It is a historic day in women's hockey. The newly formed Professional Women's Hockey League held its very first draft on Monday afternoon. 90 of the world's best hockey players found homes on the newly formed teams.
Earlier this month the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) announced the creation of six teams. They include New York, Boston, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Minnesota-St. Paul. The coaches for these teams were named last week and we're busy getting to work on building their teams. A few players were signed before the draft during free agency including big names such as Abby Roque, Emily Clark, Sarah Nurse, and Aerin Frankel.
The PWHL was created to have a place for all the best players in the world to play against each other in one place. Before the creation of this league, there were many that came before it but now with this united league, these phenomenal athletes will have the chance to show the world what they can do and be paid accordingly.
There were over 200 players eligible for the draft including 146 forwards, 78 defenders, and 44 goaltenders. The coaches of these six teams had the difficult task of choosing only 15 each. Any player not picked in the draft can re-enter free agency and can earn the opportunity to sign with any team. There is a chance some teams may carry 28 players into their November training camps but can only sign 20 to contract. There is a clause that six of those contracts must be for a minimum of $80,000 per year for three years.
The live draft action got underway on Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET. Some players drafted were fresh out of University and some were previously members of the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association (PWHPA) or the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Following is a full recap of the first-ever PWHL draft.
PWHL Draft: Full results
Round 1
- Minnesota: Taylor Heise, F (University of Minnesota)
- Toronto: Jocelyne Larocque, D (Team Adidas, PWHPA)
- Boston: Alina Muller, C (Northeastern University)
- New York: Ella Shelton, D (Team Scotiabank, PWHPA)
- Ottawa: Savannah Harmon, D (Team Harvey's, PWHPA)
- Montreal: Erin Ambrose, D (Team Sonnet, PWHPA)
Round 2
- Montreal: Kristin O'Neill, F (Team Adidas, PWHPA)
- Ottawa: Ashton Bell, F (University of Minnesota-Duluth)
- New York: Jamie Bourbonnais, D (Team Scotiabank, PWHPA)
- Boston: Sophie Jaques, D (Ohio State University)
- Toronto: Emma Maltais, F (Ohio State University)
- Minnesota: Nicole Hensley, G (Team Sonnet, PWHPA)
Round 3
- Minnesota: Grace Zumwinkle, F (University of Minnesota)
- Toronto: Kristen Campbell, G (Team Scotiabank, PWHPA)
- Boston: Jamie Lee Rattray, F (Team Harvey's, PWHPA)
- New York: Jessie Eldridge, F (Team Harvey's, PWHPA
- Ottawa: Jincy Dunne-Rose, D (Team Adidas, PWHPA
- Montreal: Maureen Murphy, F (Northeastern University)
Round 4
- Montreal: Dominika Laskova, D (Toronto Six, PHF)
- Ottawa: Gabrielle Hughes, F (University of Minnesota-Duluth)
- New York: Chloe Aurard, LW (Northeastern University)
- Boston: Loren Gabel, F (Boston Pride, PHF)
- Toronto: Natalie Spooner, F (Team Scotiabank, PWHPA)
- Minnesota: Maggie Flaherty, D (University of Minnesota-Duluth
Round 5
- Minnesota: Susanna Tapani, F
- Toronto: Jesse Compher, F (University of Wisconsin)
- Boston: Hannah Brandt, C (Team Sonnet, PWHPA)
- New York: Elizabeth Giguere, F (Boston Pride, PHF)
- Ottawa: Hayley Scamurra, F (Team Harvey's, PWHPA)
- Montreal: Kati Tabin, D (Toronto Six, PHF)
Round 6
- Montreal: Kennedy Marchment, RW (Connecticut Whale, PHF)
- Ottawa: Daryl Watts, C (Toronto Six, PHF)
- New York: Corinne Schroeder, G (Boston Pride, PHF)
- Boston: Jessica DiGirolamo, D (Team Adidas, PWHPA)
- Toronto: Kali Flanagan, D (Boston Pride, PHF)
- Minnesota: Clair DeGeorge, F (Team Harvey's, PWHPA)
Round 7
- Minnesota: Natalie Buchbinder, D (University of Wisconsin)
- Toronto: Victoria Bach, F (Team Scotiabank, PWHPA)
- Boston: Theresa Schafzahl, F (University of Vermont)
- New York: Jill Saulnier, F (Team Adidas, PWHPA)
- Ottawa: Aneta Tejralova, D (Boston Pride, PHF)
- Montreal: Tereza Vanisova, F (Toronto Six, PHF)
Round 8
- Montreal: Madison Bizal, D (Ohio State University)
- Ottawa: Katerina Mrazova, F (Connecticut Whale, PHF)
- New York: Brooke Hobson, D (MoDo Hockey, SDHL)
- Boston: Emily Brown, D (Team Sonnet, PWHPA)
- Toronto: Brittany Howard, F (Toronto Six, PHF)
- Minnesota: Denisa Krizova, F (Minnesota Whitecaps, PHF)
Round 9
- Minnesota: Sidney Morin, D (Minnesota Whitecaps, PHF
- Toronto: Allie Munroe, D (Connecticut Whale, PHF)
- Boston: Taylor Girard, F (Connecticut Whale, PHF)
- New York: Jade Downie-Landry, F (Montreal Force, PHF)
- Ottawa: Zoe Boyd, D (Quinnipiac University)
- Montreal: Gabrielle David, C (Clarkson University)
Round 10
- Montreal: Maude Poulin-Labelle, D (Northeastern University)
- Ottawa: Kristin Della Rovere, C (Harvard University)
- New York: Paetyn Levis, F (Ohio State University)
- Boston: Emma Soderberg, G (University of Minnesota-Duluth)
- Toronto: Mellissa Channell, D (Team Harvey's, PWHPA)
- Minnesota: Sophie Kunin-Shaver, F (Team Harvey's, PWHPA)
Round 11
- Minnesota: Amanda Leveille, G (Minnesota Whitecaps, PHF)
- Toronto: Maggie Connors, F (Princeton University)
- Boston: Sophie Shirley, F (University of Wisconsin)
- New York: Abbey Levy, G (Boston College)
- Ottawa: Lexi Adzija, F (Quinnipiac University)
- Montreal: Jillian Dempsey, F (Boston Pride, PHF)
Round 12
- Montreal: Claire Dalton, F (Yale University)
- Ottawa: Sandra Abstreiter, G (Providence College)
- New York: Olivia Zafuto, D (Boston Pride, PHF)
- Boston: Shiann Darkangelo, LW (Toronto Six, PHF)
- Toronto: Rebecca Leslie, F (Team Sonnet, PWHPA)
- Minnesota: Michela Cava, C (Toronto Six, PHF)
Round 13
- Minnesota: Liz Schepers, F (Minnesota Whitecaps, PHF)
- Toronto: Hannah Miller, F (KRS Shenzhen, Russia)
- Boston: Emma Buckles, D (Team Sonnet, PWHPA)
- New York: Kayla Vespa, F (Team Adidas, PWHPA)
- Ottawa: Amanda Boulier, D (Minnesota Whitecaps, PHF)
- Montreal: Elaine Chuli, G (Toronto Six, PHF)
Round 14
- Montreal: Ann-Sophie Bettez, F (Montreal Force, PHF)
- Ottawa: Caitrin Lonergan, F (Connecticut Whale, PHF)
- New York: Emma Woods, F (Toronto Six, PHF)
- Boston: Tatum Skaggs, F (Team Scotiabank, PWHPA)
- Toronto: Alexa Vasko, F (Team Sonnet, PWHPA)
- Minnesota: Minttu Tuominen, D (Kiekko-Espoo, Naisten Liiga)
Round 15
- Minnesota: Sydney Brodt, F (Minnesota Whitecaps, PHF)
- Toronto: Olivia Knowles, D (Minnesota Whitecaps, PHF)
- Boston: Jessica Healey, D (Buffalo Beauts, PHF)
- New York: Alexandra Labelle, F (Montreal Force, PHF)
- Ottawa: Audrey-Anne Veillette, F (University of Montreal)
- Montreal: Lina Ljungblom, C (MoDo Hockey, SDHL)
The PWHL is set to begin its inaugural 2024 season in January. Team names and exact arena locations are set to be announced soon. Stay tuned to Fansided for all the upcoming news on the PWHL.