The PWHL is preparing for its second-ever draft in just over a week, but with so much talent trying to earn a spot in the league and such limited roster availability, is a league expansion needed to solve the overflow issue?

When we think about a hockey draft, we imagine fresh-faced top picks being hugged by their parents, then getting their photo taken in their new jersey while fans have visions of championships dancing in their heads.

When we think of disappointments, it’s usually more about players who fall below their expected positions than players who don’t get picked at all.

But when the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) stages its second-ever draft in Saint Paul, Minn., on June 10, nearly three-quarters of the players who are hoping to be chosen will finish the day unclaimed.

Over seven rounds, 42 players will be selected. But on May 25, the PWHL announced that 167 eligible players had declared for the draft. 

That’s great news for teams that are looking to upgrade their rosters. But it makes for some very stiff competition.

Here’s how the draft list breaks down:

Position

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Nationality

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Forty-two of the players on the draft list have already suited up for their senior national team, across 19 nations.

2023-24 Affiliation

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To give you an idea of just how deep this draft is, The Hockey News' women's hockey site has ranked its top 85 prospects — more than twice as many players as can be chosen.

The names at the top are familiar even to casual fans — recent college graduates like Sarah Fillier and Cayla Barnes who have already seen significant action on the Canadian and U.S. national teams at the Olympics, Rivalry Series and world championship. 

That’s a similar profile to Walter Cup playoff MVP Taylor Heise, who was selected first overall by Minnesota last September.

The rankings' top 10 also includes a national team veteran from each side of the border who is ready to throw her hat back into the ring. 

At 26, Canada’s Claire Thompson returns after setting a record for points by a defender at her first Olympics in Beijing in 2022. She spent last season at New York University, in her second year of medical school. 

And at 32, USA Hockey legend Amanda Kessel is ready to join the fray after spending last season as a special assistant to GM Kyle Dubas with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kessel’s career includes three national championships at the University of Minnesota, plus four world championship golds and one from the 2018 Olympics.

The new draftees will also challenge many of the PWHL incumbents for roster spots, since only a handful of players on each team currently hold contracts that extend beyond this season.

Per Kennedy, the exclusive window for teams to re-sign their own players opens on Saturday. Players who remain unsigned will be declared free agents when the market opens fully on June 21.

With the same 23-player roster limit as the NHL, there are currently 138 jobs available in the six-team PWHL. Teams are also allowed to keep up to three players on a reserve list, adding another 18 slots.

That’s nowhere near enough space for everyone who wants to play.

The league will be expanding its schedule from 24 games to 30 in Year 2. But as the PWHL looks to solidify its footing, senior vice president of business operations Jayna Hefford shut down any possibility of immediate expansion, while acknowledging that finding opportunities for players outside the main PWHL rosters is important.

“I think trying to figure out what the right solution for that is, in the short term, is at the top of our list of things to do,” she said. “We are thinking creatively around places that players could play if they don't end up on our 23 or 26-player rosters next season, so it's a bit of a work in progress.”

For now, Hefford and company are focused on getting their primary brand running at full capacity. And yes, senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer said during Wednesday’s championship game broadcast that the six teams’ names and logos have been finalized and will be unveiled in August.

Before expansion, the league plans to continue testing markets with more neutral-site games, as it did in Detroit and Pittsburgh during Year 1. And while the idea of building a minor-league circuit from scratch is too much for the PWHL’s brain trust to take on at this time, they’re aware that the demand for playing opportunities outweighs the current supply.

“In speaking to a number of stakeholders, there's many, many people that want to figure out a solution to this, so that we can keep more women playing the game at the highest level," Hefford said.

Walter Cup winner PWHL Minnesota hosted its championship celebration at Xcel Energy Center on Friday. Now, it's time for them to look toward hosting the draft and the PWHL’s first awards ceremony.