New York Sirens’ 2025-26 Report Cards: Kayle Osborne – The Hockey Writers – New York Sirens

The 2025-26 Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season was a roller coaster for the New York Sirens. The team was sitting strong in a playoff spot by the midseason point, but their late-season collapse denied them the chance to make their first PWHL playoff appearance.

There is no one player to blame for the demise of the Sirens’ season. Hockey is a team sport, and each player did their part to try and give the Sirens their first playoff opportunity. Unfortunately, it was not enough. Some players had better performances than others. In this first installment of the 2025-26 Sirens report cards, we’ll analyze and grade goaltender Kayle Osborne’s performance.

2025-26 Performance

After Corinne Schroeder was selected by the Seattle Torrent in their expansion draft, the Sirens were left with Osborne and two rookie goaltenders, Callie Shanahan and Kaley Doyle. The Sirens had the chance to sign another goaltender to their roster, but they stayed strong with who they had drafted and were already on their roster. With this in mind, Osborne needed to step up to become the Sirens’ starting goaltender, and that she did.

Osborne played in 27 of the Sirens’ 30 games, finishing with an 11-14-1-1 record and four shutouts. Her first shutout of the season was in the Sirens’ season opener against the Ottawa Charge, where she stopped 28 shots. The other three shutouts came against the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Dec. 31, the Toronto Sceptres on Jan. 6, and against the Sceptres again in their final game of the season on April 21.

From Dec. 3 to Dec. 17, the Sirens had a four-game losing streak, but Osborne came back and helped the Sirens win the next four games from Dec. 28 to Jan. 6. It was pretty back and forth for Osborne between wins and losses until March 15 to 28, when she had another four-game losing streak.

Impact on the Sirens

For a large part of the 2025-26 season, Osborne had the weight of the Sirens on her back. She played in all but three games, which is a lot of pressure for a goaltender. The PWHL season isn’t as intense as the NHL, with just 30 games compared to 84, but that’s still a lot of time to be on your A-game and trying to keep your team in it to win it.

Osborne stepped up and proved that she is capable of handling the pressure that comes with the starting role. She made important saves and often kept New York in the game. Her consistent presence in the net for the Sirens was a saving grace at times. 

Future in the PWHL

Before the 2025-26 season ended, the PWHL announced their plans for expansion for the 2026-27 season. Four teams will be joining the league: PWHL Detroit, PWHL Hamilton, PWHL San Jose, and PWHL Las Vegas. With the announcement of the four teams, the PWHL announced a six-phase expansion player distribution process.

In Phase 2, the four incoming PWHL teams had the opportunity to sign five existing players to a contract, and PWHL Hamilton signed Osborne to a three-year contract.

After two seasons as the Sirens’ goaltender, Osborne will be bringing her skills in Hamilton. Losing their starter for the second-straight season is a tough loss for New York, especially after her strong performance in the 2025-26 season. We wish Osborne the best of luck in Hamilton.

Overall Grade

For the 2025-26 season, Osborne receives a B+. She did a great job of trying to keep the Sirens in the mix for the playoffs. Unfortunately, there’s only so much she could do considering the Sirens needed to score more goals.

For her first full season as a starting goaltender, she handled the pressure well and played to the best of her ability. She continued to give it her all until the end of the season.

The 2026-27 schedule is to be announced, but the Sirens will certainly face off against Hamilton during the season. Those who have played with Osborne will know what to look for as they play against her now.