When Sceptres’ general manager Gina Kingsbury traded the team’s first-round draft pick (third overall) to New York for defender Ella Shelton on draft night in Ottawa, Toronto didn’t get to select a player at the podium. But they clearly got the player they wanted, continuing to build one of the biggest and most physically imposing rosters in the PWHL.
Shelton was New York’s first-round pick (fourth overall) in the inaugural 2023 PWHL Draft. She is from nearby Ingersoll, Ontario, and in fact scored the first-ever goal in the league in the first game between New York and Toronto. She’s unquestionably one of the top five defenders in the PWHL when healthy, and has continued growing her game and her reputation even with the Sirens missing the playoffs the first two years of their existence.
Shelton is a fixture with Team Canada, so she is well-known to Kingsbury and coach Troy Ryan from that program.
“When Ella became available to us, it made sense with our lineup. That was something that we felt would solidify our D corps,” said Kingsbury after the draft. “And bringing Ella to Toronto is something that we're really excited about.”
The feeling is clearly mutual.
“I'm excited to be close to home,” said Shelton when she greeted the Toronto media. “My support system’s only an hour and a half down the street. So I think that's a nice change for me, too. I'm just excited to be a part of it.”
Shelton is looking forward to the opportunity to play with Canadian teammate (and fellow Clarkson alum) Renata Fast (the PWHL’s Defender of the Year for 25-26).
“I can't say enough good things about Renata Fast, just seeing her work ethic over the past couple of years has been tremendous and very motivational for myself as well. I trained with her a little bit at McMaster when I first graduated, so that was really exciting. And her game, it's so fast and so physical, she has such a huge impact on the ice and she's got a huge impact in the locker room as well.”
Shelton’s own game has been growing since the league started, and her strength on both sides of the puck will be an asset for the Sceptres. She has the most goals (15) and points (37) of all defenders since the league’s inception.
Fast said, “I can't wait to welcome Ella to the Sceptres. She fits the mold of the culture that we have in our locker room. And her style of play is going to bolster our blue line. So I think it was incredible move by Gina and I can't wait to be teammates with Ella again.”
Shelton will give the Sceptres and assistant coach Rachel Flanagan options to put together a stacked top pair with Fast, or to employ their second pairing defenders, Allie Munroe and Kali Flanagan, separately. If the Sceptres hold on to Savannah Harmon, that's further versatility to play a veteran defender on the left side with Fast. Seeing Ella Shelton line up with Fast, however, would be an imposing prospect for opposing teams.