The 2024 PWHL Draft has come and gone, leaving the league’s inaugural six franchises freshly stocked with some of the brightest talent from around the world.
Here is each team’s best pick, taking into account the value the player brings at the position they were selected in the draft.
Sorry PWHL New York, slam-dunk first-overall pick Sarah Fillier wasn’t exactly an unexpected steal given the hype surrounding her heading into the draft.
PWHL New York – Elle Hartje, F (Yale University, NCAA), Fifth round, 25th overall
New York ran away with an embarrassment of riches at the draft, and not just because of Fillier as the no-brainer top selection. Backing up Fillier on the depth chart will be Elle Hartje, who has lit up the NCAA for four straight seasons scoring 52 goals and 168 points through 129 games. If she can translate that offensive touch to the PWHL, New York might not have another basement finish for a long time.
It was hard to choose just one player here, as New York’s 10th overall pick Maja Nylén Persson makes a strong case for herself. Against Europe’s top talent, Persson is on a hot streak as the Swedish Women’s Hockey League’s defender of the year for the past three seasons.
PWHL Ottawa – Danielle Serdachny, F (Colgate University, NCAA), First round, 2nd overall
Although many might say Danielle Serdachny was an easy choice at second overall, she’s also exactly what Ottawa needs and has been craving — a big, point-producing centre who can take the burden off of Ottawa’s top-heavy offence.
Far too often, Ottawa lost because they couldn’t recover from the narrowest deficits, dropping 10 of their total 15 losses in their first season by just a single goal.
PWHL Minnesota – Claire Thompson, D (DNP), First round, 3rd overall
From a missing general manager to a controversial pick, Minnesota has quickly come down from the high of a championship season. Head coach Ken Klee and his staff didn’t help matters in the eyes of many, passing on several highly regarded players throughout the draft in favour of a series of off-the-board reaches.
Even with the third overall choice, Minnesota made a surprising decision, as many mock drafts didn’t have Claire Thompson leaving the board until the sixth pick. Prior to the draft, Thompson was a full-time medical student and is ultimately facing a career decision between medicine and hockey. For now, Thompson seems to be sticking with the PWHL.
Minnesota will look to Thompson to improve an already formidable D-corps, even if the recent champions appeared to fall behind in the offensive arms race in the draft.
PWHL Boston – Ilona Markova, F, (Agidel Ufa, ZhHL) Seventh round, 37th overall
Boston made history by selecting Ilona Markova, the first player from Russia to be drafted in PWHL history. Although the current political climate makes her transition to North America more murky than any other player in the draft, her skillset is undeniable.
Markova put up an impressive 40 points in 42 games in the ZhHL, Russia’s top women’s league, and could easily reward Boston’s calculated risk by becoming a fixture in their top six forward group.
PWHL Montreal – Amanda Kessel, F, Seventh round, 41st overall
The highly decorated Amanda Kessel surprised many by declaring herself eligible for the draft and Montreal finally bit with the second-last pick of the day.
At 32 years old, Kessel is certainly a here-and-now pick, and it will be interesting to see how the three-time U.S. Olympian will mesh with her former rivals from across the border in Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey.
PWHL Toronto – Izzy Daniel, F (Cornell University – NCAA), Third round, 18th overall
Izzy Daniel was a gift that fell into Toronto’s lap, as she is fresh off a spectacular season with Cornell that won her the Patty Kazmaier Award, bestowed to the top women’s college hockey player in the United States. She torched the NCAA with a ridiculous 59 points in 34 games, including 19 multi-point games. It’s difficult to draft players with that type of raw offensive prowess.
Daniel should immediately step into Toronto’s top six and contribute to an already formidable offensive core featuring reigning league MVP Natalie Spooner.
Featured image by Heather Pollock/PWHL
