Danielle Serdachny seeks better fit away from Ottawa: ‘We’ll be really upset that we lost her’

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From the moment the PWHL announced its expansion rules during its championship series last month, one Ottawa player was destined to walk out the door.

Danielle Serdachny, fresh off signing a two-year deal with PWHL Seattle, didn’t mince words in her first media appearance with her new team. Her rookie season in Ottawa fell short of expectations.

“It was more on the disappointing end,” the 24-year-old forward said. “I didn’t have as much as an impact as I hoped I would.”

Drafted second overall last summer after a dominant five-year career at Colgate University, Serdachny arrived in the nation’s capital with big expectations. The Charge needed scoring and the Canadian national team forward looked poised to provide it with her elite speed and vision.

But even with big-game experience playing with the Canadian national team at world championship, Serdachny struggled in her adjustment to the PWHL. Skating in all 30 regular-season games, she compiled only two goals and eight points, tied with fellow rookie Mannon McMahon for ninth on the Charge.

Originally playing in a top-six role with power-play time, Serdachny slowly tumbled down the lineup until she found herself buried on the fourth line for nearly all of Ottawa’s eight-game playoff run.

Meanwhile, Sarah Fillier — the only player drafted ahead of her last year — shared the league scoring title and earned a forward of the year nomination. In contrast, Serdachny looked out of place in Ottawa’s defence-first, grinding style of play. She showed glimpses of the blazing speed and puck control that they drafted her for, but more common were the turnovers and lack of finish.

The arrival of Seattle and Vancouver to the league couldn’t have come at a better time. For Serdachny, a change of scenery and a healthy dose of opportunity is absolutely part of the equation to unlocking what many feel is superstar potential.

“This fresh start will be really, really good for me and a new opportunity to play under a new staff and with new teammates,” Serdachny said. “Just hoping I can continue contribute in any way.”

Ottawa general manager Mike Hirshfeld has no doubts that she’ll find her way — and make the Charge regret losing her even more than they already do now.

“We were really optimistic about her future,” he said. “We think she’s got the potential to be one of the best players in this league, so it’s disappointing when you lose that talent from your roster.”

With the ability to protect just three players from the expansion roster-building process, Hirshfeld and the Charge just couldn’t take a chance protecting Serdachny over established difference-makers in Gwyneth Philips, Emily Clark and Ronja Savolainen.

However, making that decision all the more painful is the fact that Serdachny’s best hockey of the season came in Game 4 of the final, when coach Carla MacLeod bumped her up to the top line in a desperate attempt to spark some offence.

Serdachny responded with a high-skill sequence few on Ottawa’s roster could replicate: Charging into the offensive zone, recovering her own dump-in and, while being angled off by Minnesota’s Sophie Jaques, threading a pass back against the grain to Tereza Vanišová for the game-tying goal.

While they were few and far between in her first season, it was plays like those that made Serdachny’s exit a foregone conclusion once she was left unprotected. It was a flash of what made her a collegiate star with 238 points in 180 NCAA games — and why many believe she’ll far exceed the eight points she managed in Year 1.

“I’m sure she’ll be incredible and dynamic in Seattle, and I’m sure we’ll be really upset that we lost her when we see what she does and the numbers she puts up,” Hirshfeld said.

That goes doubly with Knight, the league’s leading scorer and an MVP finalist, joining the fold. If anyone can help unlock Serdachny’s untapped offensive potential, it’ll be her. Hirshfeld likened Knight’s influence to that of Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner, who served as a mentor to Serdachny all season, teaching her how to conduct herself and how to be a pro athlete.

“Danielle looked up to Brianne on our team and used her as a role model and mentor,” he said. “Hilary Knight is in that same class of one of the all-time greats, so I have no doubt that her influence will be a benefit for Danielle.”

Ditto for Alex Carpenter, another top scorer in the PWHL who will form part of Seattle’s offensive nucleus. With the favourable conditions laid out for Seattle and Vancouver in the expansion process, it’s quite possible Serdachny will have far more supporting talent and firepower than Ottawa ever has seen on its roster.

It feels like she’ll have every chance to prove she’s one of the driving forces of the new franchise — Seattle general manager Meghan Turner making her the second signing in franchise history was a vote of confidence.

“I think them believing in me, being one of the first players to sign in Seattle, means a lot,” Serdachny said. “So I’m hoping to kind of build that confidence up and bring that to Seattle.”

That said, Hirshfeld doesn’t feel like there was any shortage of opportunity for the young forward in Ottawa.

“We worked with her, I think we gave her lots of opportunities throughout the season,” he said. “It was just, when you’re focused on winning a championship, you need to play the players that you think get you the best chance to do that. It’s not a comment on her ability or her talent or skill level, it’s just the coach’s decision in those tight games.”

But in a league still defining itself, fit matters. Ottawa’s structured, grind-it-out identity simply didn’t mesh with Serdachny’s strengths. She’s not a fourth-line energy player — she’s a cerebral, north-south talent with the potential to be a franchise cornerstone.

After her confidence was slowly drained over the season with Ottawa, Turner rightfully believes there’s a reward just around the corner for the team that can help restore it.

Bringing the proud Edmonton local closer to home and handing her massive responsibility right off the hop seems like a step in the right direction.

“She’s only beginning to tap into her full potential,” Turner said.

It’ll be Ottawa’s loss.