Lacey Eden, an Annapolis, Maryland native, was selected fifth overall in the 2026 PHWL Draft by the expansion PWHL Las Vegas on Wednesday.
“I’m beyond excited, I’m excited to help build this franchise, to be in Vegas,” Eden said after hearing her name called on the Fox Theatre Stage in Detroit on Wednesday night– a massive accomplishment and goal for her for reasons bigger than herself.
Eden, who started playing hockey at age 4, suited up for the Washington Little Caps U14 team as a high school freshman and for the Washington Little Caps U15 team as a sophomore. With Las Vegas, she will play under newly-named head coach Kim Weiss, a native of Potomac, Maryland.
“Hearing my name called on draft night would not just be an amazing accomplishment for me, but would also show so many younger girls, so many girls from Maryland, that this is a possibility now. I really hope to be somebody that these girls look up to” she said in her draft profile interview.
She is coming off another successful season as a graduate student with the University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team, earning her fourth NCAA National Championship of her collegiate career — the only player in NCAA women’s ice hockey history to do so.
During her five seasons as a Badger, Eden recorded 245 points through 178 games, including 77 (29g, 48a) this past season to lead the nation. She was also named a top 10 finalist for the 2026 Patty Kazmaier award for top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey (equivalent of the Hobey Baker award).
Although she (somewhat shockingly) did not make the Team USA Olympic roster this year, she has a rich and successful history with the national team. She has three gold medals (U18 2019-20 World Junior Championship, 2022-23 World Championship, and 2024-25 WC) and four silver medals (U18 2018-19 WJC, 2021 WC , 2021-22 WC, and 2023-24 WC).
After being cut from the recent Olympic roster, she shifted her focus to leading the Wisconsin Badgers in the absence of four of their best players — including first overall pick Caroline Harvey, fourth overall pick Laila Edwards, and eighth overall pick Kirsten Simms. As the draft broadcast mentioned, she is often dubbed underrated and her career has been defined by proving people wrong. She went a little earlier in the night than expected, being projected for seventh overall by the Hockey News final predictions.
She joins another player with ties to the Maryland hockey community on Las Vegas’ roster, Hayley Scamurra, who she recently attended a Washington Mystics game with.
