Vancouver takes defender Ashton Bell first overall in PWHL expansion draft

Ottawa Charge's Ashton Bell (left) goes airborne after colliding with Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin (29) during first period PWHL playoff hockey action in Ottawa, on Friday, May 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

A long, anxious day of waiting paid off in a big way for Ashton Bell on Monday.

The 25-year-old defender became part of hockey history when she was selected No. 1 by Vancouver in the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s first-ever expansion draft.

“It’s just a huge honour,” she said. ”And I’m just super excited to be one of those first players in Vancouver. Could not be more thrilled to be part of that organization.”

Hailing from Deloraine, Man., Bell heads to Vancouver following two seasons playing in Ottawa.

She contributed three goals and three assists over 27 regular-season games with the Charge during the 2024-25 campaign, and added one more of each over eight playoff appearances.

“Not only is she extremely talented on the back end, she’s played both offence and defence in her career,” Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey said of the young defender who she briefly coach with Canada’s U-18 development program.

“But she’s also one of those great teammates and great human beings that’s always showing gratitude and doing things the right way. Her work ethic is outstanding and, to me, that’s the exact type of player we wanted to bring in.”

Vancouver picked seven players on Monday, including forwards Brooke McQuigge (Minnesota Frost), Abby Boreen (Montreal Victoire), Izzy Daniel (Toronto Sceptres), Gabby Rosenthal (New York Sirens) and Denisa Krizova (Minnesota) and defender Sydney Bard (Boston Fleet).

Heading into the draft, Gardner Morey was looking for undervalued players.

“I think we really went with a lot of grit, a lot of two-way forwards that can also score goals. Obviously we solidified the back end tonight,” the GM said.

“I just think we got a lot of players that were overachieving last year and those are the type of players we want to bring in.”

Bell believes she has more to show, too.

The five-foot-nine University of Minnesota-Duluth product believes she grew into her role as a shutdown defender at the end of the regular-season campaign. She embraced it further during a playoff run where Ottawa ousted Montreal from the semifinals before falling to Minnesota in the Walter Cup final.

“I’ve grown a lot just in the last couple of months of playing in this league,” Bell said. ”And I’m just excited to kind of continue that.”

Bell and the six other draftees join five players Vancouver snapped up during last week’s exclusive signing window for the PWHL’s two expansion teams.

Defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques (both Minnesota), forwards Sarah Nurse (Toronto) and Jenn Gardiner (Montreal), and goalie Emerance Maschmeyer (Ottawa) will also be part of the club’s inaugural roster.

Gardner Morey, a former defender herself, said she’s been building the team from the back end and stocking it with “great skating, puck carrying defenders.”

“I was a defender, and I just really think it’s such a valuable position. And finding the right D and having a great core, one through eight even, is what makes championship teams,” she said.

Seattle, the PWHL’s other expansion franchise, took former Ottawa defender Aneta Tejralova with the second pick Monday.

General manager Meghan Turner then added forwards Hannah Bilka (Boston), Jessie Eldridge (New York) and Julia Gosling (Toronto) before claiming defenders Anna Wilgren (Montreal), Megan Carter (Toronto) and Emily Brown (Boston).

They join forwards Hilary Knight (Boston), Alex Carpenter (New York), Danielle Serdachny (Ottawa), defender Cayla Barnes (Montreal) and goalie Corinne Schroeder (New York), who all inked deals with Seattle during the exclusive signing period.

“I think it’s a great roster that we’ve built so far with the early signings and then just filling in tonight,” Turner said after Monday’s draft.

“We’ve got the first two lines, I feel like, pretty solid. And then, obviously, defence is so important and wins championships, so not overlooking that at all. We got some good young talent. And then, two solid kind of league veterans for the past couple of seasons to round out the D core there.”

Each of the PWHL’s six founding teams picked three players to protect during the expansion process. A fourth was added to each list before or during Monday’s draft, depending on how many players the club lost in the signing window.

Only players under contract for the 2025-26 season — or those whose playing rights are held through that season — were eligible for the draft.

Players on expiring contracts, including Toronto Sceptres forward Natalie Spooner, could not be selected, but teams can ink those athletes to new contracts when the free agency period opens Monday.

A leaguewide entry draft will be held in Ottawa on June 24.

Gardner Morey knows what she’ll be looking for as she continues to build out Vancouver’s roster.

“I think that we’re going to look for a couple more top-six forwards in the free agency period and see who we might, I guess, lure to Vancouver and who wants to be a part of this amazing team,” she said. “Because I think we have the building blocks in place.”

This report by Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.