Ashton Bell was anxious all day on Monday while waiting to learn his destiny.
Only two weeks ago, the 25 -year -old defender was fighting for the Walter Cup with the position of Ottawa. He had forced a role in the best defensive pairing of the team along with veteran Jocelyne Larocque, and blocked more shots than any other player during the playoffs.
But on Monday, I didn’t know if I would return to Ottawa or headed to the west to play for Seattle or Vancouver. They had left her unprotected by the load before the first pwhl expansion draft.
He knew that Vancouver was interested, after talking with the GM face Gardner Morey during an exclusive signature window before the draft. But exactly how things would develop were still a mystery.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Bell said in an interview with CBC Sports. “I knew there was the possibility that any of the teams collected them. When Vancouver obtained the first choice, it was like everyone else, sitting at home, just waiting to listen to my name called.”
She didn’t have to wait long. After winning a lottery, Gardner Morey had to choose between maintaining the first selection or making the second and third selection. She chose to make the first choice and used it to select Bell.
“It was definitely very exciting for me and a great honor,” the Deloraine player, man. He said about being chosen first.
The PWHL expansion process has caused a restart throughout the league, with the list of each shaking equipment and left with holes. Ottawa lost two key defenders consecutively in Bell and Aneta Tabalová, who was selected by Seattle with the second selection.
The players who were taken in the expansion draft must now plan a transfer to the west coast. Bell has a family in Vancouver, which will make his transition easier. Many already want to buy seasonal tickets.
It also joins a team built with force from Gardner Morey’s network, who trained Bell with the U-18 Canadian team several years ago.
“She is the exact person you want on your team,” said Gardner Morey.
“Not only is it extremely talented in the back end, he has played offensive and defense in his career, but is also one of those great teammates and great human beings who always show gratitude and doing things in the right way. His ethics of work is outstanding and, for me, he is the exact type of player we wanted to bring.”
A strong defensive nucleus
Bell teammates on the blue line will include the Nominees of Defensores del Year Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques, who just won the Walter Cup with the Minnesota Frost. Both signed with Vancouver before the expansion draft.
Thompson and Bell won an Olympic gold medal together in 2022.
Look | Was PWHL expansion draft too far?
Karissa Donkin of CBC Sports explains how the two newest teams in the League, Seattle and Vancouver, have ready ready to win immediately.
“Those two are incredible and showed that this season with Minnesota and brought home the Walter Cup,” Bell said. “I have played with them with the national team and I also know them as people. They are incredible players, and I am very excited to share the blue line with them.”
Vancouver also recruited the promising rookie defender Sydney Bard of the Boston fleet, a player that Boston’s general manager, Danielle Marmer, described as just a look at what he can do in his only season in Boston.
“I think you will see many interchangeable positions in which you do not know who the progress is and who is the [defence] On the ice at certain times, “said Gardner Morey.
Change
When the expansion rules were announced during the playoffs, the eyebrows rose through the league. The teams could only protect three players to start, with a room that will be added after a team gave two players to expansion. It meant that each team would have to give up good players.
In Ottawa, Bell and his teammates had to focus on the playoffs. But at the bottom of their minds, they knew that their team would look different next season.
“There were many noises in the costumes from time to time, only we trying to discover all the rules and logistics of everything, and simply bouncing questions with each other and how it could be seen,” Bell said.
After the position fell short in the frost in four games, difficult decisions should be made. The Ottawa Charge GM, Mike Hirshfeld, chose to protect the front Emily Clark, goalkeeper Gwyneth Philips and defender Ronja Savolainen to begin.
Hirshfeld said the size and speed of Savolainen were factors to choose from protecting it.
“It was his first year in this league, and we felt that he played incredibly well when he was adapting to the league,” he said. “We believe that at her age, her best days are ahead of her now that she is acclimatized to the PWHL for a year.”
But it meant entering the expansion draft with three main defenders, Bell, Larocque and Tejalová, all at risk. He only left one on the Ottawa list when the dust settled.
“I think incredibly very well from Ashton,” said Hirshfeld. “I think Bellsy has been great for us for two years. I can’t say enough about how he worked in the playoffs this year. He was in the upper line with Jocelyne Larocque and I think they did an incredible job. But we made a decision again. It is a very difficult decision.”
A new beginning
Bell sympathized with the challenge GMS faced in the expansion process. With a window before the firm and the draft, there were so many variables that were difficult to predict.
“Gabbie Hughes [is] An incredible hockey player, one of our best centers, so it was obvious to them, “he said.” I respect their decisions, and obviously Clarky, Gwyn and Ronja too. Simply incredible people and incredible players too, so I am very happy for them to stay in Ottawa and continue to build that franchise. “
Look | The Vancouver Griffins were the first female professional hockey team in the city:
The owner of Vancouver Griffins, Diane Nelson, reflects on the start of the first professional female hockey team of Vancouver and the challenges that came with him.
A day after the draft, Bell was still processing the reality that he will leave his teammates and fans in Ottawa.
But he also hopes to be part of what Gardner Morey is building in Vancouver.
“Leaving them behind is obviously sad,” he said. “I am still processing all that. But only the emotion of starting and being part of a new franchise in the west and being able to grow female hockey is really exciting for me.”
