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Associated Press
Jun 24, 2025, 07:41 PM ET
The New York Sirens began restocking their expansion-depleted roster by making a big splash at the top of the first round of the PWHL draft Tuesday night.
Minutes after selecting Colgate forward Kristyna Kaltounkova with the No. 1 pick, Sirens general manager Pascal Daoust completed a trade with the Toronto Sceptres to acquire the No. 3 pick and choose Wisconsin center Casey O'Brien.
Daoust traded top defenseman Ella Shelton to acquire Toronto's first- and fourth-round pick, which was No. 27.
The two forwards fill a major offensive hole after New York lost two of their three leading scorers -- Alex Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge -- as well as starting goalie Corinne Schroeder to Seattle in the PWHL expansion draft and signing process earlier this month. Carpenter and Eldridge combined to score 20 of the Sirens league-low 71 goals last season.
Kaltounkova and O'Brien join a lineup that is deep on defense and features Sarah Fillier, last year's No. 1 pick, who finished tied for the PWHL lead with 29 points.
Kaltounkova is from the Czech Republic and became the first European-born player to be selected No. 1 in the PWHL draft. She will reunite with Sirens coach Greg Fargo, who coached her at Colgate. Kaltounkova leaves the Raiders after five seasons as the school's career leading scorer with 111 goals and second with 223 points.
O'Brien was this season's Patty Kazmaier Award winner after leading the nation with 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists) for the NCAA-champion Badgers. In five seasons, the 23-year-old finished with 274 career points in 182 games to break the Wisconsin record held by four-time Olympian Hilary Knight.
The Sirens picked first for the second straight year after again finishing last in the standings.
Two Clarkson defenseman went among the top four picks with the Boston Fleet choosing Haley Winn at No. 2, and Montreal selecting Nicole Gosling at No. 4.
The Ottawa Charge were 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 in the eight-team, six-round draft.
In landing Shelton, a PWHL defender of the year finalist in 2024, the Sceptres improve a defense that already features Renata Fast. Fast and Shelton are teammates on Canada's national team and both were members of the 2022 gold medal-winning team at the Beijing Games.
