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Spooner had surgery to repair a torn ACL last May and, though she returned in February, the Scarborough native acknowledged it was “a real grind to get there.”

“The reward of getting back into a game and getting to play the game I love is so much fun,” she said. “Obviously, the journey continues and the recovery’s still ongoing, but it’s nice to get that step out of the way and get back in the game.”

Spooner hasn’t put up the same numbers this season as last; she has just three goals and two assists in 12 games, compared to her more than a point-per-game pace in 2024. Her stride isn’t yet powerful and her quad still needs strengthening, and it will take time for her to truly return to form, she admitted.Ìý

“My knee is not the same yet,” she said.

Spooner played in the world women’s championship in Czechia earlier this month and scored a goal in Canada’s preliminary round win over Switzerland, but she was a healthy scratch for the semifinal and final.Ìý

“It’s all just part of the process,” she said. “I knew I wasn’t just going to be able to jump right back into it.” 

Troy Ryan, the head coach of both the Canadian team and the Sceptres, said Spooner hasn’t yet fully regained the timing and explosiveness upon which her game relies, and is still “working on the little things that make her successful.” 

“When she’s not at 100 per cent, it’s tough for her to execute the things that she’s used to executing.”

Ryan said he and Spooner spoke for two hours when he told her she wasn’t going to play in the final games of the tournament, a conversation that touched on her recovery, family and her goals for her career.Ìý

“I think she understood,” Ryan said. “She’ll find a way to come out of it.” 

He insisted Spooner is playing the way they “expect her to play” given her injury and that a full off-season of rigorous training will do her good.Ìý

“It’s never personal,” Ryan said. “I think she understands that we’re just trying to put the best lineup together.

“When you get people that are high-performance people, it’s hard for them to even envision them not playing to the best of their abilities. She just needs to take it in stride, and it’s easier said than done, I think.” 

As one of the best offensive players in women’s hockey, Spooner figures to have an impact on the Sceptres’ playoff performance, Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull said.

“For her to show how much fight she has and how much resilience she has with how eager she was to make a full recovery and get back to our team, it means a lot to all of us,” Turnbull said. “And we know how much this team means to her.”

Spooner is looking forward to the playoffs. The Sceptres clinched a spot Sunday after the Minnesota Frost lost to the New York Sirens.

“It’s probably going to take a real good off-season to get there,” she said, “but I’m just trying to make an impact wherever I can and do the best I can with what I got right now.”