Toronto Sceptres 2025-26 Season Preview

In two short seasons, the Toronto Sceptres have asserted themselves as perennial contenders with two standout regular season finishes with winning percentages above .500. Unfortunately, Toronto’s regular-season success has not yet carried over into the postseason, with the Sceptres falling, 3-1 to the Minnesota Frost, the eventual Walter Cup champions in May.

“To finish in the same spot we did in year one is obviously disappointing,” general manager Gina Kingsbury told us in a recent interview. “In the same breath though, we recognize how close the league is, how tight things are and how great of a team Minnesota has as well.”

Toronto’s target for the new season is straight forward: get through round one. The team looks a bit different after the expansion process, but the goal remains the same.

“We do feel that we want to get past that round and continue to build an organization that will be at the top end of the leaderboard for many years to come,” said Kingsbury.

Rookies to watch: Emma Gentry and Kiara Zanon

The Sceptres took an aggressive approach at the 2025 PWHL Draft, pulling the trigger on a pair of significant trades. The first sent their first- and fourth-round picks to New York in exchange for star defender Ella Shelton. The second trade involved Toronto sending goaltender Kristen Campbell to Vancouver in exchange for a second-round pick as well as a swap of third-round selections.

While the Sceptres were left without a first-round pick, they gained an extra second-round pick in compensation. The team used their two second-round picks to select a pair of promising forwards: Gentry and Zanon.

“With Gentry and Zanon, we feel that they’re two very unique pieces that we’re bringing to our roster,” said Kingsbury. “Once we made the decision on bringing in Ella and knowing what we were sacrificing in the first round, we wanted to make sure we had more of a selection for the second round.”

Gentry spent five years at St. Cloud State University, recording 59 goals and 90 points in 152 games. She profiles as a goal scorer capable of supplying the team with steady offense even as a rookie.

Zanon played her first three years of college hockey at Penn State before transferring to Ohio State for her final two seasons. Ultimately, she recorded 75 goals and 191 points in 171 NCAA games. She also played (and lived, per this fun IG post) alongside Sceptres goalie Raygan Kirk at OSU.

Together, Zanon and Gentry will provide depth to a Toronto offense that could be formidable next season.

Key new and returning veterans to monitor: Ella Shelton and Natalie Spooner

Big draft-day pickup Shelton is an elite defender capable of putting up big points. She’s finished as a top-five scorer at her position in each of the last two seasons and famously scored the first goal in PWHL history—coincidentally against Toronto.

On top of being a scorer, Shelton is also a player with a track record of winning. She won back-to-back NCAA championships with Clarkson University during her college career. Since then, she’s been a mainstay on Canada’s National Team, bringing home three World Championship gold medals and an Olympic gold medal.

“Ella is a proven athlete in our league and one of the best D in the league,” said Kingsbury. “She brings offense from the back end, she brings leadership in the locker room, and with her acquisition we felt that we would be securing one of the best D-corps on the league.”

Adding Shelton to a group that already includes Defender of the Year Renata Fast is a truly scary thought for the rest of the league. Fans will want to keep an eye on how the one-two punch of Shelton and Fast starts the season.

It may seem strange to highlight Spooner as a player to watch this season, given the Canadian legend’s prolific international and professional career. However, the league’s inaugural season MVP missed the first half of last year with an ACL injury and returned to record three goals and five points in 14 games.

It is well known that it can take a while for players to feel like themselves even after being physically fit to return from an ACL injury. With a summer under her belt and a full training camp heading into the 2025-26 season, Spooner appears ready to return to her long-established track record of scoring.

When at her best, Spooner is a proven goal scorer. In her first year with Toronto, she scored 20 goals in 27 games to lead the entire PWHL in goals and points. If Spooner returns to that level of play, Toronto will receive a major boost on the offensive side of the puck.

Between the pipes: Raygan Kirk and Elaine Chuli

Trading away Campbell opens Toronto’s crease where a pair of formidable netminders are ready to seize new opportunities. Going into the year, the Sceptres have two proven keepers who have served primarily in supporting roles with Kirk and former Montréal Victoire backup Elaine Chuli, who signed a one-year deal with Toronto during the summer.

In 10 games last season, the 2024 NCAA Championship-winning Kirk maintained a 2.26 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. Chuli’s numbers are very similar. In 11 games, she recorded a 2.42 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.

A platoon approach between the pipes could serve Toronto very well, allowing them to flip back and forth between Chuli and Kirk depending on who is finding success. “It’s going to be a battle for number one,” said Kingsbury. “Both are very good goalies that have a lot to offer and maybe haven’t had the chance to take a number one position … I like the compete they both are going to bring to the table to win that number one spot.”

Leadership/Coaching

Kingsbury is in her third year as Sceptres’ GM, just like Troy Ryan is in his third year as coach. Needless to say, these two have strong reputations and have built outstanding chemistry over their time in Toronto and from holding the same roles for Hockey Canada’s women’s program.

On the ice, captain Blayre Turnbull as well as alternates Fast and Allie Munroe—a steady and reliable defender who was appointed an ‘A’ late last season—all return for the 2025-26 season.

The consistency across the Sceptres leadership group will help Toronto maintain its culture and standard of excellence.

Season Outlook

Toronto has all the pieces to be a very dangerous team if everything falls into place this season. Not to be overlooked is the scoring prowess of Daryl Watts, a Toronto native, who finished third in PWHL scoring and earned a commitment by the team as a protected member during the expansion process. She is on an upward trajectory among the league’s elite talents, and her continued development could help offset some of the departing production seen from the likes of Hannah Miller and Sarah Nurse during the team’s first two seasons.

The Frost proved this past season that championships can be built off the back of defensive scoring, and Toronto is following suit with a D-corps that has the potential to lead the league in points.

As a team, the Sceptres have established that they are regular season contenders; where they need to make strides is in the postseason.