The Sirens made the safe pick official, and Emma Peschel is worth it
New York's seventh overall pick signs through 2028-29, joining Webster and Nylén Persson on the same timeline as camp opens Nov. 18.
The Sirens didn't swing for a forward at seven, and on Wednesday they made the safe pick official. Emma Peschel signed a three-year deal through 2028-29, and she gives New York the one thing a young roster can't fake: a defender who moves the puck and doesn't panic doing it.
She's the first of New York's six draft picks to sign before the season, and she's the third Siren locked up through 2028-29, next to forward Makenna Webster and defender Maja Nylén Persson. That's not a coincidence: general manager Pascal Daoust is building a core with the same expiration date.
"Signing Emma to a three-year contract is an important step in continuing to build our team for the future," Daoust said.
Why she was worth the seventh pick
Peschel was the third defender off the board in June, after Laila Edwards went fourth to San Jose and Nelli Laitinen went sixth to Hamilton.
The Ohio State résumé says why. She put up 108 points (31 goals, 77 assists) in 151 games over four seasons, capped by a 39-point senior year and First-Team All-American honors.
She was on the blue line for the Buckeyes' 2024 national title. She won U18 Worlds silver in 2022, and she's already on Team USA's roster for the Women's Worlds that open Friday.
That's four years of production on the best program in the country, not a projection.
The Ferda number: the team she left hasn't missed a beat. Ohio State is 11-1-0 and No. 1 in the USCHO poll with all 20 first-place votes, per the Nov. 2 poll. Peschel was part of building that machine, and it's still running.
The fit in New York
Daoust talked about her speed, her play in tight space and her physicality. That's the PWHL defender job description now, because the league plays fast through the neutral zone, and a D who can take a hit to make the first pass is worth more than one who can't. Peschel can.
She's the Sirens' seventh signed defender, with 20 players under contract and four spots left before camp opens Nov. 18. She isn't guaranteed top-four minutes on day one, but she'll be in the conversation by Christmas.
Her first big games of the fall come in a USA sweater, not a Sirens one. That's the women's hockey calendar, and New York will take the extra reps.
New York opens at Prudential Center on Dec. 6 against Boston.
The W read: the Sirens took the sure thing at seven, and in three years they'll be glad they didn't get cute. Peschel is a second-pair defender this season and a first-pair one by the end of this deal.
