With the addition of Seattle and Vancouver to the Professional Women’s Hockey League, each of the rosters of the original six clubs have sustained significant losses. Throughout the summer, PWHL writer Rob Del Mundo will summarize the impact to each team.
It’s hard to say goodbye to one of the originals.
For the first two seasons of Toronto’s PWHL entry – the latter in which the team was branded as the Sceptres – forward Sarah Nurse was one of the most recognizable faces on the roster.
During the free agent signing window, Nurse, a native of nearly Hamiton, Ont,, signed a one-year deal with PWHL Vancouver.
“Nursey” will certainly be missed. She, along with captain Blayre Turnbull and defender Renata Fast, was one of Toronto’s three original players when the PWHL was established two years ago. In 45 regular season games over two years, Nurse impressively collected 17 goals and 37 points.
Turnbull, Fast, and last year’s leading scorer Daryl Watts were the three players that the Sceptres protected before the signing window opened. That left the door open not only for the departure of Nurse, but for young forwards Julia Gosling and Izzy Daniel to be scooped up in the expansion draft, by Seattle and Vancouver respectively.
Once Gosling was chosen, Toronto was permitted to protect a fourth player; thus Emma Maltais was able to stay put.
As expected, Hannah Miller, second only to Watts last year in team scoring, signed with her native hometown club, Vancouver.
In losing Miller, Nurse, Gosling and Daniel, the Sceptres enter the 2025-26 campaign without four of their top ten scorers from last year.
Strength of Toronto’s PWHA Club: Sceptres Blue Line
The stability for general manager Gina Kingsbury’s squad is evident on the blue line. Not only are last season’s top four defenders: Fast, Savannah Harmon, Kali Flanagan and Allie Munroe returning, but Toronto landed stalwart Ella Shelton in a draft day trade with the New York Sirens.
Shelton, like teammates Maltais, Turnbull and Natalie Spooner, is a Team Canada Olympic gold medallist. While playing for New York against Toronto, she scored the first goal in PWHL history, in the league’s inaugural game at Mattamy Athletic Centre on New Year’s Day 2024.
The Sceptres have also undergone a transition between the pipes. Mainstay netminder Kristen Campbell was dealt to Vancouver, while fan favourite Carly “CJ” Jackson will be tending goal for Seattle next year. That leaves the tandem of Raygan Kirk and Elaine Chuli – the latter of whom played in Montreal last season – to duel for the starting role.
Chuli is no stranger to Toronto; she won an Isobel Cup title with the Toronto Six in the final season of the Premier Hockey Federation in 2023.
The challenge for coach Troy Ryan’s squad is to find a source for all the offense that departed for the west coast. The responsibility falls on everyone’s shoulders.. It starts with veterans like Watts, Maltais, Spooner and Jesse Compher who’ll be expected elevate their game. New acquisitions such as Claire DeGeorge, Claire Dalton and second round draft pick Emma Gentry will also be under the microscope.
