New York Sirens have a lot to make up for in Year 2

Here’s a look at the New York Sirens heading into Season 2 in the league:

Finished sixth in the six-team league with nine wins and 15 losses, twelve of those losses were in regulation which was worst in the league. New York did not qualify for the playoffs.

F Alex Carpenter, D Ella Shelton, F Abby Roque, D Jamie Bourbonnais, F Jessie Elridge, D Micah Zandee-Hart, G Corrine Schroeder

Via the draft the Sirens got the cream of the crop in Georgetown native Sarah Fillier. The lady in waiting for title of Canada’s greatest female hockey player, Fillier signed just a one-year deal in New York. She is under control for two seasons, via a new rule passed by the league this summer, but she won’t come cheaply if she is to stick around in New York for the long term.

The Sirens also bulked up defensively, selecting 23-yar-old Swedish defender Maja Nylen Persson with their second-round pick and promptly signed her to a three-year deal.

The draft also provided the Sirens with some experience, as 29-year-old Noora Tulus was selected in the third round. The Finnish veteran forward, who should step right into the New York lineup, has played in five world championships and two Olympic Games for her native Finland.

Another third round pick (the Sirens and Fleet pulled off a draft-day trade) brought Colgate defender Allyson Simpson to New York. The Texas native would bolster New York’s back end.

Emmy Fecteau was probably the best player in U Sports last season and the only Canadian University player drafted was taken by New York with its final pick. She was an offensive force at Concordia, comes with a ton of leadership and hockey smarts and could surprise at training camp.

Forward Emma Woods signed a free agent deal closer to home in Toronto. And not that New York got to see her at all, but highly respected defender Claire Thompson was on the roster all season but did not play as she was finishing her schooling. She went back into the draft and was taken third overall by Minnesota.

The Sirens opted for a change behind the bench, going with long time Colgate head coach and Kingston native Greg Fargo to replace Howie Draper. That wasn’t the surprise however. The surprise came when the Sirens opted to give fifth-round pick and former Colgate goalie Kayle Osborne a coveted three-year contract. Last year’s ‘keepers, Corinne Schroeder and Abbey Levy, were brought back on two and one-year deals respectively.

Despite their overall struggle last year, PWHL New York was dynamite on the power play. The team scored 19 power play goals and led the league with a success percentage of 24.4%. On top of that, they owned the second-best penalty kill rate in the league behind only Toronto, allowing just nine goals against short-handed for an 87.1% success rate.

Basically everything else, but most importantly, this team just did not seem to gel at all. Former head coach Howie Draper had to play a role in that but it could not have been all him. This team had far too much talent to finish dead last in the league and with the arrival of a generational talent such as Fillier and some more structure behind the bench, expect this team to be right in the thick of things come those final games of the regular season.

Team captain Micah Zandee-Hart began the year injured, missing the first five games of the season after an injury in the 2023 world championship playing for Canada. Sadly, Zandee-Hart never really seemed to find her stride last season. It was a tough year for one of New York’s foundational signings and not at all indicative of her capabilities. Expect to see a much bigger impact from Zandee-Hart in Year 2.

Alex Carpenter Signed

Abby Roque    Signed

Jessie Eldridge Signed

Chloe Aurard   Signed

Elizabeth Giguere        Signed

Jill Saulnier      Signed

Jade Downie-Landry   Signed

Emmy Fecteau Drafted

Paetyn Levis    Camp Invite

Savannah Norcross     Camp Invite

Madison Packer          Camp Invite

Kayla Vespa     Camp Invite

Micah Zandee-Hart     Signed

Ella Shelton     Signed

Jaime Bourbonnais     Signed

Brooke Hobson           Signed

Madison Bizal Camp Invite

Olivia Zafuto   Camp Invite

Corinne Schroder        Extended two years

Abbey Levy     Extended one year