There could be another massive shift in power in Toronto Roller Derby next season as defending champs, the Death Track Dolls, had the biggest night of the 2014 entry draft, pulling a league-high eight new skaters to its roster from another impressive draft pool made up of a mix of homegrown D-VAS, some very impressive transfers, and some who were a little bit of both.
It’s consistently becoming a bigger challenge to gain entry onto one of ToRD’s four houseleague teams as play in the league reaches new heights: the recent success of Toronto’s charter team CN Power in the WFTDA playoffs will only make this league a bigger destination than it already is. Along with at least a half dozen skaters who learned the sport in some of Toronto’s less competitive and low contact leagues such as the Rollergettes, Toronto Loco and the GTA Rollergirls, this draft features skaters from as far away as Halifax and Vancouver, but also a number from closer leagues as well, such as Royal City (Guelph) and DRRD (Durham Region Roller Derby).
So while there will be a lot of new faces in ToRD next season (21 new skaters were chosen in the draft), don’t expect the level of play to drop at all.
Chicks Ahoy!
Hyena Koffinkat
Rebel Rock-It
Sneaky Dee
Wheels of Misfortune
Three-time ToRD champs, Chicks Ahoy! are in the midst of a fairly massive rebuild. There wasn’t a lot of off-season change, which will be good for continuity, and with one of their draft picks, they nabbed former Chick, Rebel Rock-It, who brings a ton of experience in her return to houseleague play. They also managed to grab highly touted prospect Sneaky Dee (a standout with the D-VAS this season and already one of the speediest skaters in the league), and Durham Region’s veteran skater Wheels of Misfortune. Finally, Hyena Koffinkat transfers to Toronto from Vancouver, where she just completed her rookie season and could be ready to jump right into the Chicks’ jammer rotation.
Gore-Gore Rollergirls
Francesca Fiure
Guardian Paingel
Lumberjack Flash
Machu Beatchu
Moose Knuckles
The Gore-Gore Rollergirls are the team that never seems to rebuild. Rumours of their imminent collapse in 2012 proved to be premature as they roared back to finish second in the regular season before falling to the Betties in the semifinals. With five spots open, the team has filled those spots with experience across the board. Francesca Fiure transfers from Royal City (she is also a coach with Toronto Men’s Roller Derby), while Machu Beatchu, one of Eastern Canada’s top players, moves in from Halifax, and finally, Guardian Paingel is one of two skaters to have transferred from Vancouver’s Terminal City Roller Girls. Lumberjack Flash is also a local transfer who spent nearly a full season with the D-VAS this year, proving to be a physcial jammer. And finally, homegrown skater and D-VAS vet Moose Knuckles will don the leopard print when she debuts in ToRD’s houseleague.
Smoke City Betties
Babushkill
Darth Kater
Honey Boom Boom
Jam’herhead Shark
Jenny Specter
Whackedher
After making their second ToRD final last season (and first since 2009), the Smoke City Betties look to build on an up-and-down season and create a little more consistency in 2013, and with the Dolls slipping in to a mini rebuild, this could be the season for the Betties to finally raise the Boot.
The Betties picked up two skaters who are coming off of mini-sabbaticals. Whackedher was a rising prospect on the D-VAS two years ago before taking some time to travel; she returned this season and had great success with the farm team. Similarly Darth Kater was one of Durham Region’s brightest stars before also taking some time to see the world in 2013; she returned just in time for last year’s Gibson’s Cup (DRRD houseleague championship) before transferring in the off season. Babushkill is another rising star who recently had to take some time off and returned stronger than ever, while Honey Boom Boom has been turning heads in Toronto for a few years now and was key on the D-VAS in 2013. Finally Jenny Specter earned her stripes in Toronto Loco before stepping it up another competitive level, and Jam’herhead Shark is a homegrown rookie.
The Death Track Dolls
Aston Martini
Bloc Québécois
Devochka
Free Range Clam
Hanibelle
Sleeper Hold
Stringer Belle
Wheatabitch
The Death Track Dolls suffered massive roster change in the off-season, including the retirement or sabbatical of some key veteran skaters and the promotion of three skaters to CN Power. The strength of the draft is evident in the Dolls strong pick ups despite selecting last in each round. The skater who will undoubtedly have the biggest immediate impact is former Gore-Gore Rollergirl and CN Power skater Aston Martini, who returns after taking a season off (she is also a member of the 2014 Bay Street Bruisers as well). However, there is a lot of depth in this group as well. Devochka is coming off of a strong season in Durham Region where she was a key member of the Durham Devils travel team. Hanibelle and Free Range Clam have a lot of experience in Toronto derby as well. Finally, Sleeper Hold (from Toronto Loco) and D-VAS-developed Wheatabitch, and local transfer Stringer Belle round out the new Dolls’ lineup.
The Dolls also picked up an impressive internal transfer from the Gores, seven year vet Junkie Jenny, who will also continue play on the Bay Street Bruisers this season.
**Keep your eyes on Toronto Roller Derby.com for updates on what promises to be an incredible 2014 season in ToRD!
The Derby Nerd 
Congratulations to the five skaters this season that initially trained and bouted full contact competitive games with the Rollergettes / West End Waywards Rollerskating association in Toronto before deciding to make the switch to the full WFTDA ToRD.
A bunch of WEWRA and Rollergettes gals also transferred over. It would be nice to see them mentioned as well!
It’s funny how you chose to mention Toronto Loco transfer skaters by name but when it comes to Rollegettes transfer skaters they’re referred to as local transfer skaters from less competitive leagues. Our website is currently being revamped so if that’s your argument for not referencing our association, that’s unacceptable. Just because our association doesnt have wftda sanctioned games or is a wftda apprentice doesn’t mean we are any less competitive. We follow the same wftda practices when it comes to updated rules of the game as well as when we train new derby skaters. There are four derby leagues/accoscistions in Toronto. Each offer something unique to anyone who wants to play rollerderby. Perhaps you should remember that for next time.
No offense was meant. I wasn’t always exactly sure who had transferred from Rollergettes or GTAR and didn’t want to get it wrong. I will update the post to make a general reference to the Rollergettes and GTAR.
Hi. I noticed that you did not mention WEWRA or the Rollergettes team based in Toronto. We have a number of players who have been drafted to TORD. Thanks
Mention added. Thanks!
Haha, speaking from personal experience, a shoutout from THE Nerd is a point of pride from any skater–especially if you’re not skating for ToRD. You’re the voice of roller derby in Toronto!
a much deserved shout out to derby nerd for his continued support and elevation of this sport… for every criticism you receive please think of all yr beaming fans. xoc