'An honour': Inside the PWHL's expansion draft with the 1st overall pick

Ashton Bell was anxious all day on Monday as she waited to learn her fate.

Just two weeks ago, the 25-year-old defender was battling for the Walter Cup with the Ottawa Charge. She'd carved out a role on the team's top defensive pairing alongside veteran Jocelyne Larocque, and blocked more shots than any other player during the playoffs.

But on Monday, she didn't know if she'd be returning to Ottawa or heading west to play for Seattle or Vancouver. She had been left unprotected by the Charge ahead of the PWHL's first expansion draft.

She knew Vancouver had interest, after speaking with GM Cara Gardner Morey during an exclusive signing window prior to the draft. But exactly how things would play out was remained a mystery.

"I didn't really know what to expect," Bell said in an interview with CBC Sports. "I knew that there was the possibility that I could get picked up by either team. When Vancouver got the first pick, I was just kind of like everyone else, sitting at home, just waiting to hear my name called."

She didn't have to wait long. After winning a lottery, Gardner Morey had to choose between keeping the first pick or making the second and third picks instead. She opted to make the first pick, and used it to select Bell.

"It was definitely very exciting for me and just such an honour," the player from Deloraine, Man. said about being chosen first.

The PWHL's expansion process has triggered a reset across the league, with every team's roster shaken up and left with holes. Ottawa lost two key defenders back to back in Bell and Aneta Tejralová, who was selected by Seattle with the second pick.

Players who were taken in the expansion draft now need to plan a move to the west coast. Bell has family in Vancouver, which