mix. Kristin Della Rovere has to be a consideration at center as well, with her strong faceoff numbers. The rookies slotted in on the wings, with Emma Gentry and Kiara Zanon appearing to have an edge over fourth rounder Clara Van Wieren at the moment, although Van Wieren has definitely impressed so far with her size, intelligent play, and a strong dash of offense.
The two Clair(e)s, Dalton and DeGeorge, are in the mix for a third or fourth line role, but they’ve also played together at times in the past, and might end up together. With the new emphasis on size and ruggedness, DeGeorge is almost sure to find a place for herself.
She said that she’s already spoken with the coaches about expectations: “One big one is faceoffs, we've spoken about not losing them cleanly and just trusting the the wingers at that point to come in and get it. But being able to be dominant on the dot and then for me, getting the puck on net more.”
Lauren Messier, who is on a tryout, has shown flashes of intriguing speed and offense, and has looked comfortable, but her smaller size might have her on the outside when the final spots are filled.
The Sceptres didn’t get much of a look at Rankila last season (she played only three games), but she shares the Minnesota-Duluth connection with some of her new teammates, and that thread has connected several players who might find some early chemistry.
Coach Troy Ryan said, “We didn't know when we drafted them that the majority of them have prior connections with each other–like, I think there's three or four of them that all played on the US national development team at the same time, and all played on the same line, and had made some connections together at those events. So we could tell right from the draft when we met with them afterwards that we had a pretty easy group, probably a low maintenance group. Just excited to be here.”
Kiara Zanon, who shouldn’t be overlooked as a useful contributor, could find herself up and down the lineup the way Izzy Daniel did last season. And Emma Gentry, the towering winger from St. Cloud State, has already shown that her size and reach as well as her willingness to fight for pucks will be integral to the type of game the Sceptres look to play.
Stacked Defender Group
On defense, it looks like the top six is starting to separate. Renata Fast is paired with Savannah Harmon for now, and Ella Shelton looks like she might play with Kali Flanagan. It’s interesting that the long-time pair of Munroe and Flanagan might be split up in order to give Shelton a right-handed partner who can match her minutes and make the top two pairs a formidable defensive force.
Allie Munroe, however, brings a lot in the physical department, and might slide up to play with one of the others with some penalty killing minutes or when the score is close. Anna Kjellbin, who plays the right side, might or might not lock up that spot in the third pair. Jess Kondas has shown that she can contribute, and the coaching staff likely envisions her in a larger role.
The battle is between Kjellbin, Kondas, and rookie Hanna Baskin for two spots. If the Sceptres keep seven defenders on the active roster, Kondas is probably the seventh, which leaves rookie Baskin, drafted in the sixth round, as a reserve if she accepts that designation. It would be unfortunate to lose Baskin, who has a lot of upside, coming from the solid program at UMD, and who’s kept up with the pace in camp so far.
For the two exhibition games in Ottawa, coach Troy Ryan said, “You're curious about what potential line combinations could look like or D pairings. Sometimes even these exhibition games give us more of that because you can sit out strategic players, for example, even splitting up a D pair, and sitting out one of those D pairs allows you some freedom to play different people without them reading into why you're doing it.”
In camp, Kondas was occasionally paired with Ella Shelton, so she might get a look there in order to observe a full game with top minutes and see how she fares. Expect to see Baskin get a similar test run before that decision is made.
With Rule 5.1 / Rule 5.3 now requiring that three goaltenders be under contract, the option of going with only two and leaving one on reserve is gone. So most teams will likely keep 13 forwards and seven defenders on the active roster (to complete the 23-player roster size).
The battle for the third goaltender spot (behind Raygan Kirk and Elaine Chuli) is between RIT graduate Sarah Coe and University of Vermont’s Jessie McPherson. So far there hasn’t been a lot to choose between the two. McPherson had good numbers at UVM (2.26, .909 in 26 games) and has a lot of potential, but is looking at a steep learning curve. Coe had similar numbers last year (2.32, .923 in 26 games) and has a slightly smaller frame. This choice is probably not going to be clear before the season starts, and the Sceptres might look at who is left off other teams’ rosters if there is a more experienced netminder for that spot.
Predicted Sceptres’ lineup:
Watts - Maltais - Spooner
Connors - Turnbull - Compher
Gentry - Dalton - Woods
Zanon - Hjalmarsson - Van Wieren
Della Rovere
Fast - Harmon
Shelton - Flanagan
Munroe - Kjellbin
Kondas
Kirk
Chuli
McPherson
reserves: Rankila, DeGeorge, Baskin