Purple Reign

Courtney Kessel has pplayed a huge role behind the bench of the Boston Fleet on the league's first two years which is why her departure is a huge blow for both the Fleet & the PWHL as she joins Princeton as their new coach

However I totally understand her reasoning as when your heart wants something you have to go for it and as she said herself the job in Princeton was the only thing that would make her turn away from the pro leagues

It's the return of the playoff show on Purple Reign as we get to look back on an entertaining Walter Cup Playoffs that saw your Frost defend their crown despite the fact the odds were stacked in Canada's favour with the VIctoire, Sceptres and Charge all booked through

In Part 1 we look at the first semifinal which for the second year in a row saw the league champions get knocked out by the team they selected and oh boy did the Charge fanbase not let Montreal forget it

In Part 2 its the rematch between your Frost and the Sceptres and while it took one less game to get the job it was an almighty goalfest with so many different players making their contributions

In Part 3 the most unpredictble series went head to head as whether we were in Ottawa or Minnesota every game in this series required overtime with either the Charge or the Frost wining by a score of 2-1

Throughout the show you will hear how my disaster trip to Philly impacted how the Purple Trio would be able to follow the Walter Cup Playoffs and how ultimately the jetlag amplified my stress levels in the Finals

The 2025 edition of the PWHL Entry Draft was an eventful night not just because we had two new teams make their first selections but there was a lot of trades on the floor that made Cassie look like a pantomine villain

The Purple Trio come together to look back on the first round, talk winners and losers and our reactions to those blockbuster trades

Earlier in the year we found out not just which countries got the final spots to the Olympics but also the groups however at the time we did not know what the situation was regarding Russia

But a few weeks ago we got a massive update and to my delight Russia are out and in their place will be France who compete in Group B alongside hosts Italy and the three countries that qualified in February

For the second year in a row the New York Sirens won the Gold Plan again by default as the playoff races went right down to the wire literally as we congratulate New York on earning the right to select the first overall draft pick

Speaking of which as the draft is right around the corner I take a look at sone of the candidates who are most likely to be taken in the first round and name the one I would select if I was in the Sirens shoes

This is going to be a quick one as with the Gold Plan race not being as thrilling as it should be and with no clear stand out star from this year's draft class there isn't much to talk about

However we must congratulate the New York SIrens on winning the Gold Plan for the second year in a row and therefore will make the first overall pick at the 2025 Entry Draft in Ottawa

I didn't think we would be making this episode yet as we currently don't know if the Takeover Tour will be coming back but an interesting article over the weekend made very interesting reading among the Purple Trio

And so not only do we go over the markets mention but also throw out our own suggestions along with some markets that we want to see get another game from this year's tour

Read the article for yourselves - https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/six-cities-the-pwhl-takeover-tour-should-visit-next

The PWHL Entry Draft 2025 in Ottawa is right around the corner and we now know how the draft order will go down and whilst Pluto & Lady might not be too pleased with us picking sixth in all rounds I actually think this way is fairer basing it off the playoff dtandings especially as we're not going to be Walter Cup champions every year

Draft Order1. New York Sirens (Gold Plan Winners)

2. Boston Fleet (Non Playoff Team)

3. Toronto Sceptres (Lowest Ranked Playoff Semifinalist)

4. Montreal Victoire (Highest Ranked Playoff Semifinalist)

5. Ottawa Charge (PWHL Finalist)

6. Minnesota Frost (Back to Back Walter Cup Champions)

PWHL Vancouver will get the seventh pick in all of the odd rounds and the eight pick in all of the even rounds while PWHL Seattle will have the eight overall pick in all of the odd rounds and the seventh overall pick in all of the even rounds

To quote Taylor Swift "You Need to Calm Down"

Let's face it the first ever expansion in the PWHL hasn't gone down as well as lots of fans feel it puts both Vancouver & Seattle at a compettive edge over the Inaugural Six teams

A lot of the response has been a bit too fiery for my liking as even I got dragged into the caranage and so I feel it falls to me to be everyone's spirital guide as I can see the long term gains ahead despite the short term pain that has been inflicted

A few days on after the first ever Expansion Draft the Purple Trio are back together to go through all of the shocks and jaw dropping drama that has unfolded since the process began

As well as recapping the draft as a whole we'll also look back on what was a fast and furious Exclusive Signing Window which set the tone for what was to come