Reigning PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner to make season debut with Sceptres after injury
Reigning PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner will make her season debut for the Toronto Sceptres on Tuesday after having off-season knee surgery.
But her return coincides with another major loss for the Sceptres, after forward Sarah Nurse was injured playing for Team Canada at the Rivalry Series last week.
Spooner was hurt last May in a collision into the boards during Game 3 of the team’s first-round Walter Cup playoff series against Minnesota, which went on to win the championship.
The forward will make her debut against the same team on Tuesday, when the Sceptres host the Frost at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
“I’m excited to be back with my teammates and looking forward to competing next to them again,” Spooner said in a statement.
“It was obviously a long road to get to this point and doesn’t happen without a lot of amazing people in my corner. I’m very grateful for my surgical and medical team that have gotten me back to full health.”
Spooner won the Billie Jean King MVP and top forward awards last season after leading all players in points (27) and goals (20). She was also named the IIHF’s female player of the year.
Even after missing half of the Sceptres’ games this season, Spooner is still tied with Montreal’s Marie-Philip Poulin for the all-time PWHL goal-scoring lead (20 goals).
“We’ve been patiently waiting for the return of Natalie Spooner,” Sceptres GM Gina Kingsbury said.
“We are tremendously proud of the work she has invested in getting herself to this point. This has been a long journey, and she has shown throughout this process just how elite of an athlete she is.”
Nurse out ‘indefinitely’
To make room for Spooner, the team moved rookie defender Lauren Bernard to the reserve list and released forward Sam Cogan from the reserve player pool.
WATCH | PWHL Mic’d Up with Toronto’s Emma Maltais:
Listen in to the best on-ice moments from Canadian forward Emma Maltais as the Toronto Sceptres defeat the Ottawa Charge 4-2.
While adding Spooner will provide a boost to the Sceptres, they’ll miss Nurse, who was moved to long-term injured reserve on Monday. She’ll be out of the lineup “indefinitely” after sustaining a lower-body injury in Thursday’s Rivalry Series game against the United States.
The injury appears to have happened when Nurse collided awkwardly with her Sceptres teammate, Jesse Compher, who was playing for the U.S.
Nurse has registered 12 points in 15 games, including five goals, for a Sceptres team that has struggled to find its footing for much of the season.
The Sceptres sit in fourth place in the six-team league going into Tuesday’s game against Minnesota, just one point behind third-place New York.
The team went into the international break with a key 4-2 win over Ottawa that allowed the Sceptres to pass the Charge and move from last place to fourth. But the team will be challenged to keep that momentum going after a nine-day break and the loss of Nurse.
WATCH | Mic’d Up with Nurse:
Listen in to the best on-ice moments from Canadian forward Sarah Nurse as the Toronto Sceptres defeat the New York Sirens 4-2.
In addition to Spooner, the team has also added German forward Laura Kluge for the rest of the season.
Kluge, who just helped her country earn a spot at the 2026 Olympics, attended the Sceptres’ training camp in the fall.
“Laura had a great training camp with us and left a great impression on our entire team,” Kingsbury said. “She will add to our team both on and off the ice.”
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