Sceptres re-sign former PWHL MVP Spooner to two-year contract

Toronto Sceptres' Natalie Spooner (24) celebrates scoring against the Montreal Victoire with her teammates during the first period of PWHL hockey action in Toronto on Thursday, March 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Thomas Skrlj

The Toronto Sceptres re-signed former MVP Natalie Spooner to a two-year deal on Tuesday.

Spooner, who turns 35 in October, appeared in just 14 games this Professional Women's Hockey League season after returning from knee surgery, finishing with five points (three goals, two assists).

She sustained the injury in a playoff game against Minnesota in May 2024 — a season in which she led the PWHL in goals (20) and points (27) en route to being named the league’s inaugural MVP.

Toronto also re-signed 25-year-old forward Jesse Compher to a two-year deal. She’s coming off a breakout season, recording nine goals and nine assists in 30 games.

The retention of Spooner and Compher was vital for Toronto, which lost star forward Sarah Nurse to PWHL Vancouver and saw all three of its top picks in last year’s draft — forwards Julia Gosling (Seattle) and Izzy Daniel (Vancouver) and defender Megan Carter (Seattle) — scooped up in the expansion process.

The Sceptres also lost forward Hannah Miller, who had a breakout season and finished among the league’s top six scorers, to Vancouver in free agency on Monday.

Toronto added depth as well, signing goaltender Elaine Chuli and forward Claire Dalton away from Montreal. Both were signed to one-year contracts.

Meanwhile, Vancouver continued to fill out its expansion-season roster by signing forwards Michela Cava and Tereza Vanisova to two-year contracts, and defenders Mellissa Channell-Watkins (one-year deal) and Emma Greco (two years).

Cava won back-to-back Walter Cup titles as a member of the Minnesota Frost.

The 31-year-old from Thunder Bay, Ont., had nine goals and 10 assists in 30 games last season.

In Minnesota's two post-season runs, Cava has put up 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 18 contests.

Vanisova tied for second in the PWHL with 15 goals this season — including two hat tricks, tied with Montreal's Marie-Philip Poulin for the league lead — and added seven assists for the Charge.

The 29-year-old from Czechia has totalled 17 goals and 17 assists in 53 career games after being selected by Montréal in the seventh round of the inaugural draft and joining Ottawa at the inaugural trade deadline.

Channell-Watkins, who won back-to-back Walter Cups as a member of the Minnesota Frost, has signed for the 2025-26 season. She was a fixture on the Frost blue line, suiting up for 53 regular-season games (one goal, eight assists) and 18 playoff contests (one goal, eight assists) for the two-time champions.

Greco, who won a Walter Cup with Minnesota during the inaugural season and spent the 2024-25 campaign with the Boston Fleet, has signed a deal through the 2026-27 season. She contributed three assists and finished fifth on the Fleet with 35 hits.

In other moves, the Charge also lost forward Shiann Darkangelo after she was signed to a two-year deal by the Montreal Victoire.

Darkangelo had eight goals and nine assists in 29 regular-season games for the Charge this past season. She added one goal in eight post-season contests as the Charge defeated Montreal in four games en route to the Walter Cup final in their first playoff appearance.

Ottawa later fell to the Frost in four games.

The 31-year-old from Brighton, Mich., was traded to Ottawa from Boston in the PWHL's inaugural season.

The signing comes just over a week after Montreal lost forwards Jennifer Gardiner and Abby Boreen to Vancouver through the expansion process.

The Boston Fleet also re-signed forward Susanna Tapani to a one-year deal.

The 32-year-old from Finland had 11 goals and seven assists in 30 games for the Fleet this past season, finishing third in team scoring.

Boston lost MVP candidate Hilary Knight and top rookie Hannah Bilka to Seattle in the expansion process.

Seattle signed defender Mariah Keopple to a one-year deal on Tuesday, and then later added forward Lexie Adzija on a two-year deal.

The 24-year-old Keopple, from Menomonie, Wisc., spent the past two PWHL seasons with the Victoire after earning a roster spot out of the team’s 2024 training camp.

Across two seasons with the Victoire, she appeared in 53 regular-season games, recording seven points (three goals, four assists) and also suited up for seven playoff contests.

Adzija joins Seattle from the Boston Fleet, where she competed following her acquisition from Ottawa via trade during the league’s inaugural season.

The 24-year-old native of St. Thomas, Ont., appeared in 36 regular-season games with Boston, registering three goals and six assists, and contributed one goal in eight playoff games. Over her PWHL career, she has appeared in 53 regular-season games, tallying 17 points, including eight goals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.

The Canadian Press