The PWHL gave their reasoning for making a PWHL Draft order that didn't adhere to expectations. It angered fans, but the league said they waited to assess rosters, and acted to keep competitive balance in the league as they expanded to 12 teams.
No topic has been as controversial in the PWHL this week as the PWHL Draft order. Most anticipated the PWHL's four non-playoff teams would be picking 1-4 in the stacked 2026 PWHL Draft. After that, it was a toss up on whether the league's four expansion teams would be selecting 5-8, or 9-12.
When it was all said and done, the PWHL gave the league's four new teams picks three through six, an unexpected positioning, shunning non-playoff teams including the New York Sirens, who finished second last in the league, and the Toronto Sceptres to seventh and eighth in the draft order. It's an order that keeps the best players in the draft, including some of the best in the world, out of the hand of the PWHL's original six team.s
While it was met with fervent disagreement from PWHL fans and pundits, on Tuesday, on the eve of the PWHL Draft, PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford spent a chunk of the league's press availability defending the decision.
According to Hefford, the PWHL made the draft order decision after monitoring the success of the PWHL's expansion teams in their roster building process, with the goal of competitive balance across the league. Hefford also said the league's decision adhered to the Gold Plan rules as they were designed.
"We've said from day one that competitive balance is critical to us," said Hefford. "That is the goal while maintaining player choice within the process that we went through. As we look at the draft order, the order itself is in line with what we've settled on in terms of the Gold Plan winner having the number one overall pick. Seattle was the last place team in the league. As we went through the process, we wanted to have all the information we could to make the best decision, and I think every decision we make at the PWHL, we try to gather as much fact and information as we can. "We wanted to ensure we had that before we identified what we believed is the right order for the draft process. And so, we're comfortable with where we're at. But in terms of the order, it's all been outlined previous to when it was announced yesterday."
With the PWHL growing to 12 teams, the league watched the expansion process closely, and attempted to adapt the draft order to best suit league-wide parity. Existing fans likely hoped that the work put in by teams to build rosters and develop players over the past three seasons would be respected, but the PWHL's approach leaned more toward a full reset for next season with 12 even teams, even if it involved cutting apart existing rosters.
"We went through the distribution process and really evaluating where rosters were at through that process. And trying to build out, you know, 12 competitive teams, and, you know, can say even, but we're never really going to know."
As Hefford stated, most picked the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent to be in contention for the Walter Cup this season. It didn't happen as the two teams were the first eliminated from playoff contention. Hefford said there's no easy answer in this process to give expansion teams a fighting chance, while also maintaining competitive balance of what is now a 12-team league.
"These things are tough to predict," said Hefford. "This is a really hard thing we're doing, adding four teams to an eight team league, and to try to maintain competitive balance. So, you know, trying to use all the information we have, we have some really brilliant people that work on our team and that are maybe a little behind the scenes at times, but a lot of people involved in trying to figure out how we do this in the best possible way and the best interests of the league."
The creator of the Gold Plan, Adam Gold, was present at the PWHL Awards as well, and may have been one of those people. As the PWHL watched their four new teams — Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, and San Jose — build, the league tried to use the knowledge they had to place teams where it made sense in the draft. It gave teams like Seattle, Vancouver, and the league's four new teams a distinct advantage, while significantly hindering the future trajectory of non-playoff teams including the New York Sirens and Toronto Sceptres who saw their draft hopes plummet in every round.
"I think every team would like to be higher in the draft," said Hefford. "That's the nature of what this is. And I think one of the great things about sport is we can all sit in this room and debate, is the order right? Is it wrong? And that's okay. That's sports. I think we've done the best we can with the information we had."
Hefford acknowledged every team, aside from Vancouver who holds the first overall pick, would like to pick higher. This year, sitting in the top half of the draft order guaranteed teams players like Olympic gold medalists Caroline Harvey, Abbey Murphy, Laila Edwards, Tessa Janecke, and Kirsten Simms.
Regardless of where teams pick, the 2026 PWHL Draft will usher in a new era of stars for the league. It's a vital moment for the league as it grows, and will help set the course for many teams, albeit unequal, including he PWHL's four expansion franchises.
The 2026 PWHL Draft gets underway at 5pm ET on June 17.