Wisconsin watched five members of their roster step into the first round of the 2026 PWHL Draft. But with a strong group of returning players, and a stacked recruiting class, coach Mark Johnson believes the Badgers are ready for another strong season.
The University of Wisconsin enter the 2026-27 season as back-to-back NCAA women's hockey national champions. They also enter the season without Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Lacey Eden, Kirsten Simms, and Vivian Jungels, who were all first round picks in the 2026 PWHL Draft. They're also without veteran leader Marianne Picard who retired from hockey after the season.
It's a huge void, but one that Wisconsin feels confident they can fill not only from within, but also via their recruits. More importantly, long-time head coach Mark Johnson feels his team can continue their push for another national title, and overcome their individual losses through the togetherness and team first approach of their roster.
Early on, it will be about returning players finding comfort in bigger roles, and newcomers seeking to find a way to contribute as rookies on a powerhouse team.
"The big thing is try to get them to get into a space where they're comfortable," said Johnson. "I mean obviously everybody's freshman goes through that where you get on campus and start school and everything's new, your teammates are new, and how can we connect as a group and how can we make the freshman feel more comfortable in the spaces that they're in and so everybody transitions through that."
Among Wisconsin's incoming rookies are an impressive group of well-known prospects including Nela Lopusanova, Maddy Kimbrel, Haley Box, and Rosalie Tremblay among others. Wisconsin will also look to welcome in red shirt sophomores Rachel Gorbatenko and Nicole Gorbatenko, sisters of senior forward Kelly Gorbatenko.
The eldest Gorbatenko is one of the returning players Johnson and Wisconsin will count upon to drive their success early. It's a group that also includes Ava McNaughton in net, and returning standouts like Cassie Hall, Adela Sapovalivova, Laney Potter, Ava Murphy, Maggie Scannell, and Emma Venusio, among others. It's a talented group, but one without the superstars of last season.
"We have some good pieces coming back starting from the net out," said Johnson. "I think, as as people will see, I think some of our freshman can make an immediate impact on the ice. And so, the big thing is to is try to get everybody to understand if we're going to be successful that we have to work together and that starts from day one."
Their rookies, including Nela Lopusanova and Rosalie Tremblay come in with sky high expectations. Lopusanova has been one of the most talked about prospects internationally for years from not only her exploits internationally representing Slovakia, but her play in North America with Bishop Kearney. Tremblay was the Canadian U-18 national championships MVP captaining Quebec to their first ever gold medal, she's represented Canada at the U-18 World Championships, and this summer found herself as Canada's first line center for the national development team, which was a roster composed almost entirely of NCAA veterans.
From returning to new, Johnson believes this mix is there, as is the potential for this roster to find their way back to the top.
"I think this group has a chance to connect really well together and play as a team and anybody can tell you if you're able to do that, you can do some good things out of it and so like any other season, there'll be some struggles, there'll be some adversity, and how you handle those situations can help you in developing as a team."
For Wisconsin, they'll have many big moments ahead. It includes an outdoor game scheduled against Ohio State at Green Bay's Lambeau Field in February. They'll open their season with a pair of non-conference series' against St. Lawrence and Boston University before facing the team picked to finish atop the WCHA in preseason polls, Ohio State...but expect the Badgers to have their own thoughts on how those preseason expectations play out when it's all said and done.
