Sirens banking on No. 1 draft pick to lead new wave as franchise seeks major turnaround

The Sirens have shown their cards. The franchise’s turnaround largely lies in the hands of those yet to step onto PWHL ice to start what general manager Pascal Daoust in September termed a “new wave” for the organization.The face of the era is 2025 No.1 pick Kristýna Kaltounková.

The Czech forward is expected to be a spark plug offensively and comes in with impressive experience, including setting the record for most goals scored in Colgate’s women’s hockey program (111), along with having played with Sirens head coach Greg Fargo for four out of her five years at the university. Kaltounková is joined by Casey O’Brien out of Wisconsin and Anne Cherkowski of Clarkson University, among other draftees, to bolster the offense and prove these franchise decisions to be the right ones.“Signing them was definitely for me, selfishly and for the group, a major step that we wanted the room — the locker room — to feel that we’re building, we’re adding great players, great people and also only coming with the mindset of playing the game…” Daoust said at Kaltounková’s opening news conference in September.“That’s what we were looking for when signing them and making sure people understood that New York is building and is definitely on track.”At the conclusion of their second season in May, as one of the original six teams within the newly formed PWHL, the Sirens found themselves in last place for the second consecutive year.Following their inaugural season, they were quick to make a coaching change, firing Howie Draper in favor of Fargo, and selected Princeton star Sarah Fillier as the No.

1 pick in 2024.Putting aside any internal improvements, the results didn’t yield anything different. Finishing last in back-to-back seasons isn’t something a team can ignore, and the Sirens aren’t ignorant of that.They couldn’t hide then and they cannot hide now.In winning the Gold Plan — the PWHL’s system to determine its draft order — an...