Beauts Make Last Minute Signing, Add Taylor Wasylk Before Travel To Lake Placid

Courtesy Justin Levine, The Puck Authority

With the late news of Kelly O'Sullivan, Lisa Chesson and Emma Ruggiero opting out of the bubble season, the Buffalo Beauts announced the signing late Thursday of forward Taylor Wasylk for the league's sixth season.

Wasylk joins the organization after spending last season with the Boston Pride. During her tenure with the hockey club, the lefty racked up four points, amassing four assists in just five games played. She opened the season with the Pride, however, did not skate in the Isobel Cup Playoffs.

Wasylk becomes their 21st signing and their 11th forward heading into the bubble. She also becomes the second skater who played in Boston last season to sign a contract with Buffalo. The other is Jordan Juron, who joined the Pride in Brighton for the Isobel Cup Playoffs.

Taking a look now at her college days, the American scored 48 goals along with 48 assists, amassing 96 points. She did so in 145 games. While with the Boston Eagles, Wasylk, in 2011-12, represented her country at the Women's World Championship.

While winning silver at the tournament in Vermont, Wasylk won a gold and a silver at the U-18 World Championship in 2009 and 2010. A native of Port Huron, Michigan, Wasylk fills a hole in the forward group while adding three seasons of professional hockey experience. Joining the team just before travel day, GM Nate Oliver said of the last minute signing, "Taylor is a highly accomplished player at all levels of the game. While we were not anticipating that the Beauts would be signing a player this late before Lake Placid, we are very excited to have a player of Taylor's caliber join us in our journey towards winning the Isobel Cup."

When Taylor Accursi opted out a week ago, the Beauts acted fast and signed forward Brittany Colton. Speaking of which, Buffalo begins their quest for the cup in the first of five games starting January 23rd. They'll open against Connecticut on Saturday before a battle on Sunday against the Boston Pride. From there, they'll face the Riveters on Wednesday before a showdown with their neighbours, the Toronto Six, on Thursday evening.

Their season concludes January 30th with a matinee meeting against the Minnesota Whitecaps. All games will be streamed live on Twitch.tv/NWHL. From there, the semifinals and finals will be carried exclusively on NBCSN. Additionally, streams and coverage will be available on the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com.

It'll mark the first time that women's pro hockey is carried live in the U.S. on a national cable network. As per the official press release, further details on broadcasts will be shared ahead of puck drop.