When the Professional Women’s Hockey League designed its first-ever expansion draft process, the main goal was for its two newest teams to compete from Day 1.
And though on-ice performance is never as simple as on-paper projection, that objective has very much been accomplished with strong teams in both Vancouver and Seattle.
The Torrent have a potential Olympic gold-medal-winning trio of Americans on its top line, an elite No. 1 defender and one of the league’s best goalies. Throw in some depth on defense and a talented second line, and Seattle looks poised for success in Year 1.
The roster
Strengths
Seattle enters the PWHL with an incredible collection of elite talent, including three of the most productive players in the league’s short history.
Hilary Knight is one of the greatest women’s hockey players of all-time, and is still a high-end player. She was one of the best players in the PWHL last year, finishing with a co-lead in scoring (29 points in 30 games) and was named a finalist for league MVP and Forward of the Year.
She’ll reunite on Seattle’s top line with her elite Team USA sidekick Alex Carpenter, who is also one of the very best players in the world. She was a finalist for MVP in 2024, and has the ability to take over games with her play-driving ability and scoring touch. She and Sarah Fillier were one of the best duos in the PWHL last season in New York. Carpenter with Knight could be even scarier.
Jessie Eldridge rounds out the top-three forwards in Seattle. The 27-year-old has been underrated so far in her career, despite putting up consistent numbers at the pro level. Her 38 points in 54 games rank eighth all-time, behind stars such as Knight, Carpenter, Marie-Philip Poulin and Kendall Coyne Schofield. Eldridge has shown she can slot in beside elite talent (like with Fillier and Carpenter in New York), but has remained productive when on her own line, too.
Right now, it’s looking like the trio will be split up to give the Torrent two dangerous lines, with 2024 first-round pick Hannah Bilka sliding onto the top unit with Knight and Carpenter.
Danielle Serdachny and Julia Gosling, also 2024 first-rounders, look like great fits beside Eldridge. All three are 5-foot-9 or taller — Gosling is 5-foot-11 — and can play through the physicality of the PWHL. All three forwards have solid offensive tools and should form a tough line to play against in all three zones.
On the back end, the team has some strong depth headlined by Cayla Barnes, who is coming off an excellent rookie season in Montreal. With the Victoire, she led all players in time on ice and finished tied with 2024 Defender of the Year Erin Ambrose in points (13) on the Montreal blue line.
Barnes is excellent in transition, with great vision. She closes gaps well and makes smart plays in the defensive zone to provide two-way value as a complement to her offensive ability. Playing with Aneta Tejralová, one of Ottawa’s more consistent two-way defenders, could free up Barnes even more to activate into the zone.
They wouldn’t make the biggest D-pair — Tejralová is 5-foot-5 and Barnes is 5-foot-2 — but Tejralová plays a big game in her own zone, leading the Charge blue line last year in hits (34) and blocked shots (37).
Speaking of which: Seattle also has two of the top shot blockers from last season in Mariah Keopple (60) and Anna Wilgren (57), which should make it tough for opponents to get shots through on Corinne Schroeder nobody which pair is on the ice.
After posting strong numbers behind a New York defense that gave up among the most shots in the league, Schroeder could have even better numbers if the Seattle defence looks as strong on the ice as it looks on paper.
Weaknesses
Seattle could be top-heavy this season. With so many star players taken in the expansion draft process, it makes sense that Seattle tried to find useful (and affordable) depth in free agency. The end result is a drop from the top-six to the bottom with several rookies and PWHL veterans (Lexie Adzija, Mikyla Grant-Mentis and Natalie Snodgrass) who combined for just six goals last season.
Adzija played a consistent fourth-line role in Boston, scoring two goals in around 10 minutes of ice time per game. She has a big frame (5-foot-10) and was second among Boston forwards in hits (32), so she has the ability to crash and bang and make life difficult on the forecheck. But she probably can’t be relied on for much secondary scoring; Adzija has scored eight career goals in 53 games, with three coming with the net empty.
Grant-Mentis is a skilled winger with elite hands, but she hasn’t been consistent in the PWHL yet. She scored three goals in Montreal last season and moved up and down the lineup, sometimes playing on the wing or up the middle. Perhaps a set role on the third line in Seattle could help Grant-Mentis settle in. She has the talent to be a great secondary scoring option, but we haven’t seen that consistently yet.
Snodgrass only played in 21 of 30 games in Ottawa last season, averaging around nine minutes per game, and is not likely to be a major offensive producer in Seattle.
First-round pick Jenna Buglioni could be a solid bottom-six option. She’s a hard-working center who can be relied upon in all three zones. Her numbers didn’t always pop on elite Buckeyes teams, but she did graduate as the program’s leader in game-winning goals and tied for the record in shorthanded goals.
The big question
Will Seattle’s big bet on youth work out?
Seattle stockpiled young talent in the expansion draft process, taking four of the six first-round picks from the 2024 draft: Serdachny (2nd), Bilka (4th), Barnes (5th) and Gosling (6th).
It should be a no-brainer for an expansion franchise to add some elite young talent to set the foundation for the future. But what makes the Torrent’s selections more compelling is that, save for Barnes, we haven’t seen the best out of Seattle’s now-sophomore stars.
The safe bet is that we will in 2025-26.
Bilka missed half of last season due to injury and was left off the U.S. roster for the World Championships. At her best, she’s a creative and dynamic offensive forward with exceptional skating ability. She’s back in the mix for Team USA with the Olympics around the corner and will be motivated to perform in Seattle to solidify her spot.
Gosling had a slow start to her professional career, taking 15 games to score her first goal for the Toronto Sceptres. But she found her stride in the postseason, scoring three goals in four games, including Toronto’s lone game-winner in the semifinals.
Perhaps the biggest bet was on Serdachny, whom Seattle signed as one of its five foundational players ahead of the expansion draft.
Serdachny’s rookie season in Ottawa was just fine, with eight points in 30 games while playing most of her minutes at the bottom of the lineup. She has much more to offer.
Before getting to Ottawa, Serdachny scored the golden goal for Team Canada at 2024 women’s Worlds in Utica, and rewrote the collegiate record books over five years at Colgate, becoming the team’s all-time points leader.
A fresh start with a new team putting her in a spot to succeed should be great for Serdachny. She’s a natural center with good size and an all-around tool kit that should make her a solid top-six play-driver.