The PWHL announced the order for the upcoming entry draft on June 24, and appeared to course-correct a bit from their efforts at achieving parity in the expansion draft. They chose to use playoff results as a determining factor (after New York’s first overall pick, which derives from the Gold Plan). This gives the Toronto Sceptres the third overall selection due to being the lowest ranked playoff semifinalist.
This creates some intriguing options for general manager Gina Kingsbury to address openings in the team’s lineup after the expansion teams nabbed three important forwards (Sarah Nurse, Julia Gosling, and Izzy Daniel) and one defender (Megan Carter).
Depending on what happens in the first window of free agency, there will be some enticing players at the third slot. Kristýna Kaltounková is expected to be taken first overall by New York, and with Boston starved for offense, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Fleet grab scoring star Casey O’Brien from Wisconsin.
If that happens, there will be three defenders with a variety of skill sets available to the Sceptres.
Haley Winn from Clarkson is an intriguing option, especially as a right-handed shot with a fantastic transition game. Winn has starred with Team USA already at age 21 and played top four minutes, so she can handle the pressure of facing difficult opponents. She’s still growing her game and improving, so the upside of selecting her has to be appealing. Winn had 14 goals and 32 assists for 46 points in her senior year, and three assists in seven games at the World Championships. She has a great shot from the point and would be a viable replacement if the Sceptres can’t re-sign Kali Flanagan.
If Flanagan rejoins the team and Kingsbury is comfortable sticking with a left-handed defender, they might choose a familiar face from the Canadian national team, and Winn’s defensive partner at Clarkson, Nicole Gosling. She was the 2024 NCAA Defender of the Year, and would be a ‘safe’ choice for the Sceptres. She had 12 goals and 27 assists totaling 39 points in 40 games this season. The term ‘puck moving defender’ is an apt description of Gosling, who would slot in nicely on the bottom pair and work her way up with some power play minutes. She’s the cousin of departed forward Julia Gosling.
Both Winn and Gosling are a little smaller, so if Kingsbury decides they need to try to replace the more physical defensive game of the departed Megan Carter, she might look to Cornell’s 5’ 11” Rory Guilday. Guilday has a long reach and plays a heavy defensive game, something which is coveted by PWHL general managers. She’s already played in three world championships for the USA, so experience is on her side as well.
The Sceptres will look at their depth chart at forward before the draft, which by then may or may not include Hannah Miller, Jesse Compher, and Maggie Connors. If Boston does grab Winn (which is rumored), expect Kingsbury to look squarely at O’Brien, the Patty Kazmeier award winner who has a ton of offensive talent. She had 26 goals and 62 assists for an incredible 88 points in 41 games.
In 182 total games with Wisconsin, O'Brien tallied 97 goals and 177 assists, making her the Badgers' all-time leading scorer.
She plays center, is adept at the faceoff dot, and is responsible defensively. Adding O'Brien would give the team extra flexibility in their lineup construction. If Miller does not re-sign with the team, O’Brien would be a good choice to help replace her minutes.