Mock 2024 PWHL Draft

The second PWHL Draft is on June 10 so to get ready, we had a mock draft!

Each writer took a team for our three-round draft (the real draft is seven rounds) that followed the same order. We ran the draft asynchronously via a Google Doc because of our schedules. Next to each team you'll see who was the acting general manager.

Huge thank you to Melissa Burgess from the Victory Press for joining our team for this exercise! The Victory Press has been covering women's hockey since 2015 and is fully reader supported. If you can, be sure to support them as well!

Round 1

1 - PWHL New York: Sarah Fillier, F, Canada
Does New York need another star center with Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque under contract? Definitely not, but I am taking the best player available and that, to me, is Fillier. She's a franchise talent who already has three golds at Worlds and an Olympic gold to her name at the age of 23. - Mike Murphy

2 - PWHL Ottawa: Danielle Serdachny, F, Canada
While I fully believe that Ottawa needs most of their help on defense, when the draft is as deep as this, I think you take the chance on a franchise forward like Serdachny who can fill the role of some of the veterans like Jenner in the long run. Ottawa is also missing the grit that they had at the beginning of the season, and Serdachny is willing to get in the dirty areas to make plays. No team that drafts Serdachny will be made worse by having her on board. - Maya Smith

3 - PWHL Minnesota: Hannah Bilka, F, USA
After four years at BC, Bilka flourished in her final year of NCAA eligibility playing at the powerhouse of Ohio State. She’s a playmaker who doesn’t hesitate to get involved physically and will help bring Minnesota’s offense into the better half of the league. She has a gold medal and two silvers at Worlds and will play well with fellow American national team members Kelly Pannek, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Taylor Heise & Nicole Hensley. - Melissa Burgess from the Victory Press

4 - PWHL Boston: Cayla Barnes, D, USA
Boston needs more help on offense than defense, but the opportunity to have a potential top pairing of Barnes and Megan Keller for years to come is too good to pass up. That aside, Barnes is simply an elite all-around defender. I’m not a huge +/- girl, but Barnes led the NCAA with a +71 last season, 16 ahead of second-place Britta Curl, which is too incredible to ignore. Most importantly for Boston, her skill in transition and ability to quarterback a power play will be huge boosts to their offense. - Lydia Murray

5 - PWHL Montréal: Izzy Daniel, F, USA
On a team that had plenty of sharp shooters but struggled on offense when it was most needed, I think the playmaking skill Daniel has, as well as her astuteness and work ethic, could really bring Montréal’s offense to a whole new level. Despite being a Triple Crown winner (Patty Kazmaier, ECAC Player of the Year and Ivy League Player of the Year), Daniel has definitely been less talked about than her contemporaries, and that's fine. She can carry a heavy workload, she performs amazingly in the clutch (factoring into 11 game-winning goals for Cornell her senior season), and on a team that had to clean up its act penalty-wise, she won't be likely to land in the box (10 PIM in 34 games last season). - Angelica Rodriguez

6 - PWHL Toronto: Claire Thompson, D, Canada
After taking a year away from the sport to complete her medical degree, Claire Thompson has re-entered the PWHL Draft. With the current Hockey Canada influence in Toronto, the Thompson pick from Gina Kingsbury is written in the stars. With the addition of Thompson, the pressure on Toronto’s top pair of Jocelyne Larocque and Renata Fast could lessen as Claire Thompson brings impact on both ends of the ice with her skating, vision, and offensive impact. - Alyssa Turner

Round 2

7 - PWHL New York: Noora Tulus, F, Finland
The days of New York being over-dependent on Alex Carpenter producing offense and scoring chances are over. Tulus, 28, is a world-class talent in her prime that will make an immediate impact on New York. She led the SDHL in scoring last year and is always a bright star for the Finnish national team. - Mike Murphy

8 - PWHL Ottawa: Daniela Pejšová, D, Czechia
Defense was arguably Ottawa’s biggest weakness last season. Although she’s young, Pejšová has already been playing pro-hockey in Sweden for both McDo and Luleå, putting up competitive numbers. And she’s Czech, and has experience playing for Czechia internationally, which means that she and Coach Carla McLeod know each other quite well. - Maya Smith

9 - PWHL Minnesota: Amanda Kessel, F, USA
Kessel took a year off from playing and spent this season as Special Assistant to the GM of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, but her skill and experience is still incredibly valuable. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Kessel played four years at Minnesota (2010-2016) and would be a great ‘homegrown’ talent to add to their repertoire. Like my first-round pick in Bilka, Kessel would be another USWNT-experienced player who is already quite familiar with several signed Minnesotans. - Melissa Burgess from the Victory Press

10 - PWHL Boston: Jennifer Gardiner, F, Canada
 Boston’s offense was their weakest link this season, and they’ll be looking to get faster and more creative in the draft. The former Buckeyes captain can bring exactly that, with explosive speed and great playmaking vision, plus a good, versatile shot. She’s also responsible defensively and as long as her game translates well to the professional ranks, she could be the kind of player you can trust up and down the lineup and in most situations. - Lydia Murray

11 - PWHL Montréal: Maja Nylén Persson, D, Sweden
This was such a difficult choice to make between Persson and Ronja Savolainen – both are mobile defenders, can jump up into the play, and Savolainen has the size to make the blueline incredibly intimidating no matter where she goes. Persson has a couple years more to develop, though, and her link to 2023 draft pick Lina Ljungblom could pay dividends for Montréal. Her ability to play in multiple situations can give a much-needed boost to special teams as well as in postseason. Simply put, I think Persson can really make a difference on the blueline and shine next to players like Erin Ambrose.  - Angelica Rodriguez

12 - PWHL Toronto: Julia Gosling, F, Canada
During last year’s draft Toronto selected Natalie Spooner in the fourth round. Spooner would go on to lead the league in points and goals and earn MVP nominee honours. Julia Gosling is a player to me that has similar tendencies to Spooner. She’s a big bodied power forward with slick hands and is extremely dangerous off the rush and in front of the net. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Sticking with the Hockey Canada tie ins, Toronto selecting Julia Gosling in the second round makes perfect sense if available. With the loss of Brittany Howard, Julia Gosling replaces that void immediately for Toronto’s forward core as the 23-year old can make an impact both on the wing and at centre. - Alyssa Turner

Round 3

13 - PWHL New York: Ronja Savolainen, D, Finland
I've long been a fan of Savolainen’s game. She's big, she's mobile, and she is an impact player in both the offensive and defensive zones. Savolainen’s strength and ability to move the puck would be a welcome addition to New York’s blue line and would add another established star to a team that needs just that. Like Tulus, she also knows what it takes to be a leader for a successful pro team. There are several other players I'd love to take at the top of Round Three, but I'm in “Win Now” mode for New York, which is to say I want to turn things around in a hurry. So, Savolainen it is. - Mike Murphy

14 - PWHL Ottawa: Allyson Simpson, D, USA
Simpson is an offensive defender who can score goals without sacrificing her play on the blue line. If the games are as low scoring next season as they were in 2024, teams are going to need scoring from everywhere, not just up front. She put up solid numbers last season that could serve Ottawa well 2025 and beyond. - Maya Smith

15 - PWHL Minnesota: Abigail Boreen, F, USA
Boreen is in a unique position, entering the draft despite having some PWHL experience already after playing briefly with Minnesota as a reserve player. She was impressive in her small sample size, but PWHL rules meant they couldn’t sign her to another contract for the Final after she’d already played in the semifinal. (Still, it was great to see her on the ice for the Walter Cup celebration!) She had five points in nine regular season games and one assist in five playoff games. She previously spent five years of college at Minnesota, breaking out with a 59-point campaign in her senior year and being named captain in her final season. - Melissa Burgess from the Victory Press

16 - PWHL Boston: Anna Meixner, F, Austria
The Austrian captain and 2023 SDHL MVP brings speed, a nose for the net, and a finishing touch (especially in tight)- all things Boston will be looking for. During a media availability earlier this week, Boston GM Danielle Marmer said she will be looking for proven players who can make an immediate impact, and the soon-to-be 30-year-old Meixner fits that description. She’s typically at or above a point per game in the SDHL and with Team Austria, and while the PWHL will undoubtedly be a tougher test, she should still be able to contribute at least solid depth scoring while being a reliable all-around player. Add in that she already has chemistry with Theresa Schafzahl, who Boston has under contract for another year, and you have the recipe for a solid mid-round pick-up. - Lydia Murray

17 - PWHL Montréal: Emmy Fecteau, F, Canada
The former NSEQ Rookie of the Year and Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Player of the Year is incredibly productive in the faceoff circle and has local ties as a Concordia University alumna, meaning she could already be on their radar. She tallied 89 points in 83 games during her U Sports tenure and also helped Canada win a gold medal at the Universaide back in 2023, and can really provide some good depth to the lineup (especially if Montréal looks at bringing over former teammate Rosalie Bégin-Cyr as a later pick or a camp invitee).  - Angelica Rodriguez

18 - PWHL Toronto: Elle Hartje, F, USA
Across the past three collegiate seasons there’s very few players who have scored at the rate Hartje has. In her last 101 games the Yale forward had an impressive 143 points. Despite being one of the smaller forwards in this year’s draft, Hartje provides scoring depth and an impressive hockey IQ. Due to her size and speed, Hartje’s draft stock is flying a bit under the radar and could end up being one of the biggest steals of the draft.  - Alyssa Turner