Which Fleet Players Are Most At Risk For Expansion Draft

The initial Boston Fleet protection list was revealed by the league Tuesday.

The three players — goaltender Aerin Frankel, defender Megan Keller and forward Alina Müller — may not have shocked Fleet fans, but it does, however, leave a slew of extremely talented players up for grabs, including captain and women’s hockey legend Hilary Knight.

Knight tied for the league scoring lead last season with 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points and was nominated as one of the three finalists for the Billie Jean King MVP award.

The Fleet had the tough decision of choosing between Knight and likely losing both Müller and Hannah Bilka, or sacrificing the team’s heart and soul to hang onto one of them.

Despite being 35 years old, Knight has proven she still has plenty left in the tank and is certainly at risk of being selected by one of the league’s newest franchises, especially since the Fleet’s former assistant general manager Meghan Turner was named as Seattle’s GM.

Along with Knight, the Fleet are also at risk of losing last year’s first-round draft pick Bilka to either Seattle or Vancouver.

Bilka finished sixth in rookie scoring and registered four goals and five assists for 11 points in her first 13 games for the Fleet. It’s unknown how many more points Bilka would have amassed had she not suffered a lower-body injury while representing Team USA in the Rivalry Series against Canada and been placed on long-term injured reserve in February. During her last collegiate season, Bilka led the Ohio State Buckeyes in scoring with 48 points in 39 games.

As far as goaltending talent, there’s plenty across the league to fill both Vancouver and Seattle’s top two spots that could help the Fleet keep one of their unprotected netminders, Emma Söderberg and Klára Peslarová.

The list includes Minnesota Frost’s Nicole Hensley and Maddie Roonie — who have won back-to-back Walter Cup championships — New York Sirens’ Corinne Schroeder and Ottawa Charge’s Emerance Maschmeyer.

The expansion draft takes place June 9, but the pre-expansion draft signing period begins Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET. Once the Fleet have relinquished two players, they are permitted to protect one additional player.

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