The NCAA women's hockey season is underway, and the league is filled with national team stars and PWHL prospects. here's a look at ten NCAA women's hockey players you need to watch, now.
The NCAA women's hockey season is underway, and the league is filled with national team stars and PWHL prospects. here's a look at ten NCAA women's hockey players you need to watch, now.
As the women’s NCAA season gets underway, it’s an opportunity for PWHL fans to get to know some of the players who are likely to be high draft picks this summer. It’s also a great time to build familiarity with younger players who will be top prospects in upcoming drafts. Here’s a look at the top ten to watch:
Abbey Murphy, Minnesota (F)
If Murphy declares for the draft (she’s played five years but does have one more year of NCAA eligibility), she would be the consensus #1 pick overall right now. Last season at the University of Minnesota, Murphy was a force. No player in the nation had more goals or penalty minutes. She earned a nomination as a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, in recognition as one of the best players in college hockey. Murphy totaled 33 goals and 29 assists in 39 games. Her 62 points were tied for third in the NCAA.
Her feisty attitude and highlight reel offense make her one to watch every time she hits the ice. She stood out with Team USA during the World Championships and forces opposing teams to pay attention to her with the potential to break a game open with a flashy chance or a chippy play that sparks teammates. In the opening weekend series against UConn, Murphy had three goals and one assist, including the overtime winner in the second game.
Natalie Mlynkova, Minnesota (F)
She isn’t as flashy as Murphy, but Mlynkova is an all-around forward who does everything well. The 22-year-old standout scored 30 points in 30 games with the University of Vermont last season, demonstrating her status as one of NCAA hockey's best two-way forwards. Mlynkova was awarded the prestigious Cammi Granato Award as Hockey East's Player of the Year, becoming only the second player in Vermont’s history to earn this honor.
She has elevated her offensive game and will definitely be on scouts’ radar after making the switch to Minnesota and playing on the same team as Murphy. Mlynkova is deceptively effective, although small (at 5’ 3”). She makes her teammates better which is always a positive for future growth. Against UConn, Mlynkova scored her first goal with her new team in the second game.
Nicole Gosling, Clarkson (D)
Likely the first defender off the board at the draft, Gosling (cousin of Julia) has great poise and smarts. Last season, Gosling had a standout senior year at Clarkson, scoring 14 goals and 39 points in 40 games. Playing in the Rivalry Series with Team Canada also gave Gosling valuable experience at the elite level, helping set expectations for her game going forward.
She’s a strong two-way defender, contributing great offense but also has a physical edge to her game. Her hockey sense and playmaking are already high-level, and one more year of anchoring the D at Clarkson (along with Haley Winn) should make her even better. In the season-opening lopsided series against Saint Michael’s, Gosling had three goals and six assists.
Haley Winn, Clarkson (D)
Winn is a mobile, right shot defender who has steadily improved in her collegiate career. She moves extremely well in all directions and puts pucks into spaces where offense can be created. She joined the USA national team in 2022 for the Rivalry Series.
Her former coach at Clarkson, Matt Desrosiers said, “She’s probably the most committed student-athlete we’ve had, just putting in the extra time, the extra work. She has pretty lofty goals for herself. She’s working hard every day to make sure she gives herself the best chance to meet those goals.”
Winn is on the small side, but has shown she can play in physical, fast-paced games through her national team performances. In the opening two blowout games against Saint Michael’s, Winn totaled four goals and five assists.
Kristýna Kaltounkova, Colgate (F)
A physical net front presence who is one of the best scorers and producers in the NCAA, Kaltounkova’s style is a perfect match for the PWHL. She could become a top offensive player with the right linemates. Quick and effective forechecking along with her scoring touch makes her a complete package.
She was left off Czechia's national team last season, but will likely return to the national program this year, which could boost her stock. In Colgate's opening series against Mercyhurst, Kaltounkova had two assists.
Casey O’Brien (F) Wisconsin
O’Brien returns to Wisconsin as a graduate student, and is an incredibly valuable player who contributes not only offense but leadership and hockey smarts. In 2023-24, she was named a First-Team All-American and was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award with 73 points in 41 games — the first player in more than a decade to tally 50 assists in a single season, O'Brien was also named the U.S. College Hockey Online Player of the Year. O’Brien is great on faceoffs, and an elite playmaker who finds teammates with seeing-eye passes. When she enters the draft, she’ll no doubt be a target for whichever team doesn’t have the opportunity to take Abbey Murphy.
In the first week of the 24-25 season, O'Brien received the WCHA Forward of the Week award, with eight points on two goals and six assists in Wisconsin’s two one-sided games against Lindenwood.
Chloe Primerano (D) - Minnesota
Primerano is one of the most fascinating players to look out for this season. She made the decision to enroll at the University of Minnesota, joining a powerhouse program which will undoubtedly help her continue to improve, rather than stay in high school hockey where she achieved almost everything she possibly could. In two seasons at the RINK Hockey Academy in Kelowna, B.C. in the CSSHL, she became the league’s all-time leading scorer (as a defender!) and was the two-time MVP.
She is also the first female skater ever drafted by a Western Hockey League club (the Vancouver Giants). At the international level, she is the all-time leading scorer for a defender at IIHF’s U18 Worlds as well as the all-time leading Canadian scorer at the U18 tournament.
Now she is a freshman and won’t turn 18 until January, yet is already making an impression at the NCAA level. She scored a goal in her very first game (against UConn this past weekend), and then added two assists in the second matchup. Keep an eye on Primerano for the 2028 PWHL draft.
Laila Edwards (F) - Wisconsin
Edwards had a meteoric rise the last year after her breakout performance at the Women’s World Championship with Team USA. Her size and skating make her a unique talent and she’s still improving. Her name entered the record books as the youngest American skater to be named MVP, and she led the tournament with six goals. She also became the first Black woman to skate for the U.S. Women’s National Team in an international event, recording eight points throughout the tournament and earning a place on the Media All-Star Team. She was then named USA Hockey's Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year.
As a sophomore last season, Laila contributed 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists) and helped the Badgers reach the NCAA Frozen Four Championship game. In the team’s opening weekend games against Lindenwood, Edwards had two goals and two assists.
Caroline Harvey (D) - Wisconsin
Another future prospect, Harvey is someone to familiarize yourself with now because she has a good chance to be the #1 overall pick in 2026. She’s a smooth-skating defender with potent offensive potential who just thinks the game like a pro and is ahead of her peers on every level. She is not even 22 years old yet, but has been a mainstay with Team USA for four years, playing in four World Championships and the Olympics in 2022. It’s universally accepted that she is a special talent and will make any PWHL team’s blueline immediately better. Watch her now with Wisconsin for two years and get ready for the KK Harvey era. (In the series against Lindenwood, she had one goal and four assists).
Caitlin Kraemer (F) - Minnesota-Duluth
Kraemer (from Ontario) joins the up-and-coming University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs where her head coach Laura Schuler has already noted the freshman forward’s unique talents.
“There are things she does that you can’t teach—she just anticipates so well,” the coach said. In her first weekend with UMD against the reigning national champions, Ohio State, Kraemer stood out on the top line, and scored two crucial goals in the second game, including the game-winner in the team’s 4-3 victory.
With Canada’s U-18 team, Kraemer set records for both points and goals, breaking multiple records, including Canadian goal-scoring records previously held by Marie-Philip Poulin. She is also Canada's all-time under-18 points leader. In the 2024 U18 tournament, Kraemer finished with 10 goals for the second straight year, setting the Canadian record for career goals at the championship with 20 and ending her under-18 career just shy of Kendall Coyne-Schofield's record of 22 goals (accomplished over three years). We’ll have to wait four years to see her in the PWHL, but her college career will be one to watch.