PWHL Draft Takeaways: Elite blue lines, Minnesota’s hometown team take centre stage

Monday was a historic day for women’s hockey as 90 of the best players in the world heard their names called from the Professional Women’s Hockey League draft stage in preparation for the January 2024 start of the league’s inaugural season.

The PWHL draft saw 53 forwards, 29 defenders, and eight goaltenders selected over the course of 15 rounds. The six-team league, whose roster-building process began Sept. 1 with a 10-day free agency period that saw each club sign three foundational players, now runs 108 players deep.

There are plenty more roster spots to fill, with all undrafted players officially hitting free agency later this week and teams mandated to a minimum of 28 November training camps invitees before finalizing their rosters.

But for now, let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from what was a star-studded and exciting draft day in Toronto. 

Billie Jean King opens draft on perfect note

There was a buzz that rippled through the atrium at Toronto’s CBC building when the legendary Billie Jean King arrived on the purple carpet. The tennis legend and champion of women in sport has been instrumental in bringing the PWHL to life, and she was the perfect person to kick things off on Monday afternoon.

As King was introduced onstage to open the event, she was met with a standing ovation. When she spoke, every word reinforced the importance of this momentous occasion:

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::before {
content: “”;
position: absolute;
top: 45%;
left: 50%;
transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
height: 0px;
border-top: 14px solid transparent;
border-left: 22px solid #fff;
border-bottom: 14px solid transparent;
margin-left: 3px;
}

That she was the one to announce the top pick — Taylor Heise to Minnesota — was the perfect way to get the draft started.

Early run on elite defenders has teams prioritizing blue line

Considering how many goal-scorers were scooped up in the initial free-agency period, it felt like we’d be seeing a lot of the game’s top rearguards taken early on Monday. Four of the six players called in Round 1 were defenders, headlined by the selection of Team Canada veteran Jocelyne Larocque — who reunites with national squad D partner Renata Fast to form the PWHL’s most fearsome defence duo — followed by Canada’s Ella Shelton (fourth overall to New York), USA’s Savannah Harmon (fifth, Ottawa) and Canadian Erin Ambrose (sixth, Montreal). Defenders made up seven of the top 10 picks, as well, thanks to another run in Round 2: Ashton Bell (Ottawa), Jaime Bourbonnais (New York) and Sophie Jaques (Boston) were quickly picked up.

While Minnesota waited until the fourth round to take its first defender of the draft and Toronto and Boston took just one each through the first five rounds, New York, Ottawa and Montreal prioritized the position early. Ottawa showed its intention to build from the blue line out, with GM Michael Hirshfeld taking defenders Harmon, Bell, and Jincy Dunne with his first three picks.

Pascal Daoust, too, put his blue line front and centre on Monday. After signing Canada’s Micah Zandee-Hart in free agency, New York’s GM quickly brought in two more Canadian rearguards in fourth-overall pick Shelton and ninth selection Bourbonnais.

Canada and USA lead the way, but hockey’s international growth on display at draft

Monday’s draft gave us an interesting snapshot of the game on a global scale. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of players hail from Canada (48 selected) and the United States (29). But it was the players selected from outside North America that give us a glimpse of how the game is growing. No single player today represents that more than Alina Müller, who was — as projected — the first European player drafted. She didn’t have to wait long to hear her name, either, going third overall to Boston. She would’ve been a flawless fit in any market, but her arrival in Boston gives Danielle Marmer’s squad one of the strongest one-two punches down the middle in Hilary Knight and Müller — two of the biggest stars on the international stage.

All told, a total of nine different nations were represented among Monday’s 90 draft picks, with 13 European players selected.

Czechia led the way in that regard, yielding five picks — third most behind Canada and the U.S. The nation is on the rise when it comes to women’s hockey, its growth evident on the international circuit with back-to-back bronze medals at the women’s world championship under the leadership of Canadian head coach Carla MacLeod. MacLeod is now head coach of PWHL Ottawa and reunites with two of her Team Czechia players in defender Aneta Tejralová and forward Katerina Mrázová, chosen in the seventh and eighth round, respectively.

Czech defender Dominika Lásková, selected 19^th overall by Montreal, was both the first player from her nation as well as the first former PHF player selected on Monday.

More from Sportsnet

PWHL Draft Tracker: Round-by-round recap of all 90 selections

‘It feels real’: PWHL takes monumental step forward with historic draft

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
gap: 20px;
}

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}

PHF represents largest player pool at draft

All 18 players signed in the initial free-agency period were members of the PWHPA and stars of the Canadian and American national teams. That player pool factored prominently into the top of the draft, too, with 16 of the first 20 picks having played on either side of the Canada-USA rivalry.

The biggest PWHL prospect pool was provided by the PHF, which saw 98 players declare for the draft. Thirty-three players selected Monday spent the 2022-23 season with a PHF club. The second-largest draft presence was the PWHPA (27), following by the NCAA, which saw 26 players make the jump from college directly to the pros.

Late-round goalie picks bring big value

It didn’t take long for a goaltender to hear her name called. Minnesota used its second pick Monday to select Team USA’s Nicole Hensley 12^th overall. When Toronto claimed Team Canada backup Kristen Campbell two picks later, it was worth wondering whether we might see a few more go early, but the rest of the class had to wait a little longer to learn their destinations. A second run of netminders started in the 10^th round with the selection of Sweden’s Emma Söderberg to Boston, who joins Aerin Frankel in what is a very dynamic — and young — goalie duo. Two more goalies were taken in Round 11 (Amanda Leveille to Minnesota, Abigail Levy to New York) followed by one each in Rounds 12 (Sandra Abstreiter to Ottawa) and 13 (Elaine Chuli to Montreal).

Five clubs now have their nets sorted out, but Toronto will need to search the secondary free agency market for its backup. Toronto’s high selection of Campbell and decision not to draft a second netminder tells us they’re confident in their No. 1, but it’ll be interesting to see how they approach the No. 2 slot.

The State of Hockey is strong in Minnesota

Former USA Hockey captain and Minnesota native Natalie Darwitz knows firsthand what it’s like to live and play in The State of Hockey. The Minnesota native is herself a local legend, and with a draft class rich in top-end talent from the region, it’s no surprise she kept things largely local as she assembled the star-studded squad that will call Minneapolis-St. Paul home.

It was lottery luck that landed consensus top pick Taylor Heise — Gophers co-captain, leading scorer, and 2022 Patty Kazmaier winner who, at 23, is already a mainstay on Team USA’s forward unit — with her hometown club as she begins her professional career right out of college. But the picks that followed showed a clear local focus. Of the 15 players selected by Minnesota on Monday, 11 have ties to the region either through birth, college careers, training there over summers, or a combination of all three.

There’s so much familiarity already evident on this squad. For one thing, Day 1 of training camp will feel like a Gophers reunion — the club now has five former Universtiy of Minnesota players. Fourth-round selection Maggie Flaherty, Minnesota’s top-drafted defender, was giddy with excitement at the idea of playing alongside and learning from Lee Stecklein. USA Olympic goaltender Nicole Hensley is one of the handful of players not from Minnesota, but her time on the national team and living and training in Minnesota has her on the ice often with this group she’ll now call teammates. (And yes, she’s relieved not to be facing some of those shots.)

Kingsbury turns to familiar player pool with top picks

Darwitz, of course, wasn’t the only GM to draft with a focus on the familiar. Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury, who made the jump to the PWHL from her post as GM of the Canadian national women’s team and took her head coach, Troy Ryan, with her, brought in more Canucks than any other squad. All but two of Toronto’s draft picks are Canadian, headlined by a run of four Team Canada players —Larocque, Emma Maltais, Campbell,  and Natalie Spooner — with her first four picks on Monday. Forward Jesse Compher, selected 26^th overall, was the first non-Canadian taken by Toronto but is certainly no stranger to Team Canada — she’s suited up on the other side of the Canada-USA rivalry and will now get her first taste of playing in a Canadian market.

.acf-block-preview .br-video-thumbnail::before {
content: “”;
position: absolute;
top: 45%;
left: 50%;
transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-moz-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-ms-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-o-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
-webkit-transform: translate3d(-50%, -50%, 0);
width: 20px;
height: 0px;
border-top: 14px solid transparent;
border-left: 22px solid #fff;
border-bottom: 14px solid transparent;
margin-left: 3px;
}

Montreal, Boston keep us on our toes with fun (but surprising!) pick-ups

While, sure, geography certainly played a role in some teams’ formation, there were plenty of picks that didn’t play into that storyline. Boston and Montreal, in particular, shook things up with two of the more surprising picks of the day.

Hailing from the Ottawa area, Team Canada’s Jamie Lee Rattray felt like a no-brainer pick for that market. But while Hirshfeld set his sights on defence — and, interestingly, came up with a roster featuring the second fewest Canadians league-wide — Rattray was scooped up by Boston.

That market is going to love Rattray, who plays a brand of hockey that screams Boston thanks to her gritty game, willingness to play anywhere up and down the lineup, and her winning resume.

Montreal, too, threw a curveball with their pick-up of Jillian Dempsey — the curve being that the Harvard alumnus and PHF Pride’s all-time leading scorer didn’t land in Boston. Dempsey is one of the game’s best scorers and it’ll be really fun to see her suit up alongside the likes of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, and others. But it’s going to take a little time to get used to Dempsey’s name on something other than a Boston sweater this January.

Top undrafted players should be busy in free agency

With a talent pool as deep as this one, it was inevitable that we’d see some really strong players still without a roster spot at the end of the day. The most surprising name not called Monday was Team Canada defender Claire Thompson. But Thompson, who was on the PWHL’s list of players declared eligible for the draft, is currently balancing her hockey career with medical school at NYU. The league did not release names of players who applied for “compassionate circumstance” consideration, but it’s very likely Thompson will land with New York because of her existing commitments. (Natalie Spooner, whose nine-month-old son Rory was with her at the draft, confirmed that her compassionate circumstance application was approved and she landed in Toronto in Round 4.) Some notable PHF stars also went undrafted — including Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Madison Packer, Allie Thunstrom, and Kaleigh Fratkin, as well as veteran goalies Noora Raty and Maddie Rooney — and should be among the top names to watch in free agency and ahead of training camps opening in November.