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 — and the No. 1 pick in both years, Daoust knew he would have to sign a difference-maker. 

He believes he has found it in Kaltounková, giving her an uphill climb in saving the Sirens from stamping themselves as the bottom-dwellers of the league.

It isn’t something she appears scared of, however, as the team’s training camp is underway with two preseason scrimmages against the Minnesota Frost to come on Nov. 13 and 14.

Daoust could sense the fearlessness, too, when he first met with the 23-year-old alongside Fargo.

“Still have goose bumps of that moment,” he said. It was a “unique” meeting compared to the number of other player interviews he has done in the past. Daoust noted Kaltounková’s openness about what she wanted for the Sirens and her career, making it a “no-brainer” decision. 

Kaltounková has been training since the end of the school year while keeping what’s at stake for the Sirens in mind.

“I feel like I would compare it to a really hard math exam. I have been preparing a lot because, you know, with stepping into the pro league and being drafted No. 1 and all the variables that are also there, I think are so important to me that I want to be prepared as much as I can,” she said in September. “Just like with a math exam, you want to be studying as much as you can, which is what I’m doing. I’m really trying to prepare for the league. 

“Obviously in college, I would make sure that I’m resting because the season is very long. It was quite difficult to balance academics and athletics, so when I got home in the summer for two months, I really wanted to enjoy time with my family and friends. It wasn’t my job yet… Now this is what I gotta do. It’s fun, I enjoy it. It’s hard, but it’s only a part of it. I’ve just really been making sure that when I arrive, I perform, and that I’m ready for it because it didn’t start with the draft. It started when I got home. The start of the season is not the start. The start is when I got home.”