Abbey Murphy is an American national team star, Olympic gold medalist, and fierce competitor. She's set to bring those accolades to the PWHL's Seattle Torrent and continue to be part of growing the game.

Second overall pick Abbey Murphy had a short wait to hear her name called by the Seattle Torrent at the 2026 Entry Draft, but that doesn’t make it any less meaningful. “It's a dream come true. You think about this as a little kid. Obviously, the PWHL wasn't a thing five years ago, and, all of a sudden, they're going into year four now,” said Murphy. “My family was waiting for this moment. They've kind of supported me throughout the whole journey. I couldn't have been here without them specifically. It takes a village, and I'm extremely grateful for everything they've given me.”

Murphy has incredible support in her family, and they were able to be there with her on draft night. “Getting to share that experience with my parents. Sitting down in those seats and kind of just like soaking it all in was absolutely ridiculous,” Murphy said. “I can't even put it all together. I was almost in tears talking to my brothers, listening to them talk to other people about what it's taken us all to get here and everything. Hugging my family for sure. I think that was the best part, just to be able to share that with them because they're my people.” 

Many players have praised the location of this year’s draft, Murphy included. “When we heard that there was going to be a draft in Detroit everyone was feeling pretty excited going into it. Detroit, hockey town, probably no better place to have a PWHL draft. The crowd there was absolutely insane. Got a good fan base over there.”

Did the first-round pick know she was going to go second overall? “Day of the draft, I woke up and I talked to Meg [Torrent GM Meghan Turner], I talked to Coach Bumstead and all of them just about how, obviously, if they were to pick me how excited I was. It was really fun,” said Murphy. “I had a feeling. We tried to still keep it a surprise, but I was just like, ‘I want to play here.’ I'm excited.”

Murphy will get to experience Seattle for the first time and will do it as a member of the Torrent. “Kind of new journey. Somewhere I've never played before. I've never been to the PNW, so I'm super ecstatic about that,” said Murphy. “Everything they [the Torrent organization] said to me, I was super happy about. They are amazing people, and I know that that coaching staff is going to be awesome for us and going to do whatever it takes to win. I'm pumped to go to Seattle and get these fans on their feet in any way that I can.”

Murphy was among three women invited to the Edmonton Oiler’s Development Camp this offseason. It was the first time Edmonton had invited women to skate with their prospective players at camp. “Stan Bowman reached out to all three of us and gave us this unreal opportunity, and I don't know how you could ever say no to something like that,” Murphy said. “Going to Edmonton, sharing the ice with those guys who are on that same journey to their professional level was insane. The first couple of days, it quiet with the with the guys and trying to kind of mingle a little bit. It was it was super cool to get to meet the coaching staff, the staff behind the staff, mess with the equipment guys. One of their mental skills guys, Vinny Malts, he was one of the guys I got to pick his mind and teaches you a lot about what it takes to be a pro.”

This was also a big moment for women’s hockey as a whole. “I feel like just for women's hockey how cool is it just to say that me, [Caitlin] Kramer, [Chloe] Primerano, Erin Ambrose is there, like all got invited. It just shows you the growth, what the veterans are doing for the game of women's hockey,” Murphy said. “I think it's crazy to see that space. It was of men's hockey compared to women's hockey, but it's closing [the gap], and I think that that's something that's super cool to see.”

Being a gold medal Olympian and especially with such a big lens on women’s hockey this year, more people than ever are familiar with Murphy and her play style. “In one word, I would say gritty. But I love to play fast. I've got the feistiness of a little girl who grew up with two older brothers and got the crap beat out of her when she was younger. I hope people would understand where that came from. My dad was a Marine,” said Murphy. “I play with a chip on my shoulder, but I also like to make plays and help make my teammates successful, too. Anything that I can do to give to my team, I will do it. I'll go in the corners and take a hit if that's what it takes to win and get the puck back or something. I love the sport.”

A true athlete, Murphy is always working on her game and her skills and especially as she’s about to enter the PWHL. “There's always room for improvement. I'm someone who's never really satisfied or never wants to just be complacent,” Murphy said. “The PWHL, it's a different level of playing. College is obviously probably up there and close, but now they're allowing hitting in the PWHL, so reaction times and keeping your head up is going to be really important. That's something I'm focused on. Other areas, defensive zone can always be better, but I'm just trying to find ways that I can play with any single one of these teammates going into Seattle. I want to be able to be that player that everyone wants to play with.”

What does a successful first year look like to the rookie? “Better than last year. Obviously have some more wins. I think building the culture of a team is really important,” Murphy said. “I don't know a ton of the girls. I haven't really met them a lot, so kind of excited to get into all the different personalities and meet everyone. Been Instagram DMing a lot of people and kind of getting some laughs out, but I'm excited and anything that I can do. Just a better scoring record or winning record. I think it's looking pretty good.”

Being a professional athlete means being in the spotlight and Murphy has experienced that especially recently being on the worldwide stage at the Olympics. When asked about some of the background chatter surrounding her, she shared that she’s ready to come and show Seattle who she is as a human being and a hockey player. “I take my responsibility as a professional athlete very seriously, and it's my job to be a good person on and off the ice every single day. My life motto, my parents taught me when I was younger, is treat everyone as you would like to be treated. I will do that every single day to every single teammate, no matter what,” Murphy said. “The culture of a locker room is absolutely huge, and that's important to me and I know it is to everyone else. To feel comfortable and to feel valued, and I mean, if that's not, then how can you be successful as a team? I cannot wait to play in Seattle, to show them what we got, show them how close this team is and the connectedness that we'll bring.”

“I would love to tell the Seattle Torrent fans that they're gonna be entertained a lot this year in all kinds of ways. I'm excited to be in a city that's prioritizes women's sports,” said Murphy. “I've seen the fan base over there and how crazy they go on game days or any other day. So excited for the loudness at Climate Pledge and to go absolutely nuts when either there's a fight or a sick goal or something. Super excited about it, and can't wait to play the first game, home opener.”