Boston Connections In The PWHL Draft

More than 10 percent of the players who declared for the 2024 PWHL Draft have a Boston or Massachusetts connection. Here's a look at the group.

Out of the 167 eligible players on the recently announced PWHL draft list, Boston and Massachusetts are well represented.

With the season over, and the draft and free agency ahead of PWHL Boston, let’s meet their 18 fellow Massachusetts-based and connected players who could join the league next season.

A native of Billerica, MA, Conway played both high school and collegiate hockey in the Bay State. In five years of Div. 3 NCAA hockey between Becker College and Worcester State, Conway totaled 66 goals and 61 assists for 127 points. She most recently played for Timrå IK, totaling two goals in 13 games.

Hailing from Uxbridge, Ontario, Hollands enters the draft after finishing her career at Harvard University. She finished second on the team in points with nine, picking up 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points in her four-year career at the prestigious Boston institution. She also was a captain in her senior season.

The five-year Northeastern University standout is just about as decorated as they come. The two-time Hockey East Third-Team All-Star racked up 61 goals and 70 assists for 131 points during her tenure with the Huskies.

After skating four seasons for Boston University, the Beverly, MA native played her final NCAA season this winter for Quinnipiac. She netted 24 points in 37 games for the Bobcats after tallying 31 goals and 33 assists for 64 points for the Terriers. In her senior campaign, she led her team in goals (12) and points (24).

Wohlfeiler may be entering the PWHL draft, but that doesn’t mean the talented forward lacks professional experience. The Santa Clarita, California native has ties all throughout the Boston area, playing four seasons at Northeastern before transitioning to the pros. She’s played in eight seasons between the Boston Blades, Boston Pride, and Connecticut Whale. In 2022-23, she posted 15 points for the Whale in 24 games.

The Joliet, IL native made a stop at the Boston Pride for the 2022-23 season, posting six points in 24 games in her first season of professional hockey. This year, House took her talents to MoDo Hockey in Sweden, where she scored 13 goals and picked up four helpers in 35 games.

Before playing her final two seasons of NCAA hockey at Clarkson—where she recorded 35 points in 40 games—Petrie was a Bostonian for three years at Harvard University. In the 2019-20 season, she scored a career-high 12 goals and 23 assists for the Crimson.

Although she isn’t from Boston and hasn’t played for a Boston team, Kessel still has a connection to Beantown. The highly touted prospect is related to Courtney Kessel—PWHL Boston’s head coach. Kessel, 32, has won gold for Team USA in both the Olympics and the World Championships. In her junior season at Minnesota in 2012-13, she was named the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Winner and the USA Hockey Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year.

A two-time Olympian, Barnes played four seasons for Boston College before transferring to Ohio State for a graduate year. Most recently, Barnes totaled seven goals and 13 assists on the blue line for Ohio State. The two-time captain at Boston College left the Eagles in the top-10 points list for a defender with 75.

Another Northeastern product, Carter, was selected as the Hockey East Best Defender in 2022-23 for her 22-point performance in 30 games. The graduate student enters the PWHL draft list with 18 goals and 68 assists from the college ranks.

While she’s played the last three seasons of her NCAA career for Ohio State, Hartmetz began her college journey at Boston College, where she scored 29 points in her two seasons with the Eagles. Hartmetz was also a member of the gold medal-winning 2018 U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team.

Inglis was the ultimate competitor throughout her three-year stint with Merrimack College. She suited up for all 36 games in the 2023-24 season, captaining the Warriors while notching 11 points and leading her team with 58 blocked shots. The Okotoks, Alberta native, enters the draft having scored 44 points in 100 games.

Mattivi was a five-year standout on Boston University’s blue line. In five seasons with the Terriers, the Baselga di Pinè, Trento, Italy native posted 17 goals and 46 assists for 63 points. Since 2016, Mattivi has competed for Italy’s national team, leading Italy to a pair of third-place finishes while being named the best defender of the IIHF World Championships twice.

Guay was a Boston College Eagle for four seasons, wearing an “A” on her jersey in her final campaign in 2022-23. She scored 66 points in 124 games before transferring to Clarkson this season, where she scored 23 points in 40 games.

A native of Norton, MA, Goyette played four seasons for Nichols College (NCAA Div. 3), where she impressed her junior and senior seasons between the pipes. In 2018-19, Goyette posted a 1.42 GAA and .952 SV% in 21 games. She then played professionally for the Connecticut Whale of the NWHL and Aisulu Almaty of the EWHL.

Undoubtedly the most prominent goalie on the list, Philips is coming off a historic five-year career at Northeastern, where she posted a cumulative .958 SV%. In the 2022-23 season, Philips was National Goaltender of the Year, a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top-10 Finalist, a First Team All-American, and Hockey East Goaltender of the Year. She led the country with 34 wins, earning ten shutouts in the process.

A native of Reading, MA, Strack played four seasons of collegiate hockey for Franklin Pierce University, posting a 2.05 career GAA. She then played one season for the Connecticut Whale in 2021-22, later serving as the team’s equipment manager in 2022-23.

While Fujimagari is Canadian, she’s certainly familiarized herself with the New England landscape. At the University of Maine, she started in 11 games her senior season, posting a 4.15 GAA and .865 SV%. She then went pro for the Connecticut Whale, starting six games between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.