Latest news with #PascalDaoust
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘Dream come true': Casey O'Brien back in New York to start PWHL career with hometown Sirens
NEW YORK — Looking out over the Manhattan skyline Thursday afternoon, Casey O'Brien saw both her past and future. The 23-year-old was literally at the Top of the Rock in midtown for a photo shoot two days after the New York Sirens made a bold move to trade up and select O'Brien with the third overall pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft. Advertisement For O'Brien, the chance to play in The Big Apple is personal. The highly-skilled center grew up in New York until she was 10-years-old, and skated at Chelsea Piers overlooking the Hudson River as a young girl. That she could see Chelsea Piers from her perch atop Rockefeller Center was not lost on O'Brien. 'Chelsea Piers is my home,' O'Brien told reporters at her introductory press conference. 'It's the rink I learned to skate on. That's really the rink that built me, so to be able to come back and reconnect with this community and be a part of New York is just a dream of true.' O'Brien is at the center — literally and figuratively — of a fairly major retooling of the Sirens roster this offseason. Veteran forwards Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque, the first players New York signed ahead of the PWHL's inaugural season in 2024, are among those not returning. And neither is star goalie Corinne Schroeder, who signed with expansion Seattle. Advertisement Sirens general manager Pascal Daoust then charted a new course for the franchise at the draft Tuesday. With the first overall pick, the Sirens selected Czech phenom forward Kristyna Kaltounkov, and that wasn't even their biggest move of the night. Just moments after picking Kaltounkov, the Sirens traded star defenseman Ella Shelton to the Toronto Sceptres in a deal that landed them two draft picks, including No. 3 overall. With that newly acquired selection, the Sirens drafted O'Brien. 'Obviously, I didn't know that they would make the trade… I think I blacked out,' O'Brien said. 'I was trying to stay calm, not be too nervous. And then the trade happens and I was like 'oh my god, am I going to New York?' Obviously, I didn't know that my name was going to be called next, but I knew there was a possibility of it, so it was just a lot of shock and a lot of excitement.' Advertisement It was a bold move by Daoust to trade Shelton, who finished fourth among all PWHL defenseman with 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) last season and scored the first goal in League history on Jan. 1, 2024. But the chance to select O'Brien, widely-regarded as the best prospect in the 2025 draft class, trumped that. Daoust doubled down on the Sirens youth movement and came away with two of the top three selections in the draft. Related: Final 2025 NHL Mock Draft: Who follows after Islanders select Matthew Schaefer with No. 1 pick 'That's the dream': Casey O'Brien excited to join Sarah Fillier with hometown Sirens Credit: Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Playing for the Wisconsin Badgers, O'Brien led the NCAA in scoring with 88 points in 41 games, and won the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Award, presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey. She was also named WCHA Player and Forward of the Year. Advertisement More importantly, O'Brien helped lead Wisconsin to the National Championship. 'Every year at Wisconsin was unique,' said O'Brien. 'It depends on the team, and there are different formulas for success, but I think I can take everything that I learned, especially as a leader there, and bring it to New York.' O'Brien helped Wisconsin win the NCAA title three times in her five seasons (one extra season per the COVID-19 exemption). She is Wisconsin's all-time leader in points (274) and assists (177). Her career points total is eighth-most in NCAA history. Her resume speaks for itself. And now the Sirens bring in a talent of her magnitude to add to a young core that is continuing to look more and more dynamic. Advertisement In each of the past two seasons, the Sirens finished last in the PWHL standings. But Daoust has a vision of building a youthful group that could be explosive down the road. O'Brien seems to be fully bought into this vision. 'I think people have to be talking about what Pascal just did in the draft,' O'Brien said. 'He kept his D-core intact for the most part and completely transformed the forwards. 'I think this team is going to be something special. I think if I was looking at each roster now after the draft, and what players they have, I would want to be on New York 100 percent.' It was just about one year ago when the Sirens drafted forward Sarah Fillier with the first overall pick. Advertisement Fillier tied Hilary Knight for the PWHL scoring lead with 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) this past season, and won the League's rookie of the year award. However, Fillier's individual success did not translate to team success, and the Sirens tied for the fewest goals scored (71) in the League over its 30-game season. Now, Fillier gets some much-needed scoring help with the addition of O'Brien and Kaltounkov. O'Brien is excited to not only play on the same team as Fillier, but maybe even be paired on a line with the emerging superstar. 'That's the dream,' O'Brien said about playing with Fillier. 'I mean growing up, even when I was little, I was hearing her name. I was watching her play youth hockey and then into Princeton and Team Canada, wherever it may be. I'm a really big fan of her game. She can score, she can pass, she can set people up, she can kind of do it all. I'm really excited for the opportunity to play with her, and I hope we can be linemates at some point.' Advertisement O'Brien is really living out the dream. She has the opportunity to play with some of the most talented women hockey players in the world and gets to do it where her hockey journey all began in New York. She's already accomplished so much throughout her hockey career thus far, yet now the real work truly begins. 'It's been an absolute whirlwind,' O'Brien remarked. 'I didn't pack for this, I wasn't expecting this, so to hear my name called by the city that I grew up in, and then to be here in person a few days later, it's surreal. It's amazing.' Related Headlines
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bold Trade Brings Casey O'Brien Home To New York
Casey O'Brien has dreamed of playing professional hockey since she was little. And that dream started in New York City learning to play in Manhattan at Chelsea Piers. "It's amazing, I grew up skating in Chelsea Piers," O'Brien said on CBS Mornings. "New York is my roots, it's the rink that built me. So to be able to come back here and give back to the community and try to built the youth game in New York is so special and so important." Advertisement O'Brien moved to Boston around age 10, but still considers New York home. After the Sirens selected Kristyna Kaltounkova first overall, and Boston chose Haley Winn second, O'Brien thought the chances of playing in either of her home towns was gone. That was, however, until New York general manager Pascal Daoust pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade sending defender Ella Shelton to the Toronto Sceptres for the third overall pick and 27th overall pick. With that third choice, New York snagged O'Brien, who led the NCAA in scoring this season and was named the NCAA's top player winning the Patty Kazmaier Award with the University of Wisconsin. "It's so special, the fact that they traded up for me means even more," said O'Brien following her seelection. "I grew up in New York City so it's a little bit like coming home. I've seen how New York can rally behind its sports teams, and so I'm really excited to be a part of that and get to New York and meet the fans and meet my teammates." Advertisement Alongside Kaltounkova, PWHL Rookie of the Year Sarah Fillier, a strong defensive corps, and other young players including 2025 draft pick and O'Brien's former Wisconsin linemate Makenna Webster, New York looks like an exciting young team. After two straight seasons finishing at the bottom of the standings, New York will look to climb up the ranks of the PWHL. If they don't, their team will look even more dynamic following a stacked 2026 draft, but O'Brien, a player used to winning at Wisconsin, should go a long way toward making the New York Sirens a better team on and off the ice.
New York Times
25-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
PWHL Draft 2025: Best picks, biggest surprises and why New York stole the show
OTTAWA – Pascal Daoust started Tuesday night's PWHL Draft under a microscope. The New York franchise Daoust has constructed since the league's inaugural draft in 2023 finished last in the league standings two years in a row. He left American star forward Alex Carpenter unprotected in expansion and left many fans confused by his choice to stockpile defenders at the expense of the team's forward talent. Advertisement Understandably, a lot of pre-draft chatter was about what exactly Daoust might be doing. But three picks into the first-round – and certainly by the end of the night, with two trades and nine selections, including two of the top three players available – Daoust was at the winner's table. He started by selecting Kristýna Kaltounková with the No. 1 pick, adding a physical forward with international experience and a heavy shot to bring more offense to the Sirens lineup. It was hardly a surprising pick given Kaltounková's experience with New York head coach Greg Fargo from Colgate University. But then came the first big move of the night: New York sent defender Ella Shelton to Toronto in exchange for the No. 3 pick and a fourth-round pick. With the No. 3 pick, Daoust selected Patty Kazmaier Award winner Casey O'Brien, adding a gifted playmaker and highly productive college forward to the early haul. He leveraged a position of strength to draft the two best forwards coming out of the NCAA. 'Coming here, I didn't have one specific plan. I was open-minded,' Daoust told The Athletic. 'But the closer we got to the draft, the more I knew where I could do some shopping, and I knew that I started my own boutique 'Rent-A-D (dot) com' so I was kind of popular on the phone. 'I was patient, and there was a way for me to flip some strength from the D to put it on the forward side and that was the intent tonight.' Later in the evening, Daoust traded forward Abby Roque, who was inconsistent in New York, to Montreal in exchange for defensive forward Kristin O'Neill and a fourth-round pick. When the deal was announced, there were audible gasps throughout the crowd. The Sirens looked good on paper the last two years but couldn't quite figure things out on the ice. And there are many months until the 2025-26 season to figure out if Daoust truly pulled off the turnaround it looks like New York should have. Regardless, the Sirens and their GM stole the show for most of the 2025 PWHL Draft. But that doesn't mean there weren't other surprises or picks to unpack around the league. Let's get into it. New York had a big day with several meaningful additions to the roster. Kaltounková and O'Brien highlight the list, but Anne Cherkowski and Makenna Webster — who is also an elite field hockey player — are also strong two-way forwards who could scale the top-nine and add the kind of consistent secondary scoring that had been missing over the last two seasons. Dayle Ross should be a good shutdown defender for a blue line with a lot of offensive talent. Taking Anna Bargman — a solid two-way potential bottom-six forward from Yale — in the sixth round was a savvy way to round out a new look forward corps. Advertisement Best pick: Casey O'Brien (Round 1, No. 3) Getting O'Brien at No. 3 feels like a steal. She was the most dominant forward in college hockey last season and put together a historic offensive season. She's an elite playmaker and has shown she has easy chemistry with elite scoring wingers (like Kirsten Simms at Wisconsin), which could make O'Brien a perfect fit at center beside Sarah Fillier. Biggest surprise: Drafting two goalies Projecting goaltenders – how many get drafted and where they might land – is always a tricky exercise. I figured at least three goalies would go, given most teams needed back-ups after the expansion draft movement. But I'll admit I didn't see New York drafting both Callie Shanahan and Kaley Doyle coming, With former No. 1 Corinne Schroeder now in Seattle and backup Abbey Levy signing in Boston, maybe it shouldn't have been a big surprise that New York wanted to solidify its goalie depth chart. If nothing else, the selections set up what could be an interesting crease behind Kayle Osborne next season. Boston put together a solid draft, filling some of the big holes left in the wake of expansion. On Tuesday night, Marmer said every person they drafted is 'somebody who fits into our lineup.' That starts more obviously with No. 2 pick Haley Winn, a dynamic offensive defender who led Clarkson in scoring this season, even from the blue line. Riley Brengman is more of a third-pair option, but should shore up Boston's depth on the blue line at five-on-five and the penalty kill. At forward, Ella Huber, Olivia Mobley and Abby Newhook could add some offense back into the lineup after losing Hilary Knight and Hannah Bilka. Mobley was among the top goalscorers available out of college and only O'Brien and Kaltounková had more points than Huber (48) among draft eligibles. Best pick: Ella Huber (Round 2, No. 10) The most impactful pick next year is surely going to be Winn, but we can't just pick all the first-rounders here. And Huber at 10th overall is a nice pickup by Marmer. Huber is a versatile forward who adds some necessary speed to Boston's lineup. She'll also be able to play multiple different roles for the Fleet, either as a third-line checking forward or the 1C beside a star winger, like she's done for years beside Abbey Murphy at Minnesota. Advertisement Biggest surprise: Abby Newhook (Round 5, No. 34) The Boston College forward was listed as one of the league's top prospects, but fell to Round 5, where Marmer said she was 'wildly surprised' to see her still available. Newhook is a high-skill player who coaches call a total work horse. Her production last season doesn't jump off the page, but she can elevate her game when playing with elite players and could find success in Boston as a result. 'I think people are going to be surprised by the success that she can have in this league,' Marmer said. Toronto certainly got bigger through the draft with four out of five players measuring at least 5-foot-9 and one (Emma Gentry) as tall as 5-foot-11. GM Gina Kingsbury said it wasn't a priority to simply add size, but it was the size mixed with the skill and upside of each player that drew them to Toronto. Gentry, for example, has pro size, is a physical competitor and has a nose for the net. Clara Van Wieren is another physically imposing center, but is also coming off a 40-point NCAA season. The Sceptres also made a trade splash sending Kristen Campbell and the 19th overall pick to Vancouver in exchange for the 16th and 23rd picks. The move looks like a win-win for a team that wanted more stability in the crease, and a player who probably needed a fresh start. Best pick: Sara Hjalmarsson (Round 5, No. 35) Hjalmarsson went undrafted last season, and might have flown under the radar compared to some college forwards after playing the last two seasons in the SDHL. She's a good offensive player and brings size (5-foot-9) to the lineup. Hjalmarsson is good at the net front and projects to be a solid bottom-six power forward for Toronto, which would fill the hole left by Julia Gosling in expansion. Biggest surprise: The Shelton trade Heading into the draft, Toronto's biggest need was arguably at forward after losing Sarah Nurse, Hannah Miller, Izzy Daniel and Gosling in expansion and free agency. But instead of drafting a top forward at No. 3, the Sceptres swerved and traded for a defender. According to Kingsbury, the Shelton deal and the one to move Campbell were connected. She also said moving Campbell and acquiring another second-round pick gave the team 'more courage' to give up their first-round pick and go after a defender. That Shelton was available at all is a bit of a surprise, too, but was likely the only defender who would elicit such a strong return for New York. Shelton was a finalist for Defender of the Year just last season and led all defenders in goals this season (8). Her addition solidifies the Toronto blue line and will allow No. 1 defender Renata Fast to not play quite as much as she has over the last two seasons. Montreal did a nice job adding a mix of skill and depth through the draft. Selecting Nicole Gosling was a great start at No. 4. She's a cerebral defender and broke Erin Ambrose's all-time scoring record at Clarkson with 148 career points. Natalie Mlýnková should add some goal scoring to the top-six while Skylar Irving and Maya Labad could be excellent bottom-six additions. On the blueline, Tamara Giaquinto, the Big East Defender of the Year, was a solid final round pick. Advertisement Best pick: Natálie Mlýnková (Round 2, No. 12) With four defenders going in the first round, some top forwards dropped out of the first round, including Mlýnková, a gifted goal scorer from the University of Minnesota. She's a smaller forward but is slippery with the puck, can escape small areas and is good at finding soft spots in the offensive zone to get her shot off. In Montreal, Mlýnková could be a scoring winger beside Marie-Philip Poulin, or add much-needed secondary scoring from Line 2. Biggest surprise: The Roque trade For all the talk about New York, Montreal acquiring Abby Roque might be the most interesting thing that happened on draft night. She's an American forward who opponents hate to play against, and she's had her fair share of physical run-ins with Poulin. LMAO who remembers this😅 welcome to mtl abby roque — 💭 (@habsxmtl) June 25, 2025 GM Danièle Sauvageau said when the offer first came to her, she thought, Why would we be doing this? But as she thought more she realized that Roque could be a strong 2C for Montreal, which made the deal work. And while it was surely hard to trade O'Neill, Roque could also be a more consistent offensive center than O'Neill had been, with a similar grit and sandpaper to her game. Ottawa's draft class was interesting. First, they added Rory Guilday, the 5-foot-11 shutdown defender from Cornell University, at No. 5 to beef up the blue line. Then GM Mike Hirshfeld took a swing at Russian forward Anna Shokhina with their second-round pick, and later added her compatriot 27-year-old forward Fanuza Kadirova. Sarah Wozniewicz, one of the best checking forwards in college, was a perfect Ottawa Charge selection, especially given her connection to coach Carla MacLeod, who coached Wozniewicz in high school. Peyton Hemp, a consistent top-six forward at Minnesota was also a nice pick up. Goalie Sanni Ahola also adds depth behind No. 1 goalie Gwyneth Philips. Best pick: Sanni Ahola (Round 5, No. 37) It was surprising to see Ahola drop to the fifth round behind two other goalies. She's been Finland's No. 1 goalie at women's worlds the last few years and was unbelievable in 2024, making the third-most saves (169) in the tournament to get Finland back on the podium. She was also named WCHA Goalie of the Year in 2023-24 after posting five shutouts and a .935 save percentage. Advertisement Ahola had a down year at St. Cloud this season, which is probably why she dropped, but Ottawa did well to pick her up. 'To see her still available at that point, we were a little bit surprised, to be honest with you,' said Hirshfeld. 'But absolutely thrilled to get her and think she'll be a really terrific backup for (Philips).' Biggest surprise: Anna Shokhina (Round 2, No. 13) A star in Russia, Shokhina was a wild card heading into Tuesday night's draft. She has led the top league in Russia in scoring six times and has been named MVP once. She's a highly skilled winger who looked to be a worthwhile late-round bet. But Hirshfeld — who called Shokhina the fourth most talented player in the draft — jumped at the chance to draft her in the second round. It's still a question about how her game might translate, given the varied quality of the ZhHL and PWHL, but Hirshfeld was steadfast that Shokhina is 'going to be a superstar in this league.' Minnesota's top priority on Tuesday was rebuilding the blue line after losing four lineup regulars — Sophie Jaques, Claire Thompson, Mellissa Chanell-Watkins and Maggie Flaherty — from the 2025 championship team. In the first-round, the Frost drafted for need, selecting an offensive-minded defender in Kendall Cooper. Then drafted a pair of right-shot defenders in Ava Rinker, a quick transitional player, and Brooke Becker, a more physical defender, in the later rounds. Best pick: Abby Hustler (Round 2, No. 14) General manager Melissa Caruso said she was 'shocked' Hustler was available to Minnesota at 14th overall. She has good size (5-foot-9) and is a great power forward, which could fill the void left by Brooke McQuigge being taken by Vancouver. Hustler has a pro shot and good feel for the puck around the net. Only Kaltounková and O'Brien had more goals last season than Hustler's 19 among college draft eligibles. She should be a seamless fit in Minnesota's middle-six. Biggest surprise: Anna Segedi (Round 3, No. 22) Segedi is a very smart center who is strong on faceoffs. She was captain at St. Lawrence as a fifth-year senior this season and has international experience playing for China at women's worlds and at the 2022 Olympics. Maybe the hope is that Segedi will replace Denisa Křížová as a bottom-six center, but the third-round felt like a bit of a reach for a depth center. After so much buzz around the expansion draft and free agency, Vancouver had a relatively quiet draft night — save for trading for Campbell and drafting one of the very best European forwards of all-time in Michelle Karvinen. Cara Gardner Morey rounded out those moves with depth on defense, drafting well-rounded defender Nina Jobst-Smith from Minnesota-Duluth, and at forward with Brianna Brooks, a 5-foot-9 right-shot forward from Penn State. Advertisement Best pick: Michelle Karvinen (Round 1, No. 7) The Karvinen pick was the kind of savvy win-now move we've already come to expect from Gardner Morey as general manager. The 35-year old forward is still skilled and was productive in the SDHL last season. She's a good skater, smart with the puck and has good hands in tight, particularly around the net. She might not play as long as some of the younger forwards taken in Round 2, but rather than estimating a players development path, Gardner Morey – and Vancouver head coach Brian Idalski who coached Karvinen at North Dakota – will know exactly what they're getting out of the veteran next season. Biggest Surprise: Chanreet Bassi (Round 6, No. 48) With the final pick in the draft, Vancouver selected a B.C. born forward and University of British Columbia standout Chanreet Bassi. She was the only USports player drafted this year and becomes just the sixth all-time to be taken in a PWHL Draft. Bassi is also the first South Asian player to be drafted in the PWHL. She finished top three in conference scoring each of her last four years playing in Canada West and can play a gritty physical style of hockey in Vancouver's bottom-six. It was a nice pick for a local player who will get a good shot at a depth role in training camp. With so much elite talent joining Seattle out of the expansion signing period and draft, such as Hilary Knight and Carpenter, GM Meghan Turner mostly focused on adding depth and complementary pieces to all three positions. Ohio State's Jenna Buglioni is a hard-working center who can play up and down the lineup. Hannah Murphy can be a solid No. 2 behind Corinne Schroeder. Lyndie Lobdell, a right-shot from Penn State can add depth to the blueline that already includes Cayla Barnes and Aneta Tejralová. While forward Jada Habisch and Olivia Wallin could be useful bottom-six players. 'We have a strong group of elite players,' said Turner. 'And I think this group is going to complement that group we already have very well.' Best Pick: Hannah Murphy (Round 2, No. 15) At this point in the draft, there were still some solid forwards available like Kiara Zanon and Makenna Webster. But with Buglioni taken in the first-round, I actually really like the Murphy selection in Round 2. She was The Athletic's top goalie available after posting an outstanding .939 save percentage in her final year at Colgate. Murphy is a good sized, athletic, and technically sound goalie. With Seattle being on the west coast and so much projected travel, it's going to be key to have two good goaltenders. Murphy should be able to take some of the workload off Schroeder, if not become a reliable 1B in a tandem. Biggest Surprise: Olivia Wallin (Round 6, No. 47) Wallin was perhaps the biggest faller of the night, being selected by Seattle with their sixth and final pick in the draft. She scored 40 points for the University of Minnesota-Duluth last season, which was tied for the team lead with Clara Van Wieren, who was taken in the third-round by Toronto. Turner didn't seem surprised that Wallin was still available at that point in the draft, which speaks to the question marks some evaluators raised about Wallin's ability to progress as a pro forward. Still, at her best, Wallin has a knack for scoring and Turner said she was happy with the selection. (Top photo of Kristýna Kaltounková : AP Photo / Petr David Josek)
CBC
24-06-2025
- Sport
- CBC
New York Sirens pick Czech forward Kristýna Kaltounková 1st overall in PWHL draft
The New York Sirens have selected Colgate University forward Kristýna Kaltounková with the first pick in the 2025 PWHL draft on Tuesday, adding a forward with size and skill. 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.
San Francisco Chronicle
24-06-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
New York Sirens set to restock expansion-depleted roster with No. 1 pick in PWHL draft
New York Sirens general manager Pascal Daoust opens the PWHL draft on Tuesday night holding the No. 1 pick with an opportunity to begin restocking a roster that lost plenty of of top talent in the league's recent expansion draft and signing period. The Sirens have offensive holes to fill at forward, after losing two of their three leading three scorers — Alex Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge — as well as starting goalie Corinne Schroeder to Seattle. Daoust, however, hasn't ruled out selecting a defenseman at No. 1 in adding to his already deep blue-line core. Wisconsin's Casey O'Brien, women's college hockey's MVP last season, and Colgate's Kristyna Kaltounkova are considered the top-ranked forward prospects available. Kaltounkova is from the Czech Republic and has the opportunity to be the first European-born player to go first in the PWHL draft. Rounding out the top-three prospects is Clarkson defenseman Haley Winn entering the eight-team, six-round draft, the league's third since being established. The Sirens are selecting first for the second straight year after once again finishing last in the standings. Their first pick last year was Sarah Fillier, who finished tied for the PWHL lead with 29 points. The Boston Fleet, who lost star player Hilary Knight to Seattle, have the second pick, followed by the Toronto Sceptres and Montreal Victoire. The Ottawa Charge are scheduled to pick fifth followed by the two-time defending champion Minnesota Frost. Vancouver won a random draw to have the seventh pick, with Seattle going eighth. The two expansion teams will then alternate the order in each successive round. ___
