If there was a professional women's hockey draft, here are 100 prospects who could hear their name called.
Someday, a draft could return for professional women's hockey. The PHF had a draft, but got rid of it to focus on increasing wages before asking players to move cities to play somewhere simply because a team selected them.
When a draft returns, it will provide excitement across the women's hockey world. What would a women's professional hockey draft look like? Inevitably it would mimic the WNBA's draft more closely than the NHL, given the main development path for athletes in women's hockey is university hockey.
With the NHL draft happening this week, it's the perfect time to imagine a 2023 women's hockey draft cohort, so we've created a 2023 Women's Hockey Mock Draft.
For the purposes of this mock draft, we've set some criterion for draft eligibility.
- Players competing in North American must have completed four years of NCAA or USports eligibility. This means players returning for a fifth season could already be drafted. Four years of eligibility could also come from a combination of USports, NCAA, or ACHA hockey. Based on the COVID year, for this list, we'll include players who have been at the University for four years.
- European players must have finished their U-22 season, meaning for this year, those players would be born in 2000 or earlier. European players would also be capped at age 25, a similar age to the oldest graduating NCAA / USports players, to ensure the draft is not heavily selecting veteran professionals.
With those simple criterion in mind, here's what 2023 women's hockey draft rankings could look like. We've also included where each athlete will play next season, if that decision has been made. If a return to school or new team has not officially been announced, their next steps will remain blank.
- Sarah Fillier, F, Princeton, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Taylor Heise, F, Minnesota, NCAA
- Alina Müller, F, Northeastern, NCAA (Signed Boston Pride, PHF)
- Hanna Bilka, F, Ohio State, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Sophie Jaques, D, Ohio State, NCAA
- Petra Nieminen, F, Luleå, SDHL (Signed Lulea, SDHL)
- Danielle Serdachny, F, Colgate, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Chloe Aurard, F, Northeastern, NCAA (Signed Boston Pride, PHF)
- Cayla Barnes, D, Ohio State, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Emma Soderberg, G, Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA (Signed Connecticut, PHF)
- Grace Zumwinkle, F, Minnesota, NCAA
- Jesse Compher, F, Wisconsin, NCAA
- Emma Maltais, F, Ohio State, NCAA
- Maja Nylén Persson, D, Brynäs, SDHL (Signed Brynas, SDHL)
- Hanna Olsson, F, Frölunda, SDHL (Signed Frolunda, SDHL)
- Gabrielle Hughes, F, Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA
- Gabrielle David, F, Clarkson, NCAA (Signed Boston Pride, PHF)
- Theresa Schafzahl, F, Vermont, NCAA (Signed Montreal Force, PHF)
- Ashton Bell, D, Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA
- Britta Curl, F, Wisconsin, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Sini Karjalainen, D, Vermont, NCAA (Signed Brynas, SDHL)
- Gwyneth Philips, G, Northeastern, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Maureen Murphy, F, Northeastern, NCAA
- Sandra Abstreiter, G, Providence, NCAA (Signed Connecticut Whale, PHF)
- Abbey Levy, G, Boston College, NCAA
- Sophie Shirley, F, Wisconsin, NCAA (Signed Boston, PHF)
- Nicole LaMantia, D, Wisconsin, NCAA
- Megan Carter, D, Northeastern, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Jennifer Gardiner, F, Ohio State, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Emma Seitz, D, Yale, NCAA (Signed Metropolitan, PHF)
- Ena Nystrøm, G, Mercyhurst, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Andrea Brandli, G, Boston University, NCAA (Signed MoDo, SDHL)
- Maggie Connors, F, Princeton, NCAA
- Jenniina Nylund, F, St. Cloud State, NCAA (Signed Brynas, SDHL)
- Sara Hjalmarsson, F, Providence, NCAA (Signed Linkoping, SDHL)
- Lexie Adzija, F, Quinnipiac, NCAA (Signed Metropolitan, PHF)
- Klara Hymlarova, F, St. Cloud, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Stephanie Markowski, D, Ohio State, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Noemi Neubauerova, F, Providence, NCAA (Signed Metropolitan, PHF)
- Claire Dalton, F, Yale, NCAA (Signed Toronto, PHF)
- Catherine Skaja, F, Minnesota, NCAA (Signed Minnesota, PHF)
- Abigail Boreen, F, Minnesota, NCAA (Signed Minnesota, PHF)
- Natalie Buchbinder, D, Wisconsin, NCAA
- Kendra Woodland, G, New Brunswick, USports
- Blanka Skodova, G, Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA
- Leah Herrfort, F, Waterloo, USports (Returning to USports)
- Allyson Simpson, D, Colgate, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Mae Batherson, D, Syracuse, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Linnéa Andersson, D, Modo, SDHL (Signed MoDo, SDHL)
- Anneke Linser, F, Minnesota-Duluth, NCAA (Signed Metropolitan, PHF)
- Izzy Heminger, D, Penn State, NCAA
- Karolina Kosinova, D, HC Příbram, Czechia
- Paetyn Levis, F, Ohio State, NCAA
- Madison Bizal, D, Ohio State, NCAA (Signed Minnesota, PHF)
- Akane Shiga, F, Japan, IIHF (Signed Buffalo, PHF)
- Felizia Wikner Zienkiewicz, F, Frölunda (Signed Frolunda, SDHL)
- Maggie Flaherty, D, Minnesota-Duluth (Signed Minnesota, PHF)
- Emily Rickwood, D, New Hampshire (Signed Montreal, PHF
- Katy Knoll, F, Northeastern, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Anne Bloomer, F, Harvard, NCAA
- Tatum Amy, F, Mount Royal, USports (Signed Buffalo, PHF)
- Madeline Wethington, D, Minnesota, NCAA
- Nadia Mattivi, D, Boston University, NCAA
- Anni Montonen, F, Kiekko-Espoo, Naisten Liiga
- Courtney Correia, F, Penn State, NCAA
- Shailynn Snow, F, Robert Morris, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Emily Oden, F, Minnesota, NCAA
- Celina Haider, F, ERC Ingolstadt, DFEL
- Kelly Golini, F, Saint Anslem, NCAA
- Gillis Frechette, F, Cornell, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Shae Demale, F, St. Mary's USports (Signed SDE, SDHL)
- Sydney Bard, D, Yale, NCAA
- Izzy Daniel, F, Cornell, NCAA
- Hanna Koroll, D, British Columbia, USports
- Kyra Willoughby, D, Harvard, NCAA
- Lauren DeBlois, D, Providence, NCAA (Returning to NCAA)
- Franziska Feldmeier, F, ESC Planegg, DFEL
- Charlotte Welch, F, Yale, NCAA
- Carrigan Umpherville, F, LIU, NCAA
- Carley Olivier, D, Waterloo, USports
- Dara Greig, F, Colgate, NCAA
- Aoi Shiga, D, Japan, IIHF (Signed Buffalo, PHF)
- Julia Matejkova, F, HPK, Naisten Liiga (Signed HPF, Naisten Liiga)
- Kaitlyn O'Donohoe, F, Colgate, NCAA
- Maggy Burbidge, F, St. Francis Xavier, USports
- Lisa Ruedi, F, ZSC Lions Frauen, SWHL A
- Shay Maloney, F, Quinnipiac, NCAA (Signed Leksands, SDHL)
- Abby Moloughney, F, Ottawa, USports (Signed MoDo, SDHL)
- Halle Oswald, G, Alberta, USports
- Darcie Lappan, F, Clarkson, NCAA
- Eleri MacKay, F, Penn State, NCAA
- Liliane Perreault, F, Mercyhurst, NCAA
- Emmy Fecteau, F, Concordia, USports (Returning to USports)
- Lea Macleod, F, St. Francis Xavier, USports
- Maria Dominico, F, Nipissing, USports
- Rosalie Begin-Cyr, F, Concordia, USports (Signed Montreal, PHF)
- Claire Butorac, F, Minnesota State, NCAA (Signed Minnesota, PHF)
- Kate Stuart, G, British Columbia, USports (Signed SDE, SDHL)
- Lauren Bellefontaine, F, Syracuse, NCAA (Signed MoDo, SDHL)
- Kelly Solak, D, Sacred Heart, NCAA