Toronto Sceptres draft night trade brings Ella Shelton back to plenty of familiarity

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The newest veteran defender on the Toronto Sceptres looked down at the colours and crest on the jersey she was wearing and wondered aloud how long it was going to take to get used to them.

But the colours are going to be the only uncomfortable thing for Ella Shelton as she makes the move from the New York Sirens to the Sceptres.

Shelton, 27, was acquired on draft night for the Sceptres third-overall pick and their third-rounder, 27^th overall.

It brings the Ingersoll native back to some familiar company in national team GM Gina Kingsbury, head coach Troy Ryan and players like Renata Fast, Blayre Turnbull, Emma Maltais and Natalie Spooner, who Shelton has shared plenty of days and nights with during the international portion of her career. Three world championship gold medals and an Olympic gold medal are just some of the spoils from playing with that group.

On top of that familiarity, she’s now just a two-hour drive from the family farm, is back living in the same city with one of her brothers and has an extensive family support system throughout the area from Toronto all the way back to the family home in Ingersoll.

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Shelton learned of the deal just before Cassie Campbell took to the stage at the brand new Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on the outskirts of Ottawa early on draft night and drew gasps from the crowd with the news that Shelton had just become a member of the Sceptres.

The gasps may have also been about New York earning the right to claim the top two forwards in the draft after adding Patty Kazmaier winner Casey O’Brien with the third pick after selecting the imposing Kristyna Kaltounkova with the night’s first pick.

All Shelton needed to see was the joy in the faces of the veteran Sceptres in the crowd as the cameras panned to them to know she was going to be very happy with the deal.

“I think it’s really exciting to be back home,” Shelton said Friday while surrounded by microphones and cameras in the Sceptres locker room. “I wouldn’t trade my two years in New York for anything. I think they have done a lot for me there, too, but I’m excited for a new opportunity and a new space and see what I can do for Toronto.”

In joining Toronto, Shelton becomes a teammate of the player she most models her game after in Fast, the newly minted PWHL defender of the year.

“I can’t say enough good things about Renata Fast,” Shelton said. “She is one that took me under her wing when I graduated from college. She was one I could reach out to and ask any question and I didn’t feel out of place. And then just seeing her work ethic over the past couple of years has just been tremendous and very motivational for myself.

“Her game is so fast and so physical on the ice and I think she has such a huge impact on the ice as well as in the locker room, I’d love to try and mimic my game around what she does and try to do that things she is doing,” Shelton added.

That said, Shelton brings her own impressive resume from New York. No defender in the league has scored more goals or amassed more points over the two years the league has been up and running than Shelton.

But very much like Fast’s progression, the offence is relatively new to her game.

“When I think of my college days, I was a very defensive defender,” Shelton said. “I still produced, but Clarkson’s biggest thing was defence and being really solid in that because once you have that, it is so easy to go and play in the offensive zone. I think knowing now that I have that solidified and being able to still work on it, it’s something in my offensive game that I really want to continue to grow.

“People love to see goals being scored. People love to see creative things being done so for me to continue to find different ways to produce would be awesome especially in the offensive zone. Just using my strengths – my speed, my feet and my size — and doing all that while on being on the blue line can be a challenge but I’m up for the challenge.”

The bigger challenge may be avoiding those calls from her dad asking her to come home to the farm and help with the planting or, heaven forbid, the rock-picking duties that are an annual part of the farm calendar.

“My dad will be ‘Well, you’re just down the street now, you can just come join us.’” Shelton said. “But I love going back home and being on the farm. It will be nice to pop down the street and go and help drive a tractor if they need that or maybe I’ll just drive one for fun.”

Shelton is thrilled to be back in a hockey situation where her family is so close.

“Every time I’ve come to Toronto (as a member of the Sirens) it was fun to see familiar faces up in the stands and now I get to do that on a consistent basis,” she said. “I’m really excited about this locker room too. Being really familiar with a lot of players and the staff itself, it feels really homey.”

It won’t be long at all before that royal blue and that golden Sceptre on her chest feels every bit as familiar as her former jersey.

mganter@postmedia.com