After a few days off, PWHL Toronto hit the ice for a split-squad practice on Monday.
Head coach Troy Ryan used the break to go back to Nova Scotia to "winterize" his home, some crossed the border to celebrate Thanksgiving, and others enjoyed rest in Toronto ahead of an important stretch of camp.
Updated roster splits
The split-squad practice gave another glimpse into potential combinations this season for PWHL Toronto.
Group 1
Forwards (8): Maggie Connors, Brittany Howard, Jess Jones, Hannah Miller, Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull, Morgan Wabick
Defenders (4): Kali Flanagan, Emma Keenan, Olivia Knowles, Lauriane Rougeau
Goalies (2): Erica Howe, Carly Jackson
Group 2
Forwards (6): Sam Cogan, Jesse Compher, Rebecca Leslie, Emma Maltais, Alexa Vasko, Kaitlin Willoughby
Defenders (6): Mellissa Channell, Renata Fast, Jess Kondas, Jocelyne Larocque, Allie Munroe, Taylor Wabick
Goalies (2): Kristen Campbell, Amanda Makela
Naturally, there's guesswork involved, but a look at how some of the trios/pairings break down based on the groups:
Nurse-Turnbull-Spooner
Maltais-Compher-Leslie
Connors-Miller-Howard
Cogan-Vasko-Willoughby
Jones-M. Wabick
Larocque-Fast
Keenan-Flanagan
Rougeau-Knowles
Munroe-Kondas
Channell-T. Wabick
Campbell
Howe
Jackson
Makela
Bach's status for season remains unclear
Victoria Bach was the only player missing from PWHL Toronto's practice on Monday.
Bach, who was drafted in the 7th round by Toronto, has only participated in two on-ice sessions to this point in camp. Her absence isn't believed to be due to an injury as she suited up for practice on the 18th and 19th and participated in the Sport vs. Media charity basketball game on Sunday at TMU.
Head coach Troy Ryan explained Bach remains in the team's plans but her uncertain status will come into play when making the initial two roster cuts by Wednesday.
"It definitely will impact (Wednesday's cuts), it's gotta be part of the conversation," Ryan said. "We do anticipate her joining us on the weekend and possibly playing in Utica as well. I think after that, we'd make some sort of final decisions, but definitely having Victoria right now kind of here but not here all the time, it's gonna impact some decisions. But we'll make sure we have those conversations with Victoria and whoever potentially else it impacts."
Connors begins pro career after disrupted development
Maggie Connors was among the group of Ivy League athletes who missed an entire season due to COVID cancelations in 2020-21.
The impact abbreviated and canceled seasons in 2020 have had on the development of young players has been talked about often on the NHL side of things. With the lack of a singular women's league bringing new talent through a draft prior to this year, it's a topic that's gone overlooked on the women's side.
Connors noted that after initially spending four months at home in Newfoundland upon the cancelation of her season, she drove to Toronto for a few months in order to train with fellow elite-level players, including some who are now her teammates.
She reflected on the 2020-21 year without games and how it impacted her development as a player.
"I would say the gap year definitely slowed things down, but I think looking back, I don't regret taking a gap year at all," Connors said. "I think I matured a lot as a person and a player."
Connors could've transferred to a different school to play games in 2020-21, but she opted to take a gap year instead to be able to play all four years of her NCAA eligibility at Princeton.
"I guess what I mean by (maturing as a player) is not necessarily always relying on other people and (not) following other people's footsteps," she said. "You really learn how to carry a line."
Connors added that learning experience carried into her comeback season at Princeton in 2021-22, when star linemate Sarah Fillier was centralized with Team Canada for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
"I was lucky enough my first two years to be playing with Sarah Fillier, who's obviously an outstanding player and she's pushed my progress as well, but I didn't have her the year after I came back," she explained. "And so, we have amazing players at Princeton, but I was always kinda playing right beside (Fillier) and just learning from her, and obviously if we were having a bad game, she was probably gonna pick it up."
She continued: "So just maturing as a player, taking a year actually away from playing with her, it really made me kind of step into a role to have a bit more weight on my shoulders, and so I think that kinda forced me to mature and develop and come into more of a leadership and scoring role."
Connors is the latest selection from the PWHL Draft to sign a contract longer than one year, a show of faith from Toronto's management team.
"She's a good player," Ryan said. "I'm familiar with her a little bit just from being from Atlantic Canada. I've had her with some different Team Atlantics and provincial camps. We've watched her a lot."
He added: "She's got a little bit of jump, and she does show an offensive flair, but the part that I've enjoyed or appreciated most about her so far is just her openness to take on little new concepts and stuff like that.
"We like the offensive upside. She's young, fresh out of college. We think that with a couple years under her belt here, she'll turn into a key offensive player."
Leslie amped to be back in team environment
Rebecca Leslie's excelled with every team she's played for.
She was a rookie standout in the Calgary Inferno's final season. Her senior year at Boston University ranks among the best in the program's history. Even all the way back to her days as an Ottawa Lady Senator, Leslie's performed everywhere she's been.
That's why it was a surprise to see the 27-year-old wait until the 12th round to hear her name called at the PWHL Draft in September.
Leslie enters Toronto's training camp coming off a disappointing PWHPA campaign in which she scored zero goals and only three assists. A chance to play every day for a true team has reinvigorated the Ottawa native ahead of the PWHL's inaugural campaign.
"I'm really excited to just be back in a team environment," Leslie said. "I think that, for me, the past couple of years have been pretty weird in the PWHPA - like tournaments here and there, and not having a solid group. I think I'm someone that thrives under a team system, around my teammates."
Leslie added: "I'm excited to get back to every single day of playing hockey and just being a teammate. It's hard when it's just you and a couple other players and a coach for three years, you know? So, to practice with a full team and just play with systems will be really exciting."
Leslie featured alongside Emma Maltais and Jesse Compher during reps on Monday, an early indication that Ryan believes in her ability to produce high in the lineup.
"I've had a lot of time with her at the national team level, just at different camps, sorta right through U18 development and senior team, and she's been so close (to making Team Canada) on so many occasions," Ryan said. "Obviously, for her, that's probably been a difficult pill to swallow, but for us, we just realize how close she's been so many times."
He continued: "The part about Rebecca that I really like is the consistency part of her game. So she does have that flair for offense that she showed a lot in college, but she's also responsible defensively, skates well, decent size - like there's just so many little aspects of her game that I think will translate at this level. We definitely want to give her a good opportunity on a good line with some good teammates and see what she can do with it."
Leslie's close friends with Compher, with the two recently spending Thanksgiving together in Buffalo. Compher's rookie campaign at Boston University overlapped with Leslie's senior year.
"I saw (Compher) come in as like a little baby freshman, and so now to see her just fully grown and have that confidence, she's a strong power forward and she's just someone who gives it her all, day in and day out," Leslie said.
Compher isn't the only former Terrier teammate of Leslie's on Toronto's roster. Bach and Leslie formed a dynamite duo throughout their time at Boston University, culminating in 2017-18 when Bach was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
"Bach and I were roommates for all four years at school, we're good friends, so it's really nice to be back on the same roster," Leslie said. "Obviously, playing against her is never fun cause you know she's probably gonna get a couple goals or a couple assists every game, a couple breakaways even, so it's been really nice to have her and we're looking forward to hopefully getting some time to play together. When she comes back to the lineup full-time, I know she's gonna be a threat on the ice."