The PWHL’s third-ever Entry Draft aired YouTube Wednesday night, as the league’s 12 franchises continue building their rosters for the 2026-27 season.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes already made history, selecting Wisconsin defenseman and Team USA standout Caroline Harvey first overall.
Caroline Harvey selected first overall by the Vancouver Goldeneyes
This year’s draft, held at Detroit’s Fox Theatre, featured six rounds and 72 total selections.
Video: Watch the 2026 PWHL Draft
First Round
| Pick | PWHL Team | Player | Nationality | College/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Goldeneyes | Caroline Harvey (D) | USA | Wisconsin (NCAA) |
| 2 | Seattle Torrent | Abbey Murphy (F) | USA | Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 3 | PWHL Las Vegas (from DET) | Tessa Janecke (F) | USA | Penn State (NCAA) |
| 4 | PWHL San Jose | Laila Edwards (D/F) | USA | Wisconsin (NCAA) |
| 5 | PWHL Las Vegas | Lacey Eden (F) | USA | Wisconsin (NCAA) |
| 6 | PWHL Hamilton | Nelli Laitinen (D) | Finland | Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 7 | New York Sirens | Emma Peschel (D) | USA | Ohio State (NCAA) |
| 8 | Toronto Sceptres | Kirsten Simms (F) | USA | Wisconsin (NCAA) |
| 9 | Minnesota Frost | Sara Swiderski (D) | Canada | Ohio State (NCAA) |
| 10 | Boston Fleet | Grace Dwyer (D) | USA | Cornell (NCAA) |
| 11 | Ottawa Charge | Vivian Jungels (D) | USA | Wisconsin (NCAA) |
| 12 | Montreal Victoire | Petra Nieminen (F) | Findland | Luleå (SDHL) |
Analysis: Five of the first 11 picks were out of the University of Wisconsin, including Caroline Harvey (1st overall, Vancouver), Laila Edwards (4th overall, San Jose), Lacey Eden (5th overall, Las Vegas), Kirsten Simms (8th overall, Toronto), and Vivian Jungels (11th overall, Ottawa). Eden, an Annapolis, MD native, will be paired with head coach Kim Weiss, a Potomac, MD native, in Las Vegas.
All five of the draft-eligible 2026 Olympic gold medalists from Team USA went in the first round, four of them in the top five.
More than 50 percent of players who declared for the draft come from the NCAA, and all but one of the first-round picks were from the NCAA.
Second Round
| Pick | PWHL Team | Player | Nationality | College/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | PWHL Las Vegas (from VAN) | Isabel Wunder (F) | Canada | Princeton (NCAA) |
| 14 | Seattle Torrent | Sydney Morrow (D) | USA | Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 15 | PWHL Detroit | Andrea Brändli (G) | Switzerland | Frölunda HC (SDHL) |
| 16 | PWHL San Jose | Sloane Matthews (F) | USA | Ohio State (NCAA) |
| 17 | Vancouver Goldeneyes (from LV) | Thea Johansson (F) | Sweden | Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA) |
| 18 | PWHL Hamilton | Jade Iginla (F) | Canada | Brown (NCAA) |
| 19 | New York Sirens | Elisa Holopainen (F) | Finland | Frölunda HC (SDHL) |
| 20 | Toronto Sceptres | Jamie Nelson (F) | USA | Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 21 | Minnesota Frost | Viivi Vainikka (F) | Finland | Brynäs (SDHL) |
| 22 | PWHL Detroit (from BOS) | Casey Borgiel (D) | USA | Colgate (NCAA) |
| 23 | Ottawa Charge | Jordan Ray (F) | USA | Yale (NCAA) |
| 24 | Montreal Victoire | Avi Adam (F) | Canada | Cornell (NCAA) |
Analysis: PWHL Detroit, the draft hosts, made their first-ever draft pick, selecting goaltender Andrea Brändli at 15th overall. They also made their second pick, adding defenseman Casey Borgiel.
Jordan Ray, picked 23rd overall by the Ottawa Charge, became the first player from Florida to be drafted to the PWHL.
Third Round
| Pick | PWHL Team | Player | Nationality | College/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Vancouver Goldeneyes | Jules Constantinople (D) | USA | Northeastern (NCAA) |
| 26 | Seattle Torrent | Emerson Jarvis (F) | Canada | Quinnipiac (NCAA) |
| 27 | Boston Fleet (from DET) | Leah Stecker (D) | USA | Penn State (NCAA) |
| 28 | PWHL San Jose | Tia Chan (G) | Canada | UConn (NCAA) |
| 29 | PWHL Las Vegas | Josefin Bouveng (F) | Sweden | Minnesota (NCAA) |
| 30 | PWHL Hamilton | Elyssa Biederman (F) | USA | Colgate (NCAA) |
| 31 | New York Sirens | Carina DiAntonio (F) | Canada | Yale (NCAA) |
| 32 | Toronto Sceptres | Brooke Disher (D) | Canada | Ohio State (NCAA) |
| 33 | Minnesota Frost | Madelyn Christian (F) | USA | Penn State (NCAA) |
| 34 | PWHL Detroit (from BOS) | MaryKate O’Brien (F) | USA | Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA) |
| 35 | Ottawa Charge | Tereza Pištěková (F) | Czechia | SDE (SDHL) |
| 36 | Montreal Victoire | Zoe Uens (D) | Canada | Quinnipiac (NCAA) |
Analysis: The NCAA and USA are dominating the draft. Over 52 percent of picks are American, and 86 percent hail from NCAA schools.
One of MaryKate O’Brien’s greatest strengths is her physicality and hard checking. While it got her into penalty trouble earlier in her collegiate career – women’s college hockey still does not technically allow body checking – hits are legal in the PWHL.
Fourth Round
| Pick | PWHL Team | Player | Nationality | College/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | Vancouver Goldeneyes | Katelyn DeSa (G) | USA | Penn State (NCAA) |
| 38 | Seattle Torrent | Grace Elliott (F) | Canada | British Columbia (USports) |
| 39 | PWHL Detroit | Kyla Josifovic (F) | Canada | UConn (NCAA) |
| 40 | PWHL San Jose | Lily Shannon (F) | USA | Northeastern (NCAA) |
| 41 | PWHL Las Vegas | Saskia Maurer (G) | Switzerland | SC Bern (SWHL) |
| 42 | PWHL Hamilton | Megan Woodworth (F) | Canada | UConn (NCAA) |
| 43 | New York Sirens | Katelyn Roberts (F) | USA | Penn State (NCAA) |
| 44 | Toronto Sceptres | Jane Kuehl (F) | USA | Princeton (NCAA) |
| 45 | Minnesota Frost | Tova Henderson (D) | Canada | Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA) |
| 46 | Boston Fleet | Jaden Bogden (F) | Canada | Northeastern (NCAA) |
| 47 | Ottawa Charge | Victoria Mariano (D) | USA | Northeastern (NCAA) |
| 48 | Montreal Victoire | Hailey MacLeod (G) | Canada | Ohio State (NCAA) |
Analysis: Lily Shannon, PWHL San Jose’s fourth-round pick, represents a new community. The Northeastern captain was born with hearing loss and has worn hearing aids her entire life, overcoming that adversity to reach the top level of women’s hockey.
Victoria Mariano, the 47th overall pick by the Ottawa Charge, almost went to college for softball instead of hockey. She’s had an interesting path to the PWHL overall, not playing hockey last year and instead finishing her degree at Northeastern while occasionally participating in team practices.
Fifth Round
| Pick | PWHL Team | Player | Nationality | College/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | PWHL Las Vegas (from VAN) | Kendall Butze (D) | USA | Penn State (NCAA) |
| 50 | Seattle Torrent | Gracie Gilkyson (D) | Canada | Yale (NCAA) |
| 51 | PWHL Detroit | Sena Catterall (F) | Canada | Clarkson (NCAA) |
| 52 | PWHL San Jose | Mckenna Van Gelder (F) | Canada | Cornell (NCAA) |
| 53 | PWHL Las Vegas | Alexis Petford (F) | Canada | Colgate (NCAA) |
| 54 | PWHL Hamilton | Emma-Sofie Nordström (G) | Denmark | St. Lawrence (NCAA) |
| 55 | New York Sirens | Grace Wolfe (D) | USA | St. Cloud State (NCAA) |
| 56 | Toronto Sceptres | Emerson O’Leary (F) | USA | Princeton (NCAA) |
| 57 | Minnesota Frost | Daria Gredzen (G) | Russia | Biryusa Krasnoyarsk (ZhHL) |
| 58 | Boston Fleet | Jenna Goodwin (F) | Canada | Frölunda HC (SDHL) |
| 59 | Ottawa Charge | Neena Brick (F) | Canada | MoDo (SDHL) |
| 60 | Montreal Victoire | Erica Rieder (D) | Canada | Luleå (SDHL) |
Analysis: Multisport athletes continue to come off the board. Sena Catterall, selected by PWHL Detroit at 51st overall, has proven she has skilled hands both on and off the ice. She made an incredible catch for Team Canada at the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup Finals.
Mckenna Van Gelder is coming for Alex Ovechkin’s goal record. PWHL San Jose’s fifth-round pick set a goal of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s (at the time) goal record when she was eight years old, then went on to score 50 goals in 31 games that season.
Sixth Round
| Pick | PWHL Team | Player | Nationality | College/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Vancouver Goldeneyes | Ashley Messier (D) | USA | Minnesota-Duluth (NCAA) |
| 62 | Seattle Torrent | Gabriella Durante (G) | Italy | Real Torino (IHLW) |
| 63 | PWHL Detroit | Georgia Schiff (F) | USA | Cornell (NCAA) |
| 64 | PWHL San Jose | Reichen Kirchmair (F) | Canada | Providence (NCAA) |
| 65 | PWHL Las Vegas | Sydney Healey (F) | Canada | Boston University (NCAA) |
| 66 | PWHL Hamilton | Mya Vaslet (F) | Canada | Penn State (NCAA) |
| 67 | New York Sirens | Naomi Boucher (F) | Canada | Yale (NCAA) |
| 68 | Toronto Sceptres | Alyssa Regalado (D) | Canada | Cornell (NCAA) |
| 69 | Minnesota Frost | Lara Beecher (F) | USA | Clarkson (NCAA) |
| 70 | Boston Fleet | Maeve Kelly (D) | USA | Boston University (NCAA) |
| 71 | Ottawa Charge | Taylor Otremba (F) | USA | Minnesota State (NCAA) |
| 72 | Montreal Victoire | Emilie Lavoie (F) | Canada | Concordia (USports) |
The largest and arguably most talented draft in PWHL history is officially over, with no trades during the event. Nine countries, six leagues, and 72 history-making players drafted.
The NCAA is clearly the current route for women’s ice hockey players to turn professional, with 59 of 72 drafted players (nearly 82 percent) coming from college hockey.
Penn State swept the draft, with all seven of their declared players getting drafted. The program, which has only been officially Division I for 13 seasons, has dominated in their conference, won their first ever NCAA tournament game this past season, and made their first Frozen Four appearance.
Yale also swept, with all four of their available draftees being selected – doubling the current number of Yale alumni in the PWHL. The ECAC continued to represent well, with all three of Princeton’s eligible players also getting drafted.
