The PWHL will need roughly 100 new players for next season to fill the 92 new roster spots and 12 additional reserve positions across the league. Where will the new pool come from?
With four new PWHL teams set to take the ice in Detroit, Las Vegas, Hamilton, and San Jose next season, the league is not only rapidly expanding its geographic footprint, but its player pool as well.
Most expect there to be an impact on the overall calibre of play in the league for a season, or two, but there are waves of talented players heading for the PWHL that will build not only the league's four new rosters, but future expansion teams as well.
This season 187 skaters appeared in a PWHL game. It's an average of 23.37 skaters per team, in a league where active rosters are kept at 20 skaters, but each team could also carry up to three reserves. 20 goaltenders also played this season, and 24 goaltenders were under contract league-wide. The 211 total players will represent a massive chunk of the required player pool for the upcoming PWHL season.
The PWHL also had 236 players declare for the 2026 PWHL Draft, although realistically, less than a quarter of those players could have cracked PWHL rosters this year. Next year however, more roster spots means more opportunities.
Next season, following expansion, there will be 240 full time skater contracts in the league, and 36 goalie contracts, for a total of 276 players. There is also the opportunity for 36 reserve players. This season, almost every reserve in the PWHL appeared in a game.
PWHL Draft Will Drive Top End Talent
When looking at where top six forwards and top four defenders will come from, many will be from the diffusion of talent to a wider base within the league itself. Some of that will be lessened by the incoming wave of talent in the 2026 PWHL Draft. The group of potential top six forwards includes Abbey Murphy, Laila Edwards, Tessa Janecke, Lacey Eden, Kirsten Simms, Issy Wunder, Petra Nieminen, Viivi Vainikka, and Elisa Holopainen, with others like Elyssa Biederman, Josefin Bouveng, Thea Johansson, Sloane Matthews, and Lilly Shannon likely getting looks in the thinned out pool this season. On the blueline, Edwards, who declared as a defender, could join Caroline Harvey, Nelli Laitinen, Emma Peschel, and Sydney Morrow as players who can immediately manage top four roles. Veteran Laura Fortino likely factors into that discussion as well this year. It's not quite enough to fill four rosters at this season's calibre, but it's a good start.
The only position that likely cannot be filled primarily through the draft is in net. Goalies for the PWHL's four expansion teams will likely come predominantly from the existing player pool with the duos in Vancouver, Minnesota, Seattle, Montreal, and Toronto likely to be targets for a split. Andrea Brandli, Tia Chan, and Daria Gredzen could alter that script through the draft. Brandli is poised to be a contributor in net, Chan is the reigning NCAA Goaltender of the Year, and Gredzen is a top prospect from Russia who has been gaining significant attention since declaring.
Beyond this group, the 2026 PWHL Draft has a wealth of players capable of competing in the PWHL today. Many will get bigger opportunities than ever before to claim a scoring line role in the league via expansion. What isn't known, is how many rounds or draft picks the PWHL will host.
Reserves And Free Agents
There aren't reserves or free agents waiting with immediate top line impact. At the end of this season, some free agents playing in Europe like Sam Cogan and Nadia Mattivi stepped in and earned roles. Mattivi could evolve into a second pairing defender next season, and Cogan has middle six potential.
There are others who can return to the league, players like Dominika Laskova and Akane Shiga.
The free agent pool and rest of the PWHL Draft will be predominantly bottom six forwards and bottom pairing defenders by this year's standard. There are a few, like Finland's Emma Nuutinen, who could earn a look higher up he lineup.
By The Numbers, Here's What The PWHL Needs
Not every member of the 187 skaters who appeared in the PWHL this season will return. Boston's Hannah Brandt is an example who has already announced her retirement.
Among the league's 187 player pool were 68 defenders. The league will need at least 84 defenders, equivalent to seven defenders for each of the now 12 teams.
The other 119 skaters were forwards, although some have been versatile and played both. The league will need 156 forwards, for an equivalent of 13 forwards for the teams 12 teams.
In net, there were 20 goalies who appeared in games this season, although 24 were signed, and the league will require 36 netminders league wide, equal to three per team as is required under the league's roster rules.
The gap isn't dramatic, but it's large enough.
It means the PWHL requires at least 16 new defenders, 37 forwards, and 12 goaltenders if every player from last season returns and wins a spot. It's a total of 69 players, plus an additional 36 for reserves, placing the league's need at 101 total players.
From last year's PWHL Draft, roughly 40 players were able to crack lineups in a meaningful way, or five per team. A five round draft this year would equal 60 players selected, although the league has yet to confirm how many rounds or players will be involved in the draft this year. The league will need a combination of free agents and draft picks to fill the roughly 100 spots required to complete the player pool.
Will The Calibre Of Play Decrease?
Absolutely. There are not 100 players via the draft or free agency capable of keeping the PWHL at the current top to bottom depth. It's likely teams will lean more heavily on fewer players, but it's also likely the sport will see new stars emerge. It's happened already with a player like Rebecca Leslie who went from a fourth line afterthought in Toronto, to a top line, top five scorer in the league in Ottawa.
Overall however, there will be players who weren't on the top two lines in the NCAA, making PWHL rosters, and there will be players who this season couldn't have cracked a PWHL roster, playing meaningful minutes next.
With the PWHL committed to slowing down expansion for a season or two after this round however, the league will be able to refill from the coming drafts. 2027 will be interesting given the expected lack of NCAA players due to an additional season of eligibility coming into the mix, but it could encourage more European stars to finally make the jump.
The PWHL will remain a fast and talented league this season, although there will be a temporary dip in the overall talent pool. Even with a slightly watered down product this season, the PWHL will still remain miles above what the best PWHPA and PHF teams ever were, and even farther ahead of the next best league's in the world in the NCAA, SDHL, and PostFinance Women's League.
There's no stopping the league's growth from here, and the level of play will only get better as more spots become available for talent from across the world to join the PWHL.