The PWHL will hold its third annual entry draft in Ottawa on June 24, the league announced Tuesday, with Wisconsin’s Casey O’Brien anticipated to be one of the top selections following her MVP senior season.
What’s yet to be determined is how many teams will be participating in the draft with the six-team league having yet to announce its decision on whether to expand by as many as two franchises.
The draft will take place at Ottawa’s newly expanded Hard Rock Hotel and Casino set to open this spring, and serve as the first event held in the facility’s theatre.
O’Brien is among the prospects who have already met the May 8 deadline to declare being eligible for the draft.
The 23-year-old from Massachusetts is coming off winning her third national title with the Badgers, and was this season’s Patty Kazmaier Award winner. The second-year captain led the nation with 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists), and set a school record with 274 career points (97 goals, 177 assists) in 182 games.
The draft order has yet to be set with the second-year league’s announcement coming during a three-week break coinciding with the women’s world championships being held in Czechia (Czech Republic).
Each of the six teams has three games remaining following the break, with league-leading Montreal the only one to have already clinched a top-four playoff berth. Toronto sits second and is a regulation win from clinching.
Two points separate the next three teams, with Boston sitting third, Ottawa fourth and defending champion Minnesota fifth. New York sits last, six points out of contention and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for a second straight season.
Other top U.S. prospects declaring themselves as eligible include Clarkson’s Haley Winn, currently competing in her third world tournament, and Cornell’s Rory Guilday.
Top Canadian draft-eligible prospects include Boston College’s Abby Newhook and the Clarkson tandem of Anne Cherkowski and Nicole Gosling, who’s sister Julia was selected by Toronto in the first round of last year’s draft. Colgate’s Hannah Murphy, who is from Kingston, Ontario, is regarded as the top goalie prospect after setting a school record with 15 career shutouts.
Among the top European draft-eligible prospects are two members of the Czechia national team: Natalie Mlynkova, who completed her senior season at Minnesota, and Colgate’s Kristyna Kaltounkova.
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