The Seattle Torrent are making their Professional Women’s Hockey League debut this season alongside the Vancouver Goldeneyes as the first expansion clubs in league history.
Seattle has positioned themselves to be a good team right away. The Torrent used the expansion draft and the exclusive signing window to secure star talent and promising pieces for the present and future.
Seattle nabbed forwards Hannah Bilka, Jessie Eldridge and Julia Gosling as well as defenders Aneta Tejralova, Anna Wilgren, Megan Carter and Emily Brown in the expansion draft. Bilka, Gosling, Wilgren and Carter were all rookies in 2024-25.
The team also took full advantage of the exclusive signing window, inking forwards Hilary Knight, Alex Carpenter and Danielle Serdachny, as well as defender Cayla Barnes and goaltender Corinne Schroeder.
Knight, who finished tied for first in the PWHL in points (29) and tied for second in goals (15) last season with the Boston Fleet, was named Seattle captain on Nov. 14.
Carpenter had 11 goals and 20 points in 26 games for the New York Sirens in 2024-25.
At the 2025 PWHL Draft,
Seattle selected Ohio State forward Jenna Buglioni eighth overall at the 2025 PWHL Draft. As a fifth-year senior in 2024-25, the Port Moody, B.C., native scored 17 goals with 42 points in 38 games. She also won two national championships as a member of the Buckeyes.
In June, former Oshawa Generals coach Steve O’Rourke was named head coach of the Torrent and he is joined by assistant coaches Christine Bumstead and Clayton Beddoes behind the bench.
Seattle’s roster is an intriguing blend of well-established veterans and young players with room to grow. Serdachny (second), Bilka (fourth), Barnes (fifth) and Gosling (sixth) were all selected in the first round of the 2024 PWHL Draft.
Despite missing almost three months with a lower-body injury last season with Boston, Bilka scored five goals with 11 points in 16 games while Barnes had 13 points in 30 games and averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time with the Montreal Victoire.
Serdachny helped the Ottawa Charge reached the PWHL Finals but struggled offensively in her first season with just two goals and eight points in 30 games. It was a similar story for Gosling in Toronto, who had four goals and 10 points in 30 appearances.
Schroeder is expected to be the No. 1 goaltender and shoulder a heavy workload. Despite playing for the struggling Sirens, who have finished last two years in a row, Schroeder was strong in 20 appearances last season. She put up a 10-8-2 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average.
Backup goaltender Carly Jackson was inked as a free agent in July. Jackson saw minimal ice time last year with the Sceptres, starting just one regular-season game on April 29, a 2-1 shootout win over New York.
With Kristen Campbell struggling and regular Raygan Kirk injured, Jackson made their playoff debut in a critical Game 4 against Minnesota, but Toronto lost in overtime 4-3 and were eliminated by the two-time champions.
Seattle opens the regular season on Nov. 21 on the road against the Goldeneyes at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
