New York Sirens pick Czech forward Kristýna Kaltounková 1st overall in PWHL draft
Kaltounková became the first player from the Czech Republic to become a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in college hockey this season at Colgate, where she produced 48 points in 37 games.
She is Colgate's all-time leading goal scorer, with 111 goals over five seasons.
In her world championship debut this past spring, Kaltounková tied fellow draft-eligible forward, Natálie Mlýnková, for the team lead in points (six in seven games).
She is now the highest-drafted player in the PWHL from the Czech Republic.
The Sirens could slot Kaltounková on its first line alongside Sarah Fillier, giving the team two bonafide shooting threats, and filling a hole left by the departure of Alex Carpenter during the expansion process.
Kaltounková is New York's second first-overall pick in three PWHL seasons, after GM Pascal Daoust picked Fillier in 2024.
The draft comes after an expansion process that saw the league's rosters thrown in a blender. Vancouver and Seattle will begin play next season, and lots of teams still have holes to fill after the expansion draft and free agency.
Other top prospects include University of Wisconsin forward Casey O'Brien and Clarkson University defenders Haley Winn and Nicole Gosling.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Yankees reliever Luke Weaver calls for catcher's interference infractions to be limited
TORONTO (AP) — Luke Weaver wants Major League Baseball to limit catcher's interference calls. With two on and one out in the seventh inning of a 4-4 game, the New York Yankees reliever thought he had struck out Toronto pinch-hitter Addison Barger. Then a video review determined Barger's bat nicked the mitt of rookie catcher J.C. Escarra, sending the batter to first and loading the bases. Ernie Clement followed with a single off shortstop Anthony Volpe's glove to drive in the go-ahead run, George Springer hit a grand slam and Blue Jays won 12-5 Tuesday to close within a game of the AL East-leading Yankees. 'It's just a real silly thing to happen,' Weaver said. Escarra, starting for the second straight day because of Austin Wells' circulation issue with his left index finger, was cited for interference in Monday's 5-4 loss. That call allowed Springer to reach in the sixth inning, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. followed with a tiebreaking, two-run single. 'It's pretty devastating, honestly,' Weaver said. 'I feel like that's a really unfortunate part of our game. I don't really personally think that belongs in our game. I think there should be some type of discretion to it. I understand that there are moments where it's very egregious, they hit the glove on a full swing, but you feel like you earned something there and it was taken from you.' Catcher's interference calls have risen with the importance of pitch framing. There were 100 last year, up from 61 in 2021 and just nine in 2017. There were 45 this year through Monday. 'I was too close today,' Escarra said. 'I was just too deep in there trying to steal that low strike.' 'It's just trying to get the glove in the zone,' he added. 'If the pitch is out of the zone I'm just trying to move it as fast as possible up and forward to steal that strike, to make it look like a strike to umpires.' New York has been called for catcher's interference four times, one shy of Boston's major league-leading total and matching the Yankees final figure for 2024. 'We're incredibly diligent on trying to eliminate that as much as possible,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. 'The checked swing, there should probably be something looked into that where a check swing can't get you beat like that.' Escarra's miscue was New York's only error Tuesday, but third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a wide throw to first on Davis Schneider's slow roller in the fourth, ruled an infield single. Two batters later, Andrés Giménez hit a three-run homer for a 4-2 lead. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Asked whether he would consider moving Chisholm back to second base and shift DJ LeMahieu to third, Boone responded: 'We'll talk through that stuff. I think both guys are really talented defenders wherever they line up but we'll continue to look at things like that.' Yankees relievers have struggled during a 6-12 slide. The bullpen took a blow this week when Fernandez Cruz was diagnosed with a high-grade oblique strain. 'Some of those guys have been leaned on heavily,' Boone said. 'It's on me to — I got to do a better job of getting those guys in positions where they can be successful.' ___ AP MLB:
Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Springer has career-high 7 RBIs, Blue Jays beat Yankees 12-5 to pull within 1 game of AL East lead
TORONTO (AP) — George Springer had a career-high seven RBIs, including his ninth grand slam, and the Toronto Blue Jays celebrated Canada Day by beating the Yankees 12-5 on Tuesday and closing within one game of AL East-leading New York. Andrés Giménez had a go-ahead, three-run homer for the Blue Jays, who overcame a 2-0 deficit against Max Fried. After the Yankees tied the score 4-4 in the seventh, Toronto broke open the game in the bottom half against a reeling Yankees bullpen. Springer went 3 for 4, starting the comeback with a solo homer in the fourth against Fried and boosting the lead to 9-5 with the slam off Luke Weaver after Ernie Clement's go-ahead single off shortstop Anthony Volpe's glove. Springer has 13 homers this season. Toronto won the first two games of the four-game series and closed within one game of the Yankees for the first time since before play on April 20. New York went 2 for 17 with runners in scoring position, dropping to 3 for 24 in the series, while the Blue Jays were 5 for 7. After going 13-14 in June, the Yankees fell to 10-14 against AL East rivals. Aaron Judge had two singles and three walks, including his 21st intentional free pass this year, and Jasson Domínguez drove in three runs. Mark Leiter Jr. (4-6) lost for the second straight day while Braydon Fisher (2-0) got two outs for the Blue Jays, who have won nine of 14. Giménez put Toronto ahead 4-2 by homering in a four-run fourth off Fried, who had been 8-1 with a 0.93 ERA in 10 starts following Yankees losses. New York was hurt by a catcher's interference call against rookie J.C. Escarra for the second straight day, which was followed by Clement's go-ahead hit. A wide throw by third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a two-out grounder was followed by Giménez's homer. Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, who hurt a hamstring Monday, didn't play but took part in pregame work. Key moment Springer has 26 multi-homer games. Key stat Fried allowed multiple homers for the second time after giving up a pair to Shohei Ohtani on May 30. Up next Yankees RHP Will Warren (5-4, 4.37 ERA) faces Toronto RHP José Berríos (4-3, 3.26) on Wednesday. ___ AP MLB:
CBC
16 hours ago
- CBC
Raptors sign first-round pick Collin Murray-Boyles to rookie-scale contract
The Toronto Raptors signed first-round pick Collin Murray-Boyles to a rookie-scale contract, the team announced Tuesday. The six-foot-seven, 239-pound forward was the ninth overall pick in last week's NBA draft coming out of the University of South Carolina. Murray-Boyles averaged 16.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in 32 games en route to earning an All-Southeastern Conference second-team selection as a sophomore. He led the SEC in field-goal percentage (.586), scored 20-plus points in 12 games and had nine double-doubles for the Gamecocks. Toronto also signed guard Chucky Hepburn to a two-way contract Tuesday. Hepburn averaged 16.4 points and 5.8 assists in 34 games as a senior year at the University of Louisville in 2024-25. The six-foot-two, 190-pound Hepburn was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-ACC first team and all-defensive team honours. He led the ACC in steals per game with 2.4.
