Knight, Ambrose and Maschmeyer left unprotected ahead of PWHL expansion draft
Published
The PWHL has released the list of protected players ahead of the June 9 expansion draft for Vancouver and Seattle.
All six inaugural teams protected three players each. They will relinquish four players off their 2024-25 rosters with both expansion franchises acquiring 12 players through the expansion draft.
Some of the notable names not protected include Boston's Hilary Knight, Minnesota's Claire Thompson, Montreal's Erin Ambrose, New York's Alex Carpenter, Ottawa's Emerance Maschmeyer and Toronto's Sarah Nurse.
PWHL Vancouver and Seattle will debut for the 2025-26 season.
Here is the list of protected players below.
New York Sirens: F Sarah Fillier, D Ella Shelton, D Micah Zandee-Hart
The first overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft, Fillier lived up to the hype as a rookie last season.
She tied for first in the PWHL in points (29) alongside Boston’s Hilary Knight. Fillier also led the league in power-play goals (5) and was fourth in goals (13).
The 24-year-old forward is one of the three finalists for PWHL Rookie of the Year as well as Forward of the Year.
Ella Shelton led the Sirens in average ice time last season (24:32) and led all PWHL defenders in goals (eight) and was fourth in points (16).
The fourth overall in the inaugural PWHL draft, she was a First-Team All-Star last season and has served as alternate captain the last two seasons.
Fellow defender Zandee-Hart was second in ice time (23:30) and had 10 points in 30 games this past season.
The 28-year-old captain was one of the first three players signed by New York in 2023.
Ottawa Charge: F Emily Clark, G Gwyneth Philips, D Ronja Savolainen
Clark finished the 2024-25 regular season with nine goals and 19 points in 30 games, second only to Tereza Vanisova in both categories on the Charge.
She stepped her game up in the playoffs, scoring three goals with two assists, including two game winners.
The 29-year-old was one of the first three player signed by Ottawa in 2023.
Philips got the opportunity to start when Emerance Maschmeyer got hurt in March and the 24-year-old ran with it.
She started all eight games in the playoffs for the Charge, backstopping the team to the PWHL Finals, going 4-0-4 with a .952 save percentage and 1.23 goals-against average and earning the Ilana Kloss Trophy as playoff MVP despite Ottawa losing to the Minnesota Frost.
In 15 regular-season games, she went 8-5-1 with a .919 save percentage and 2.11 GAA.
Savolainen averaged 16:58 of ice time as a rookie in the PWHL this season, scoring two goals with 11 points in 28 games and added one assist in the playoffs.
The 27-year-old was drafted eighth overall by Ottawa in 2024.
Toronto: D Renata Fast, F Blayre Turnbull, F Daryl Watts
Fast is nominated for the Billie Jean King MVP Award as well as Defender of the Year.
The 30-year-old led all PWHL defenders in average ice time last season (24:39) and was tied for first in points (22) alongside Minnesota’s Sophie Jaques. She led all defenders in assists (16) and was third in goals (six).
Turnbull, 31, had five goals and 11 points in 30 games as captain of Sceptres last season.
Watts was third in the PWHL in points (27) this season, her first with Toronto.
Boston: G Aerin Frankel, D Megan Keller, F Alina Muller
Frankel is a nominee for the PWHL Goaltender of the Year Award for the second straight year.
She finished second among all PWHL goaltenders in save percentage (.921) and wins (12) to go along with a 2.28 GAA.
Keller, 29, had five goals and 13 points in 30 games this season while averaging 23:46 minutes of ice time.
Muller was second on the Fleet in scoring in 2024-25, scoring seven goals with 19 points.
Montreal: F Marie-Philip Poulin, G Ann-Renee Desbiens, F Laura Stacey
For the second straight year, Poulin is one of the three finalists for the Billie Jean King MVP Award and Forward of the Year.
Poulin led the PWHL in goals this season with 19 and was fourth in points with 26.
The 34-year-old captain helped the Victoire finish first in the regular season.
Desbiens led all PWHL goaltenders in save percentage (.932), goals-against average (1.86) and wins (15) as she finished the regular season with a 15-2-1 record.
She is one of three finalists for the PWHL Goaltender of the Year Award.
Stacey had 11 goals and 22 points in 27 games with Montreal last season.
Minnesota: F Taylor Heise, F Kendall Coyne-Schofield, D Lee Stecklein
In her second PWHL season, Heise had eight goals and 22 points in 29 games before adding seven points in eight playoff games to help the Frost win its second straight Walter Cup.
Heise won the inaugural Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP award last year after scoring five goals with three assists in Minnesota’s first championship run.
Coyne-Schofield led the Frost in goals (12) and points (30) this season as captain.
Stecklein led all Frost defenders in ice time (23:01) last season to go along with three goals and nine points.