After a career-high 42-point season with the Gophers, Jamie Nelson is ready for the professional jump. By betting on herself and seeking a final-year challenge, the forward has positioned herself as a key name to watch for the 2026 PWHL Draft.
When embarking on her own hockey career, Jamie Nelson never would have imagined that one day, she would be preparing to be drafted into a professional women's hockey league. Now that day is inching ever closer.
Nelson, a forward from Andover, Minnesota, had an origin story like many others in the sport. "My dad put me in skates probably when I was three years old," Nelson said. "Growing up in a city like Andover in Minnesota, it seemed like everything revolved around hockey." But it wasn't until her sophomore season in high school that she took the pursuit of hockey more seriously.
"I was playing with a girl who ended up going up to D1 at Mankato, and then I had my breakthrough season," Nelson recalled. "I think that was the first time that I really had the confidence to say I can do this and I can go further than high school."
That commitment to the sport led her to spend five seasons with Minnesota State University before finishing out her collegiate career last season with the University of Minnesota. And that time at Mankato laid the foundation for the player who may very well hear her name called at the PWHL Draft.
"I cannot say enough great things about Mankato and the five years that I had there," she said. "Being able to step into a leadership role in my last year, too, I had so much pride having a letter on my jersey and trying to lead that program." And while it was a difficult decision to leave that program for the University of Minnesota, Nelson said it was necessary. "I knew that I needed to develop more as a player in order to make the jump to the PWHL. I hit a plateau at Mankato, so I needed a challenge. I needed to force myself to be uncomfortable. And I needed to take a chance and try to push myself to be in the best position going forward."
And push herself she did. In her season with Minnesota, she finished with the best statistical year of her career, scoring 42 points through 39 games. Nelson also ranked 6th in the nation with 31 assists and helped the program to an impressive 21-4-1 record when she recorded a point.
Now, with the PWHL Draft on the horizon, Nelson still finds it difficult to believe that this next chapter of her career could mean playing professional hockey.
"Sometimes, it's still hard for me to wrap my head around that there's a professional women's hockey league because when I went into college, there wasn't," Nelson said. "And then all of a sudden, they're reaching new heights, selling out NHL arenas, and it's just mind-blowing to me." And it isn't lost on Nelson that this moment for her wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the women who played the game before her.
"I get to experience the benefits of all the work that people before me put in," Nelson said. "It's almost like I'm super excited and obviously grateful for the opportunity and grateful for those who paved the way. But it's almost like imposter syndrome where I'm like 'But why do I get to experience this and they didn't didn't.' It should be the 15th year of professional women's hockey."
With her collegiate career now in the rearview mirror and the PWHL cresting over the horizon, Nelson is preparing to join a league that has finally given women's hockey the spotlight it deserves. "I've always known how good we are as players, but now the rest of the world gets to see it," Nelson said. "It definitely motivates me because we are the representation of the sport, so I want to be the best player I can be so that I'm the best representation of the sport."
And it's that very drive, sparked all the way back in her sophomore year of high school, which will carry Jamie Nelson into the 2026 PWHL Draft, and what could very well be a successful professional career in the PWHL.