In the coming days, PWHL teams will for the first time not be competing for a playoff spot, but instead, for the first overall draft position in the PWHL Draft via the Gold Plan.
In the coming days, PWHL teams will for the first time not be competing for a playoff spot, but instead, for the first overall draft position in the PWHL Draft via the Gold Plan.
In the next two weeks, the PWHL will see the Gold Plan, or the race for the #1 draft pick this summer, unfold for the first time. The plan was introduced at a conference by mathematician Adam Gold in 2012 with a basic premise to prevent teams ‘tanking’ (trying to finish further down the standings to get a better chance at the first overall pick). Instead, this system rewards teams for victories after they are eliminated from the playoff race, keeps games meaningful, and maintains competition to win as the utmost goal.
Once a team is mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, it starts earning ‘Draft Order Points;’ the team with the most receives the first selection in each round of the upcoming draft. The non-playoff team with the fewest Draft Order Points will select second.
"Nobody's been eliminated yet with five games to go. I think that's a win for the league," said PWHL senior vice-president of hockey operations director Jayna Hefford. "We've created parity across this league. That's what we set out to do."
The competition for the most Draft Order Points might be as simple as one final game for the two bottom teams (note: Saturday, May 4 has New York playing Minnesota, followed by Boston against Montreal), or we could see games where one team is playing for first place overall while the other is playing for the first-overall draft pick. After Saturday’s games, the picture has come into focus a little more, with Toronto clinching a playoff spot, Boston and Ottawa winning, and New York losing, leaving the last-place team very close to elimination.
“The first overall pick is an asset belonging to the league until it is awarded,” Adam Gold, the creator of the PWHL's plan asserted. “Teams finishing in the final ranks of the standings do tend to have the most success after their eliminations.”
In the 2022-23 NHL, for example, the race came down to the wire with what would have been a key game if the Gold Plan had been in place. The Pittsburgh Penguins played at Columbus on April 13, and the Blue Jackets tied the game, then won in overtime. In a Gold Plan scenario, those two points would have given the Blue Jackets the first overall pick – Connor Bedard. No ping pong balls, no whispers of conspiracies.
And this season, the reward would have gone fairly to the Chicago Blackhawks, since they were eliminated rather early on March 9, and accumulated more points after that than the Coyotes – who were eliminated later but couldn’t make up the point differential.
It’s a little tighter in the PWHL where there are fewer teams and fewer games. To keep fans informed, the PWHL’s standings will begin displaying Draft Order Points once a team is eliminated from playoff contention.
With only three games left, four for New York and Ottawa, three points for a regulation win become crucial for those non-playoff teams.
As Adam Gold stated, “The first PWHL team forced to the brink of elimination is New York. Even with the first overall pick at stake, New York has so much to play for April 24th, beyond just a playoff spot. New York can stop Montreal from clinching a playoff spot and make finishing first to pick their opponent difficult.”
Here’s a look at each team’s path to Gold
New York - After their weekend loss versus Boston, New York has 20 points and need a win along with help from Boston to avoid elimination. If they are eliminated, New York would then have home games against Toronto and Ottawa to collect Draft Order Points. But with Ottawa in the race for fourth, that game might be an especially tough one.
Boston - Boston has been playing better since their stumble before the World Championship break. However, even with their win Saturday, they remain two points out of a playoff position. Their game against Ottawa on Wednesday will be imperative if they want to stay in the playoff chase, particularly as Ottawa has a game in hand. If they lose, they would remain alive, however. The soonest they would be eliminated is against Minnesota in the following game, leaving only a home game versus Montreal to pick up points in the race for the draft pick.
Ottawa - Moving two points ahead of Boston, Ottawa’s fate is in their hands. It would take a dramatic collapse to lose their spot, but the points are still on the board for either team. What makes Wednesday’s game even more significant is that if teams end up tied in Draft Order Points as well, the tiebreaker is the team with the most regulation wins after elimination.
"We may not know at the time a game-winning goal scored in regulation secures the first pick. It’s possible a goal scored in overtime in the last game of the season could clinch the first overall pick in a tight race," said Gold.
“It is possible the clinching goal may be scored late in the third period of a tied game, overtime, or a shootout. Ping-pong balls will not determine draft order," he continued. "We will know which team picks first by defining moments from women playing the game they love.”
In theory, the PWHL’s final three games could be a fight for points where one team is trying to finish first or second and get home ice, while their opponent attempts to score points to get the first overall draft pick. Minnesota vs. New York and Montreal vs. Boston are on Saturday, May 4, which may find the top teams vying for first place, while NY and Boston battle to get Sarah Fillier, Hannah Bilka, Cayla Barnes, or any number of incoming stars as a consolation prize.
Gold is looking forward to watching it unfold: “The first player selected with a first overall pick earned by winning will be a woman. The first team to clinch the first overall pick in any league will be a team of women. The first goal to clinch the first overall pick will be scored by a woman.”