TORONTO, ON (November 29, 2024) – The Toronto Sceptres have announced its official roster to open the 2024-25 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season. The Sceptres will once again host the first game of the PWHL season as they welcome fans to their new primary home venue of Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday when they face-off against the Boston Fleet at 2:00 p.m. ET.
“We feel like we have added depth to our roster with our last few signings. Strong athletes who have the ability to impact our team identity on and off the ice,” shares General Manager Gina Kingsbury. “We are excited to see how the pieces to the puzzle come together this season.”
Following pre-season Mini Camp, the Sceptres signed five players to one-year Standard Player Agreements including a trio of its 2024 draft picks in defender Lauren Bernard (4th Rd) and forwards Noemi Neubauerová (5th Rd) and Anneke Rankila (6th Rd). Defender Rylind MacKinnon and returning forward Kaitlin Willoughby were also signed to complete the active roster.
Bernard comes from Ohio State University where last season she played in 39 games, contributing 23 points, 27 blocked shots and was a +47 en route to her second NCAA Championship. Neubauerová spent the 2023-24 season with Brynäs IF in the SDHL, notching 19 points in 36 regular season games. Prior to training camp, she played for EV Zug in Switzerland and helped the team capture the EWHL Euro Cup. Rankila (Linser) spent the 2023-24 season with Djurgårdens IF of the SDHL and amassed 31 points over 36 regular season games. MacKinnon comes from the University of British Columbia where she helped the Thunderbirds win three straight Canada West titles. In her final season, she appeared in 26 regular season games and scored 22 points. Willoughby returns to the Sceptres after appearing in 23 games last year, adding an assist and two penalty minutes.
The team also signed returning players Sam Cogan, Olivia Knowles and Jess Kondas to Reserve Player contracts. Cogan saw action in 23 games last season, potting two goals and receiving six penalty minutes. Knowles patrolled the blue line in 20 games, notching one assist and six penalty minutes. Kondas was on the reserve squad last season.
Of the team’s 28 total players, 18 competed as members of PWHL Toronto during the league’s inaugural season and eight are PWHL rookies.
Limited tickets are still available for the home opener via Ticketmaster. Saturday’s game will air across Canada on CBC and internationally on YouTube.
2024-25 Toronto Sceptres Roster:
^Denotes returning players
*Denotes rookies
Forwards (14):
Victoria Bach ^
Jesse Compher ^
Maggie Connors ^
Izzy Daniel *
Julia Gosling *
Anneke Rankila *
Emma Maltais ^
Hannah Miller ^
Noemi Neubauerová *
Sarah Nurse ^
Blayre Turnbull ^
Daryl Watts
Emma Woods
Kaitlin Willoughby ^
Defenders (6):
Lauren Bernard *
Renata Fast ^
Kali Flanagan ^
Rylind MacKinnon *
Jocelyne Larocque ^
Allie Munroe ^
Goaltenders (3):
Kristen Campbell ^
Carly ‘CJ’ Jackson ^
Raygan Kirk *
Reserves (3):
Sam Cogan, F ^
Jess Kondas, D ^
Olivia Knowles, D ^
LTIR (2):
Megan Carter, D *
Natalie Spooner, F ^