As the PWHL continues to reshape the sport, Princeton forward Issy Wunder is stepping into a future she once could only imagine. Now on the verge of the 2026 draft, she reflects on visibility, representation, and becoming the role model she never had.
For many young girls, growing up and dreaming about playing professional hockey meant aspiring to play in the NHL. It meant modelling their game off the likes of Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin, all because there were no easy ways to see the players who looked just like them.
"When you can see it, you can be it" never rang so true until the creation of the PWHL, where those girls could finally see, on a regular basis, the very role models they've been looking for.
For Princeton University forward Issy Wunder, who now sits on the cusp of embarking on her own PWHL journey, the impact of seeing yourself properly represented in the sport you love rings especially true.
"I remember when Sami Jo Small came and talked at my high school with her gold medal," Wunder recalled. "That was an extremely formative experience for me, just hearing her story. And I think visibility in the community is so important because you need young girls, need people to look up to who aren't men and who are just like them and look like them."
Wunder, who has completed a remarkable four-year career at Princeton both on and off the ice, doesn't feel pressure when thinking about those young girls and becoming a role model for the next generation. Like many in the sport, she says that pressure is a privilege, and one that represents fuel that drives her development and passion.
"I think the fortunate thing about the modern age and social media and how the game is growing," Wunder said. "It's not really necessarily just me. There are so many different girls, so many different types of players that you can model your game after. And I think that the best thing is that there are different people who you can look up to."
Now that one chapter of her career is closing, another one is on the verge of being written, as the 2026 PWHL Draft looms on the horizon. And as excited as Wunder is about the possibility of hearing her own name called on draft night, she recognizes how much has changed and how far the sport has come.
"The biggest thing that I find myself thinking about is how fortunate we are that this is now the reality," Wunder said. "I've spent my whole life, I love the Maple Leafs, I've watched the NHL growing up. Every single year, I sit down and watch the Draft, and it's always so cool to see those 17, 18, 19-year-old boys go out there and have their dreams come true. And I think the fact that now we get to do that is an extremely cool thing."
Through the many individual awards, her deep connection to the community, and the team milestones she helped achieve, Issy Wunder will undoubtedly leave a lasting legacy at Princeton University. And as she looks ahead to a professional hockey career in the PWHL, she carries with her the reminder of just how important it is to be the role model so many in the sport never had.