Breaking Down the NCAA's Most Likely Draft Powerhouses

The explosion of women’s hockey in recent years has created a real pathway for NCAA student-athletes to make a living playing hockey, instead of having to give up the sport when they graduate. Now, when athletes consider what school to play for, they will want to consider not only their NCAA record but also their draft record for the PWHL. With two drafts under the PWHL’s belt, which schools are becoming draft powerhouses? 

The Ice Garden looked at which schools had the highest number of draftees in 2023 and 2024 and compared that to how well the schools have performed in recent history in order to predict which schools might become destinations for athletes looking to go pro. 

A Couple of Notes

Before we start, some caveats. The inaugural PWHL draft leaned heavily on professional players from the PWHPA and the PHF who had already graduated from college, and thus they are not included in this count. The majority of 2024 draft picks were NCAA student-athletes and will be for the future, as obviously the PWHPA and PHF no longer exist. Additionally, graduate transfers will be counted as alumni of the last school they played for. 

Ohio State 

To no one’s surprise, Ohio State has had the most players drafted in the past two years, with a total of 12 student-athletes drafted (22 percent of the total pool). Since winning their first national title in 2022, the Buckeyes have taken over women’s hockey, attending the championship game in 2023 and lifting the trophy again in 2024. The reigning PWHL champions, PWHL Minnesota, had three Ohio State alumnae on their team: Clair DeGeorge, Sophie Jaques, and Liz Schepers. Jaques received the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the best player in NCAA Division 1 women’s hockey, in 2023. 

Ohio State’s head coach, Nadine Muzerall, also has a reputation for being a shark in the transfer portal. The Buckeyes' highest draft pick was Hannah Bilka, drafted fourth by PWHL Boston in 2024. Bilka played four years at Boston College and transferred to Ohio State for her graduate year.

Projection: I expect to see Ohio State continue dominating the PWHL draft for years to come. 

Northeastern University 

This one was a little bit of a surprise. Northeastern has had six players drafted (11.1 percent of the total pool). If you follow women’s hockey, you know the WCHA tends to dominate the conversation. However, Northeastern University has made a name for itself with its continued reign over Hockey East, including a historic run from 2018 to 2023, winning six straight Hockey East Championships. The '23-’24 season was the first in seven years that Northeastern did not win the Hockey East title, and the first season since 2021 that they didn’t go to the Frozen Four. 

The Huskies’ highest draft pick was Alina Müller in 2023 at No. 2. Three Northeastern alums, including team captain and Northeastern Hall of Famer Kendall Coyne-Schofield, won the PWHL championship with PWHL Minnesota. 

Projection: After a drop in the rankings, Northeastern will need to work its way back up to its former glory. I expect to see a dip in players drafted while they figure things out, but in the long term, Northeastern should remain in the top five for the PWHL draft. 

Colgate University

Colgate University has had five players drafted in the last two years (9.3 percent of the draft pool), all of whom were drafted in 2024. Former Colgate head coach Greg Fargo, the winningest coach in program history, now helms PWHL New York and drafted two of the five alums. Their highest-drafted player was the No. 2 pick, Danielle Serdachny, a finalist for the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Award for the second year in a row. 

Colgate has found great success in the ECAC, winning the last four division championships. This past season, the Raiders made their second-ever appearance at the Frozen Four but lost to the University of Wisconsin in the semifinals. 

Projection: Colgate has a bright future ahead of it, but how it will perform after the loss of its head coach remains to be seen. I expect it to remain in the top five next year, but the future is anyone’s guess. 

University of Minnesota Duluth

UMD had five players drafted (9.3 percent), four in 2023 and one in 2024. Their highest draftee was Ashton Bell, the No. 8 pick in 2023. Seven additional former players were drafted in 2023, for a total of 11, making UMD the team with the highest number of alumni drafted in 2023. 

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The Bulldogs’ last appearance at the Frozen Four was in 2022, despite hosting the tournament the following year. This past season UMD lost to Ohio State University in the WCHA championship, and they were defeated again in the NCAA Regional Tournament, losing 9-0 to the Buckeyes. However, the WCHA is a highly competitive division and its rougher style of play lends itself well to PWHL play. 

Projection: The University of Minnesota Duluth should continue to send its players to the PWHL but will continue to compete for attention with Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin. 

University of Wisconsin

The Badgers tied with Colgate and UMD with five players drafted (9.3%). Their highest player drafted was Britta Curl in 2024, the No. 9 pick in 2024. The two-time captain excelled at the University of Wisconsin, with 86 goals and 94 assists and the ninth most points in program history (180), but was expected by some to be drafted much lower (or not at all) due to her past transphobic, homophobic, anti-vax, and racist comments on her social media. PWHL Minnesota has received quite a bit of backlash since drafting her, and it will be interesting to see how the league treats Curl throughout the season. 

The University of Wisconsin excelled last season, with the fourth-most victories in a season (36). Their 1-0 loss to Ohio State in the championship was Wisconsin’s fifteenth appearance at the Frozen Four and eleventh appearance in the finals. 

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Projection: The University of Wisconsin is undeniably good at women’s hockey, but the controversy surrounding Curl has cast a shadow over the program. With the league in its early stages, fan support is everything, and the Badgers will need to ensure they don’t have a culture program if they want their players to be drafted. 

It shouldn’t be a shock that the WCHA has been well-represented at the PWHL drafts, but Hockey East and the ECAC were also represented in the top five schools. As the PWHL progresses, it will be interesting to see its effect on collegiate play and how the draft makeup will change (or not change) over time.