PREVIEW – The Toronto Sceptres 2025-26 PWHL season will feel very different for Sceptres fans. With a few notable exceptions, the Sceptres roster, like a lot of the PWHL teams, experienced a large turnover with their rosters, with a big part of that being the two expansion teams, Seattle and Vancouver, coming into the league this year.
Notable Players Returning: Renata Fast, Emma Maltais, Natalie Spooner, and Blayre Turnbull.
Notable Players Leaving: Megan Carter, Izzy Daniel, Julia Gosling, Hannah Miller, Sarah Nurse, and Haley Skamura.
Acquired Players: Elaine Chulie, Claire Dulton, and Claire de George.
2025-26 Toronto Sceptres Season: The Expansion Era Has Begun
Losing Sarah Nurse and Hannah Miller to the Vancouver Goldeneyes
Just like the other inaugural PWHL teams, the Sceptres lost a lot of great players. Two of the most notable ones might be Hannah Miller and Sarah Nurse. Miller was second on the team with a total number of 24 points. This is while Nurse, who was injured for a major part of last season, was tied for second in points in the league for the 2023-24 PWHL season. She also led the Sceptres (then the PWHL Toronto team) with 12 assists dished out in the PWHL’s inaugural season.
Losing Miller, while unfortunate, was expected. She grew up in Vancouver and probably wants to play in front of family and friends. Losing Nurse though was a bit unexpected as she was one of the faces of the franchise and one of the Sceptres’ first-ever signings. This is what Nurse said about the move, as she was also unprotected by Toronto for the expansion draft (Source: Sarah Nurse of Toronto Life):
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Toronto Sceptres Acquisitions
Ella Shelton
While the Sceptres lost some star power with Miller and Nurse, they also gained some star power on the defensive line. Ella Shelton, a Canadian and Olympic Gold Medalist, is now a Sceptre player. The Sceptres traded both their first and fourth round picks for Shelton in the 2025 PWHL Draft.
Shelton scored the first-ever goal in PWHL history while playing for PWHL New York (now the New York Sirens) against PWHL Toronto (now the Toronto Sceptres) at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
This is what she said according to Gilbert Ngabo of the Toronto Star:
“Still one of my top-10 moments in my life, for sure,” the 27-year-old defender said Friday morning. “That was such a monumental moment not only for women’s hockey, but for myself. To be able to go back to that and share that with my family, because it was here in Toronto and my support system was here celebrating with me … it’s pretty crazy to be back in the city where it all happened.”
Sceptres’ management is excited about the prospect of Shelton joining the team. This is what general manager of the Sceptres, Gina Kingsbury, said, according to C Benwell of The Hockey News:
“When Ella became available to us, it made sense with our lineup. That was something that we felt would solidify our D corps,” said Kingsbury after the draft. “And bringing Ella to Toronto is something that we’re really excited about.”
READ MORE: Renata Fast: Versatile Toronto Sceptres Defender
Toronto Sceptres Acquired Several Players from the Montreal Victoire
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The Sceptres acquired Clair DeGeorge from the Montreal Victoire earlier this year. This is what the general manager, Kingsbury, said about the win (Source: PWHL):
“We are excited to welcome Clair to our organization,” said General Manager Kingsbury. “Clair is a 200-foot centre that is defensively responsible with some offensive upside. She will bring PWHL experience to our lineup, including being a Walter Cup Champion.”
DeGeorge was not the only player to come from Montreal; they also signed Elaine Chuli and Claire Dalton. This is what Kingsbury said about the signings (Source: Toronto Sceptres Staff):
“Elaine brings consistency to our team. A proven goalie in the league, she brings a lot of traits we value both on and off the ice. We are also excited to have signed Claire Dalton, who brings size, a great shot and a high ceiling,” said general manager Kingsbury. “We believe these two athletes will excel in our market, and we are excited to have them in Sceptres jerseys.”
Chuli was the backup goaltender for Montreal and provided some depth with starting goaltenders Kristen Campbell and Raygen Kirk. If a goalie does not play well or gets injured, there are options for the Sceptres.
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As for Dalton, she has some history in Toronto as she grew up in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and previously played for the Toronto Six of the PHF before that league folded.
Additionally, the Toronto Sceptres have drafted some noteworthy forwards on the team, such as Emma Gentry of St. Cloud State University, Kiara Zanon of Ohio University, and Clara Van Wieren of the University of Minnesota, as mentioned by the PWHL website.
New Teams Coming to the League
A big reason why the Sceptres lost a lot of their players, including Miller and Nurse, is the two expansion teams coming into the PWHL. These cities are Seattle and Vancouver. It makes sense geographically, as both cities will need each other for proximity, as the other cities in the league are just too far to create that type of rivalry.
The Seattle Torrent will play at the Climate Pledge Arena, which is the same arena that the NHL team, the Seattle Kraken, play in. As for the Vancouver Goldeneyes, they are in a very fortunate and advantageous position. They will play at Pacific Coliseum and will be the main tenant for the arena. This means that branding and the logo will be prominent at the arena.
The Seattle Torrent will have stars such as Hilary Knight and former Sceptres player, Julia Gosling, while the Vancouver Goldeneyes will have players such as Nurse and Miller.
This is what PWHL executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer said about expansion, according to Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News:
“We added Vancouver and Seattle this year, two teams, we’re going to expand at least 2-4 teams next year, we are in growth mode and this league is exploding,” said Scheer.
This increases the number of teams to eight and officially ends the inaugural six era of the PWHL.
Players to Watch For: Blayre Turnbull and Renata Fast
While there are other players to note, these two are very significant for a few reasons. These two players, along with Nurse at the time, were the three original players to sign with the organization, as mentioned by Ali Bologna of the PWHL website.
It is also important to note that when other people talk about a player’s skill, it means the player is doing something right. This is what Allie Munroe said about Fast, according to Karissa Donkin of CBC Sports:
“I would steal Renata Fast’s speed,” Toronto defender Allie Munroe said. “Easy answer.”
This is while Blayre Turnbull has been the captain of the Sceptres since its inception.
Sceptres head coach, Troy Ryan, said this about Blayre Turnbull when talking about her performance as of late, according to the PWHL website:
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Games Coming Up For The Toronto Sceptres
The regular season for the team starts on November 21. They will start playing against the Minnesota Frost on November 21 at 7:00 PM ET (6:00 PM CST) against the two-time Walter Cup champions, the Frost, at Grand Casino Arena. They will then play their home season opener against the Boston Fleet on November 29 at 2:00 PM EST at the Ricoh Coliseum.
Photo Credit: PWHL Toronto X Account on February 3, 2024, of a Natalie Spooner Headshot.
