New York Sirens general manager Pascal Daoust is excited about his team's potential this season.
Then again, what general manager, coach, player or fan wouldn't be around this time of year, before the games start counting?
But Daoust's excitement is not rooted in blind optimism alone.
An eventful past few months have led to the New York Women's Professional Hockey League team having better success in its second season, which begins this weekend.
Not only do the Sirens have a team name – and perhaps more importantly, an established identity that fans can rally around – but they also boast a new star player, a new coach and a new arena.
“We are writing our new brand [Sirens chapter] “With a new environment,” Daoust said this week. “It's on us to make that page as great as we want it to be.”
If there's any consolation for New York's failure in the first campaign during the PWHL's inaugural season, it's the right to the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The Sirens chose former Princeton star Sarah Villiers, who starred for Canada's Olympic gold medal-winning team in 2022.
The Sirens also moved on from Howie Draper and hired former college coach Greg Fargo, who has a knack for developing players as demonstrated during his 12 years at Colgate, where he launched the Raiders program to national prominence.
The Sirens also finally had a place to call home at the Prudential Center and were training at a training facility just eight miles away.
Team captain Micah Zandi-Hart said all the offseason changes led to him entering training camp early this month with a “completely new outlook on next season.”
“I'm really looking forward to next year,” she said. “There's energy in our group. Obviously, yeah, we're motivated to do better than we did last year, and I think every team in the league is motivated to win the championship. But overall, we're just focused on day-to-day life right now to get ready for December 1st.” .
The Sirens started the league's inaugural 2023-24 season well, winning four straight games before finishing last in the PWHL standings with a 5-4-3-12 record.
Forward Alex Carpenter and defender Ella Shelton were two of the most reliable skaters.
Carpenter scored a team-high eight goals and tied for second most points in the league with 23.
Shelton, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, scored 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists).
Goaltender Corinne Schroeder held up as long as she could in the crease, but the porous defense wasn't much help.
Schroder posted a .930 save percentage while facing a league-high 34 shots per game.
It also probably didn't help that New York had to move between three locations for home games.
They played in Bridgeport, Connecticut, at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, home of the NHL's Islanders, and at the Prudential Center.
The different pitches on the ground may have been part of the reason why the Sirens reached 2,496 fans in the 12 matches they hosted.
The team's presence at a training facility in Connecticut also led to players sometimes driving more than two hours to attend games.
Zandi Hart said the constant movement between arenas in different states weakened the home-ice advantage.
That won't be the case this time.
Essex County Codey Arena, the former practice facility for the New Jersey Devils, is the Sirens' home base this season and all home games will be played at the Prudential Center.
“He-she [takes] “There's a lot of energy that the players had to go through last season that they won't have to go through this year,” Daoust said. “So this is a huge improvement. We're giving them the best environment to perform. It's on us, and on them, to make sure we reach our full potential.”
“I can see that on our team — everyone has a calmer presence and is kind of excited to build their own routine and have a place we can call home,” Zandi-Hart added.
Over the past few weeks, Daoust has become increasingly more comfortable with the depth and diversity of the team, but knows there is still a lot of work to do.
“Having all the ingredients on the table doesn't mean your recipe will be the best,” Daoust said. “You need to cook, you need to taste, and you need to make sure you're getting the best meal. But that doesn't mean [if] You can mix all the ingredients and it will give you the best meal. They have to accept the role, accept the task, roll, push, walk and pull in the same direction, and we'll see which group can do it.
The Sirens are scheduled to begin their season on Sunday against defending champion Minnesota Frost.
New York's home opener is set for December 18 against the Toronto Sept.
The games will be available for fans to watch at home after the Sirens signed a deal with MSG Networks to broadcast their games.
“We're really excited,” Zandy Hart said. “Every year is a new year, especially in our league. … [We’re looking forward to] What we can do to be the best we can be this year.”
