Women’s North American Pro Hockey

[Scott_TG]

Two more signings in the NWHL:

The Connecticut Whale are bringing Yale grad Emma Vlasic back for a third season.

The Buffalo Beauts have re-signed University of Alberta alumna Autumn MacDougall for a second season. The 2020 third-round pick was the leading scorer in the Beauts' abbreviated season. The Cole Harbour, NS native is the first USports alumna drafted to an NWHL club.

 

[Scott_TG]

Digit Murphy has appointed former Toronto Patriots (OJHL) GM/HC Mark Joslin the new Head Coach of the Toronto Six. Murphy will remain President of the Six, only ceding the coaching reigns to Joslin.

The Six also announced that they have re-signed former Cornell alternate captain Taylor Woods. She scored four goals and an assist (five points) in six games for the Six last season. Woods was second on the team in scoring behind the reigning league MVP and ROY Mikyla Grant-Mentis

 

[Scott_TG]

The Buffalo Beauts announced the signing of a Clarkson alumna, blueliner Emma Keenan, who was on the 2017 and 2018 championship squads. The Mission Viejo, CA native joins the NWHL club after two seasons with Goteborg HC of the SDHL.

The CT Whale announced they are bringing back Williams alumna Hanna Beattie. The NJ native will patrol the Whale blue line for a fifth straight season.

 

[Scott_TG]

Toronto has re-signed 2020-21 NWHL MVP and ROY, F Mikyla Grant-Mentis. The Merrimack alumna had 9 points in six games.

The Beauts have signed forward Amy Budde, a 2019 Lake Forest alumna who has spent the last two seasons playing professionally in Sweden.

The Beauts also announced the re-signing of Olymic silver medalist D Lisa Chesson. 34-year-old Chesson will play her fifth season for the club and was an alternate captain for the squad last season.

 

[Lindsay]

Toronto Six hired Angela James as an assistant coach. She’s coached various youth teams and works in a sport administration role at Seneca College... also a Hall of Famer and 4x IIHF world Champion. Great hire by the Six. Some very prominent names starting to be affiliated with the league. Colleen Coyne, 1998 Olympic gold medalist is president of the Pride, also a recent hire.

 

[Scott_TG]

Today is Draft Day for the league. The Connecticut Whale holds the first pick.

Some news:

Ownership

Right before the draft, the league has sold the Whitecaps and Beauts to a new entity, NLTT Ventures LLC. This entity is a combination of entities led by Andy Scurto and Neil Leibman, who both sit on the NWHL Board of Governors and have been investors of the league for years, including having a stake in the entity that held all the teams when they were owned by the league. Scurto was serving as President of W Hockey Partners, which is the aforementioned entity all the teams were held in.

Scurto is the founder and former President of insurance software firm ISCS. Leibman is part owner of the Texas Rangers of MLB and serves as its President of Business Operations and COO.

Though ownership is combined, Scurto will run the Beauts and Leibman the Whitecaps. It has been announced that Jack Brodt will remain the Whitecaps GM.

The teams have now gone from owning the teams to being owned by independent entities. However, one entity owns three teams (Miles Arnone's group owns the Boston Pride, Metropolitan Riveters and Toronto Six) and this entity holds two teams. The articles I've seen state the league has said this setup will only be allowed temporarily, so there will be more sales involved. Only the Connecticut Whale are currently situated without having common ownership of another league team.

I'm not sure why Scurto and Leibman didn't just take the team they are now controlling into their own holdings instead of this joint venture. From the outside, it seems to suggest that they plan on selling both to others and not own either when the dust has settled.

Front Office

The Connecticut Whale announced the hiring of Alexis Moed as the team's new GM. Moed founded the NY Islanders Girls Elite and will remain with that club in that role in addition to her new gig with the NWHL. Moed played hockey for St. Lawrence in 99-00 before transferring to Boston College and playing three seasons there. Moed replaces Amy Scheer, who leaves to join the WNBA's Connecticut Sun as VP of Business Operations.

The Whale has also given Laura Brennan Assistant GM stripes to go with her Assistant Coach gig. Brennan has been a practice goalie, rostered goalie, interim Head Coach and assistant coach since first joining the organization in 2016.

The Toronto Six have appointed Krystiana Clarke as the second GM in the franchise's history. Clark is currently the Manager of Operations for York United FC of the Canadian Premier League, a role in which she will remain.

Signing

Buffalo has re-signed D Dominique Kremer. The Merrimack '19 alumna first signed with the Beauts for the 2020 season. She played in all six games and was second on the team in blocks.

 

[Scott_TG]

There was a piece on the draft this morning largely centered around players being selected given the opportunity NCAA players have for an extra year of eligibility. SVP of Operations Lisa Haley spoke of how she mae some calls around the NCAA schools to see who may or may not be returning, combined that with their online form of players could submit to declare themselves eligible and sent that around the league.

Haley did hint at some of the players likely to be drafted tonight:

• Mak Lengei (Bemidji)
• Taylor Wente (Minnesota)
• Caroline Ross (Colgate)
• Finley Frechette (Cornell)
• Taylor Girard (Quinnipiac)
• Kennedy Ganser (U of Alberta)
• Taylor Davison (York)
• Olivia Atkinson (Concordia [Montreal, not the DIII Concordias in WI and MN])

 

[Lindsay]

Super fun draft so far! Katie Kings daughter jumped into a pool, by way of congrats to Megan Beres. Also some other famous hockey people are announcing picks, but that was pretty cute.

 

[Scott_TG]

First round:

1. Connecticut (from BUF) - Taylor Girard - F - Macomb, MI - Quinnipiac
2. Buffalo (from CT) - Emilie Harley - D - Syracuse, NY - RMU
3. Toronto (from BOS) - Maegan Beres - F - Vancouver, BC - Boston College
4. Toronto - Tatum Skaggs - F - Hartland, WI - Ohio State
5. Toronto (from MET) - D - Taylor Davison - Oakville, ON - York U (USport)
6. Minnesota - Mak Langei - D - East Grand Forks, MN - Bemidji State

Second round:

7. Buffalo - Anjelica Diffendal - F - Pittsburgh, PA - RMU (really should be a defender with that name)
8. Connecticut - Emma Polaski - F - Morristown, NJ - Syracuse
9. Toronto (from BOS) - Annie MacDonald - F - Fall River, NS - Princeton
10. Toronto - Rachel Marmen - D - Oakville, ON - Mercyhurst
11. Metropolitan - Caroline Ross - D - Rochester, NY - Colgate
12. Minnesota - Tina Kampa - D - Maple Grove, MN - Bemidji State

Third round:
13. Buffalo - Kennedy Ganser - F - Provost, AB - Alberta
14. Buffalo (from CT) - Anna Zikova - D - Cesk? Teš?n, Czech Republic - Maine
15. Buffalo (from BOS) - Missy Segall - F -Wellesley, MA - Hamilton College
16. Toronto - Leah Marino - F - South Lake Tahoe, CA - RMU
17. Metropolitan - Julia Scammell - D - Truro, NS - New Hampshire
18. Minnesota - Taylor Wente - F - Plymouth, MN - Minnesota

Fourth round:
19. Buffalo - Allison Attea - F - Buffalo, NY - Holy Cross
20. Connecticut - Hannah Bates - D - Trenton, MI - St. Cloud
21. Boston - Finley Frechette - F - Weston, MA - Cornell
22. Toronto - Olivia Atkinson - F - Oakville, ON - Concordia
23. Metropolitan - Jordan Sanislo - D - Whippany, NJ - Sacred Heart
24. Minnesota - Jenna Brenneman - G - Eagan, MN - Penn State

Fifth round:

25. Buffalo - Casey Traill - D - South Shields, England - Castleton
26. Connecticut - Grace Middleton - F - Midland, MI - New Hampshire
27. Boston - Abby Nearis - F - Beverly, MA - Brown
28. Toronto - Daria Tereshkina - D - Chelyabinsk, Russia - Maine
29. Metropolitan - Morgan Schauer - D - Cleveland, OH - LIU
30. Minnesota - Kendall Williamson - F - Edina, MN - Colgate

 

[Lindsay]

Really nice job by the nw with their draft. Last round of draft picks was announced by fans/supporters including two little kids who did a great job.

1st overall was Taylor Girard of Quinnipiac to the Whale.

Other exciting pics from a CHA perspective:

Emily Harlie and Anjelica Diffendal of RMU to Buffalo. Emma Polaski of Cuse to Connecticut. Rachel Marmen of Hurst to the Six (yay! And also draft announced by PK Subban, pretty cool). Leah Merino of RMU to the Six. Jenna Brenneman of Penn State to Whitecaps.

 

[Scott_TG]

A few days after the draft, the Boston Pride announced the resignation of GM Karilyn Pilch who will join the Chicago Blackhawks Player Personnel team as a scout.

Signings in the NWHL:

Buffalo Beauts - have re-signed captain F Taylor Accursi and signed draft picks D/F Emilie Harley (article notes she has center experience as well as playing D at RMU, so look for her to play up front in Buffalo) and second-round pick F Anjelica Diffendal. Both picks they signed played for RMU.

Connecticut Whale - have re-signed D Tori Howran who as a rookie last season had the second most minutes per game behind captain Shannon Doyle.

Toronto Six - have signed first-round pick F Maegan Beres, a former BC captain, and third-round pick Leah Marino who will go pro after her junior year rather than try to transfer following the closure of the RMU program.

 

[Scott_TG]

The Connecticut Whale have signed G Mariah Fujimagari (Maine '17) where she will likely back up Abbie Ives who was the starter last season. She appeared in a game for the Whale in the bubble last season while she was serving as the EBUG for the entire league.

This will be Fujimagari's fourth pro club. She signed with SKP Bratislava of the EWHL her first season after Maine, followed by a 16 game season for the Blades of the CWHL. Fujimagari made her NWHL playing for the Buffalo Beauts in 2019-20.

 

[Scott_TG]

The Beauts have re-signed F/D Brittany Colton (Maine '18) and signed free agent D Samantha Fieseler (Mercyhurst '19). Colton played in the Lake Placid bubble for the Beauts last season. Fieseler was signed to the Riveters but didn't appear in the bubble in 2020-21. She was a teammate of Beauts captain Taylor Accursi while at Mercyhurst. Fieseler also won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2014 Women's U18 championships.

 

[Scott_TG]

The Buffalo Beauts have signed one of their three 3rd-round picks, C Kennedy Ganser (University of Alberta '21 (last played in 2020 as USports was canceled)). Ganser was the 2017 USports West Rookie of the Year as a freshman. One of her Alberta linemates (Autumn MacDougall) is already signed to the Beauts.


The Toronto Six have re-signed F Emma Woods, meaning they've completed re-signing their top line from the pandemic season. Woods was one of the alternate captains last season. Woods is a 2017 graduate of Quinnipiac and was a captain there her senior year. Woods played in China for 2 seasons in the CWHL and went to the SDHL in Sweden when the CWHL folded.

 

[Scott_TG]

The Connecticut Whale have signed the first overall pick of the 2021 draft, F Taylor Girard (Quinnipiac '21).

The Buffalo Beauts have re-signed F Taylor Wasylk (Boston College '14). Wasylk played for the Beauts in the bubble last season, having played for the Boston Pride the two seasons prior and the CWHL Boston Blades in '17-18. Wasylk is the Head Coach of DIII program Suffolk University and mentions hoping to use her experiences as a coach to help younger players.

 

[Scott_TG]

The Beauts shared a retirement announcement from forward Kristin Lewicki (Adrian College '17). Lewicki played in 4 seasons, 3 for Buffalo and one for the Riveters, scoring 18 points in 42 games. Lewicki is best known for her speed, having won the fastest skater competition at the Skills Competition of the 2018 NWHL All Star Game. Lewicki's statement mentioned that she is retiring to move to Phoenix, AZ to embark on a new career.

The Boston Pride have named Danielle (Solari) Larouco [Brown '97] as their new GM. Larouco was also an assistant coach for two seasons at Brown. In the business world, the bulk of Larouco's experience is with the sportwear brand Adidas. In hockey, Larouco has had executive roles with the South Shore Eagles, the Bay State Hockey League, The Bog Ice Arena and Rockland Ice Rink.

 

[Scott_TG]

NWHL original Elena Orlando has announced her retirement.

The NWHL has announced a league-wide scouting office to help supply info about available players to teams for both the draft and free agency. Northern Cyclones owner Bill Flanagan (father of USWNT gold-medalist Kali) will head US-based scouting operations and longtime Toronto Aeros coach Ken Dufton will head Canadian scouting.

The NWHL has fined the Metropolitan Riveters $500 for violating rules related to communicating with players whose draft rights belong to other teams. Rivs GM Anya Packer tweeted shortly after the announcement apologizing for making an error. The Riveters have signed Kelly Nash (Wisconsin '11) as Associate Head Coach and Head Scout.

I also discovered that while there were no signings for the Rivs on their website, they had been tweeting their contract signings instead. Here is who they have signed:

- F Madison Packer (Wisconsin '14) [Captain]
- F Emily Janiga (Mercyhurst '16)
- G Sonjia Shelly (SLU '18)
- D Leila Kilduff (MSU '19)

 

[Lindsay]

.

The NWHL has announced a league-wide scouting office to help supply info about available players to teams for both the draft and free agency. Northern Cyclones owner Bill Flanagan (father of USWNT gold-medalist Kali) will head US-based scouting operations and longtime Toronto Aeros coach Ken Dufton will head Canadian scouting.

Trying to understand the purpose of establishing a scouting office. Is it merely some bridge building with people who have rubbed shoulders with the players the NW wants to attract? If that’s the case I understand it. I wouldn’t have expected establishing a scouting department to be a high priority at this time.

 

[Scott_TG]

Trying to understand the purpose of establishing a scouting office. Is it merely some bridge building with people who have rubbed shoulders with the players the NW wants to attract? If that’s the case I understand it. I wouldn’t have expected establishing a scouting department to be a high priority at this time.

I think it's what you say about knowing the players they are trying to sign and just building a database of scouting info for the league so they have info on players who may not have played at the biggest programs who express interest in the league. The league is still engaging in initiatives to attract a player pool. They advertised two Zoom town hall type events for prospective players in the past few weeks

 

[Lindsay]

The NHL has not committed to starting a league even if the NWHL folds. I still don't understand why PWPHA players are so eager to hand an already monolithic organization a monopoly of their sport on the promise of a league that doesn't exist at the cost of a league that does. What happens if the NWHL folds and Bettman delivers less than promised? They have to take it because there's no other option, or just keep bartnstorming.

I think if the Olympic players were to work out a deal where they get real equity in a league they grow (either the NWHL or a new league) they and the sport will be better off.

Boycotting the bird in the hand because Cassie Campbell is promising them that Gary Bettman is promising them a bush of infinite birds is shortsighted at best.

just putting your comment here as well Scott, as it relates to this thread.