While we are still in the throes of summer, hockey fans are highly anticipating the start of the season. For NHL fans, the preseason starts in a few weeks, so it is right around the corner. For Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) fans, that wait is a little longer. The PWHL still has yet to release their schedule, but based on their posts on social media, there have been plenty of training and team-building events happening behind the scenes, which is a great sign.
Although the PWHL schedule is not out yet, women’s hockey still looks to the future with the 2026 Olympics at the beginning of the upcoming year. Several countries have hosted and are hosting training camps to see who will make the final roster, receiving the honor of representing their country. Many players on the New York Sirens received invitations to their countries’ summer camps. Let’s look closer at who they are.
4 Received an Invite From Canada
Several players on the Sirens received invites from their home country of Canada. One of those players is goaltender Kayle Osborne. She is also the only goaltender currently signed to the Sirens, after Corinne Schroeder was selected by PWHL Seattle during the expansion draft and Abbey Levy signed with the Boston Fleet. The 2024-25 season was Osborne’s first season in the league, and she earned a record of 2-4-1 and played in 10 games. In her third PWHL career game, she recorded a shutout as well. Osborne has the skills to be a successful goaltender, both for Team Canada and also for the Sirens in the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Captain of the Sirens Micah Zandee-Hart also received an invitation from Canada. She is no stranger to the world stage, as she recently competed with the Canadian team during the IIHF World Championship, where she played three games and scored a goal and recorded an assist. Since the 2017-18 season, she has participated in world championships for Canada four other times as well. In the 2024-25 PWHL season, she recorded 10 points in 30 games. It’s not always about points, though. During the expansion draft, New York elected to protect Zandee-Hart, focusing on the team environment more. Her safety is a testament to who she is as a player and also who she is off the ice. Hopefully, she gets the opportunity to showcase her skills for Team Canada.
Last season’s rookie of the year, Sarah Fillier, also received an invitation. In the 30-game season, she recorded 29 points via 13 goals and 16 assists. She recently competed in the IIHF World Championship for Canada as well, recording four points in seven games. After signing a two-year extension with the Sirens, fans are looking to see how she will perform in her second season with New York.
Newcomer to the team, Kristin O’Neill, also received an invitation from Canada. Although she is new to the New York team, she is not new to the PWHL. O’Neill spent the last two seasons with Montreal, playing a total of 53 games and recording 14 points. Like Fillier, she played seven IIHF games with Canada and recorded five points, one more than Fillier. Although the 27-year-old will be joining the Sirens for the first time this season, she has experience playing with some of the players after playing for Canada’s national team in the past.
O’Brien Invited By USA
The only member of the Sirens that the United States selected is a player who still has not signed with the PWHL team. Third overall draft pick Casey O’Brien was selected by the U.S. to attend their Olympic summer camp. New York made a surprise trade with the Toronto Sceptres during the 2025 Draft, which allowed New York the opportunity to use the additional first-round draft pick to select O’Brien. In exchange, Toronto received veteran defender Ella Shelton.
Related: New York Sirens’ 2024-25 Report Cards: Ella Shelton
O’Brien has spent the past five seasons playing at the collegiate level for the University of Wisconsin. While there, she played in 182 games and recorded 274 points. She totaled a career high of 88 points in her final collegiate season, amongst 26 goals and 62 assists. She was also named the captain of the team in her final season.
On the coaching side of things, Sirens assistant coach Josh Sciba will fill his role as an assistant coach at the Olympic level as well. Since the 2021-22 season, he has been an assistant head coach for the women in the IIHF World Championship. Joining the Sirens bench last season, Sciba has extensive World Championship knowledge that he can use in his second season with the Sirens and his first time coaching at the Olympic level.
Kaltounkova Invited By Czechia
Another member of the 2025 draft class has also been invited to her native country’s summer camp. First overall draft pick in the 2025 PWHL Entry Draft, Kristyna Kaltounkova attended the summer camp for her home country in Prague in July. Like O’Brien, she has not signed with the Sirens yet; her attending the Czechia summer camp is a sign that she still has hockey in her sights for her future.
Kaltounkova just finished her collegiate career at Colgate University, where she played 171 games and recorded 233 points in her five seasons. More recently, she competed for Czechia in the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship. In seven games, she scored four goals and recorded two assists.
Kaltounkova’s skills will be beneficial for Czechia as they compete for gold at the Olympic level, but also for the Sirens as they head into their third PWHL season.
A Big Moment for Women’s Hockey
Come February 2026, all eyes will be on Italy when it hosts the Olympics. This is the first Winter Olympics since the PWHL was founded. With several players in the PWHL getting the opportunity to represent their home countries, this should be huge publicity for the league without even intending for it to be.
These six Sirens players have the opportunity to go out there and try and win gold for their country. What more could they ask for?
