Top draft pick and new coach: PWHL New York GM has a long off-season to-do list

PWHL New York GM Pascal Daoust has a long to-do list.

After his team finished last in the first season of the six-team league, winning only five of 24 games in regulation, Daoust has a chance to revamp his roster this summer.

That starts with the first-overall draft pick New York earned by virtue of being eliminated from playoff contention first. The team was the only one to earn draft order points, which are accumulated based on performance after a team is eliminated from the postseason.

That pick will be made at league's draft in Minnesota on a yet-to-be-announced date in June. By that point, Daoust hopes to have a new head coach sitting at the draft table.

New York parted ways with Howie Draper after one season, with the league saying both sides "mutually agreed to a coaching change." Draper will return to coaching the women's hockey program at the University of Alberta while serving as a special advisor in New York's scouting department.

"I've been blessed to have been a part of PWHL New York this past season," Draper said in a statement last week. "It was an honour to have worked alongside this outstanding group of staff and athletes. I look forward to the opportunity to remain involved in the continuing growth of the program."

On top of all that, Daoust may not be able to tell potential free agents exactly where New York will be playing next season. The team split its home games between three arenas in three different states this season, and struggled to draw fans.

While talking to reporters earlier this week about that to-do list, Daoust repeatedly talked about consistency — looking for players to show that compete level on the ice over a full 60 minutes, finding a coach who prioritizes that, and in a perfect