(Toronto) Defender Erin Ambrose on Monday became the first player to be selected by the Montreal team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (LHPF) draft.
General manager Danièle Sauvageau had the sixth and final pick of the first round, and had warned earlier that she would probably set her sights on a defender. In fact, players at this position were in demand in this draft, representing four of the six selections in the first round.
Ambrose, 29, has been a member of the Canadian senior team since 2017. She competed at the PyeongChang and Beijing Olympics, winning silver and gold, respectively. She also accompanied Canada to five world championships. An offensive defender, she will certainly drive Montreal’s numerical advantage.
“In a way, I’m coming home,” this former Canadiennes told La Presse, a few moments after learning the identity of her new team.
“Very nervous” to know where she would end up, she welcomes with a smile the prospect of remaining in familiar territory, especially as she joins an organization to which the players Marie-Philip Poulin, Ann-Renée Desbiens are already associated. and Laura Stacey, in addition to head coach Kori Cheverie, all members of the national program. She also knows Danièle Sauvageau very well.
“We can’t not love the idea of playing with Marie-Philip every day!,” she exclaimed. Ann-Renée, it’s Ann-Renée, we know what she’s capable of. And Laura doesn’t get enough credit for everything she does on the ice. I love what Danièle is building in Montreal. I have complete confidence in her. »
Like the other athletes selected in the first round, Ambrose was welcomed on stage by Ms. Sauvageau, but also by Billie Jean King, co-founder of the league, as well as by Jayna Hefford, director of the circuit.
With Montreal having the first pick of the second round, the metropolitan team immediately selected Kristin O’Neill, a 25-year-old striker also from the national team.
The small forward (5’4″) described as a “relief” the prospect of joining Marie-Philip Poulin and Ann-Renée Desbiens, already signed as free agents, rather than having to face them. In 2020-2021, after graduating from Cornell University, the Ontarian trained at Center 21.02, located at the Verdun Auditorium, in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she was excited to come back to Montreal to have the chance to discover it for good.
Despite her small size, “she is very difficult to face,” analyzed her new teammate Erin Ambrose.
In the third round, Montreal added an American, Maureen Murphy, who just finished her university career at Northeastern, in the NCAA. Thanks to a tally of 55 points in 30 games in 2022-2023, the forward was one of the finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Trophy, awarded to the country’s outstanding player.
Montreal then added Czech defender Dominika Laskova to its roster. She became only the second European to be selected, and the first player from the PHF – she played last season for the Toronto Six.
Around a hundred players gathered in Toronto with family members and representatives of LPHF teams for this inaugural LPHF draft.
The American Taylor Heise was the very first to hear her name. Fresh from the university ranks, the 23-year-old striker has already represented her country twice at the world championships, notably helping the American team win the title in the last presentation of the tournament. She will now wear the colors of the Minnesota team, her native state.
Toronto then caused a relative surprise by selecting Jocelyne Larocque. The defender, veteran of the Canadian team and triple Olympic medalist, was expected a little later by the main experts who had ventured into predictions.
Boston subsequently made Alina Müller the first European player in the league’s young history. Aged 25, this Swiss striker has already participated in three Olympic Games.
In the next row, the New York team and its general manager, Quebecer Pascal Daoust, chose Ella Shelton, a 25-year-old defender also from the Canadian national team. Ottawa continued with American defender Savannah Harmon.