Seattle Torrent Keys to Success and Predictions for the Inaugural Season
By Lydia Murray
Seattle, WA - Not even seven months after becoming the PWHL’s eighth franchise, the Seattle Torrent are ready to play meaningful hockey. Their inaugural season officially gets underway tonight in Vancouver, where they’re set to take on their fellow expansion team, the Goldeneyes, at 7PM PST. Before the team hits the ice, it’s time for one last preview of what they might be, this time via three keys to the team’s success this season and three individual player predictions.
Frames of the Seattle Torrent throughout the franchises inaugural training camp at the Kraken Community Iceplex. (Photos by Nick Lyons for Circling Seattle Sports)
Three Keys to Team Success
Gel quickly as a team.
The Torrent have a lot of talented skaters. There’s no denying that. But talent doesn’t mean everything in hockey. Some of the Torrent players have played together before, but to state the obvious for a brand new team, they’ve never all played together. General manager Meghan Turner brought in a lot of leaders and high-character players, which should help with establishing a strong culture and getting everyone to buy in. However, competition will be fiercer than ever across the PWHL this season, and it’s unlikely any team will manage to weather long rough patches and make the playoffs. So, the Torrent must gel together quickly if they want to play May hockey.
2. Get balanced scoring.
In the vein of the Torrent having a lot of talent, they shouldn’t have too much trouble finding production in their top six forwards. Hilary Knight led the league in points last season with 29. Alex Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge are third and eighth all-time in PWHL scoring, respectively, despite playing on a rocky-at-best New York Sirens squad. When healthy, Hannah Bilka was excellent for a lackluster Fleet offense, while Danielle Serdachny is primed for a breakout this season (more on that later). Then there’s Julia Gosling, who is another breakout candidate after an excellent playoff run with the Toronto Sceptres. However, the bottom six is a different story. It’s mostly made up of players who are rookies or who were solid role players on their former teams but provided little offense. The best teams are the ones with balanced scoring, so the Torrent will be looking for some of their bottom sixers to step it up a notch this season. If they can, they’ll be an awfully tough team to beat.
Frames of the Seattle Torrent goaltending trio of Corinne Schroeder, Carly Jackson, and Hannah Murphy throughout the franchises inaugural training camp at the Kraken Community Iceplex. (Photos by Nick Lyons for Circling Seattle Sports)
3. Schroeder doesn’t have to hold down the crease alone.
Corinne Schroeder has proven that she has what it takes to be an excellent goaltender in the PWHL, even if the team in front of her is less than stellar. She finished second in the league in save percentage in season one, and third in season two, on a bottom-feeding Sirens squad. She leads the league in all-time shutouts with five, and simply did everything she could to drag her team into relevancy. However, behind her, things get more uncertain. Carly “CJ” Jackson is a fan favorite and played well in her two appearances last season, but those are her only two PWHL games. Then there’s Hannah Murphy, who is fresh off an outstanding collegiate career at Colgate University, where she posted a 1.59 GAA and 0.937 SV% across 101 career games. However, the PWHL is a different ballgame. There’s no guarantee she’ll find immediate success. So, the Torrent are not only going to need Schroeder to keep her outstanding form, but they’ll need Jackson or Murphy (or both. Both is good) to prove they can be consistent PWHL netminders. Otherwise, they’ll risk burning Schroeder out, which would almost certainly result in missing the playoffs.
Three Individual Predictions
Seattle Torrent forward Danielle Serdachny during practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex on Wednesday, November 20th, 2025. (Photos by Nick Lyons for Circling Seattle Sports)
Top Breakout Candidate: Danielle Serdachny
Serdachny did not have the rookie season anyone hoped she would with the Ottawa Charge. The second overall pick in the 2024 PWHL draft managed just two goals and six assists in 30 regular-season games before adding two assists in eight playoff games. However, a lot of that can be chalked up to fit and usage. Serdachny never looked comfortable in Charge head coach Carla McLeod’s systems, and she ended up getting shuffled all over the lineup because of it. Yet, she was a second overall pick for a reason. She racked up 238 points in 180 NCAA games with Colgate University and has been named to Team Canada for the past three IIHF Women’s World Championships. A fresh start should do her wonders.
MVP: Alex Carpenter or Hilary Knight
Yes, it’s a cop out to pick two players, but it’s a necessary one. Carpenter and Knight have been an unstoppable duo for Team USA for the past several years, and there’s no reason to believe that won’t continue in Seattle. They’ll also both be hungry to win something in the PWHL. Carpenter is fresh off two seasons with a floundering New York squad, while Knight is joining Seattle after a Game 5 Walter Cup loss in season one, followed by a devastating end to season two. Add in the fact that it’s an Olympic year–and Knight’s last one at that - and you have the recipe for an extremely menacing duo. They’re both poised to make a massive impact on this Seattle squad, and trying to choose who will be more valuable at this stage is a fool’s errand.
Frames of Seattle Torrent defender and alternate captain Emily Brown during practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex on Wednesday, November 19th, 2025. (Photos by Nick Lyons for Circling Seattle Sports)
Unsung Hero: Emily Brown
Brown is one of those players who the less you notice her, the better she’s playing. The shutdown defender rarely chips in on offense herself, but when paired with an offensively-minded defender, her steadiness gives them the freedom to take risks that often lead to big rewards. She’s also a physical force who's typically great at staying out of the box. GM Meghan Turner knows all of this well from her time in Boston, so it was no surprise to see her selected in the expansion draft. Brown is exactly the kind of player every team needs, but whose importance is often overlooked. She was an unsung hero for the Fleet last season, and there’s no reason to expect she’ll be any different in Seattle.
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Check out our previous Seattle Torrent articles here.
Check out our previous work with Lydia Murray, a freelancer with work that can be found on “The Ice Garden,” by clicking here.
Cover photo and photos in this article by Nick Lyons.
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