Gaining puck possession is a crucial aspect of the sport. Players who can consistently come away from a puck battle, face-off dot, or on retrieval help turn the tides shift after shift for their team. 

There's a strong group of NCAA players heading to the 2025 PWHL Draft who fit this bill. Here's a look at some of those specific scenarios, and the advanced statistics showing NCAA leaders among the PWHL Draft class.

Puck Battles %

When the puck is along the boards, in a scrum, or loose when two or more players are competing for possession, it's a "puck battle." Coaches at all levels will preach about being hard on pucks, and winning one-on-one battles. This puck battle percentage shows the rate at which a player who engages in a puck battle wins, and comes away with possession. It can be considered a sign of strength, stick skills, body positioning, and compete. Here's a look at the top puck battle performers in the NCAA class.

1. Dayle Ross, D, St. Cloud State – 65.8%
2. Nina Jobst-Smuth, D, Minnesota-Duluth – 63.2%
3. Rory Guilday, D, Cornell – 62%
4. Keri Clougherty, D, Boston College – 61.3%
5. Evelyne Blais-Savoie, D, Vermont - 59.9%
6. Olivia Muhn, D, Yale – 59.7%
7. Lyndie Lobdell, D, Penn State – 59.4%
8. Haley Winn, D, Clarkson – 58.9%
9. Kendall Cooper, D, Quinnipiac – 58.2%
10. Riley Brengman, D, Ohio State – 58.1%
11. Julia Shaunessy, D, Boston University – 57.8%
12. Hanna Baskin, D, Minnesota-Duluth – 57.7%
13. Nicole Gosling, D, Clarkson – 57.3%
14. Mia Biotti, D, Harvard – 56.7%
15. Karley Garcia, D, Penn State – 56.5%
16. Jenna Buglioni, F, Ohio State – 55.6%
17. Vita Ponyatovskaia, D, Yale – 55.2%
18. Brooke Becker, D, Providence – 55.0%
19. Brianna Brooks, F, Penn State – 54.8%
20. Emily Zumwinkle, D, Ohio State - 54.3%

Puck Retrievals After Shots

On the attack, regaining the puck after a shot is crucial to maintain possession and pressure. It's like a rebound in basketball. The PRAS score per game shows how often a specific player retrieves one of these shots, and we also adjusted this stat for time on ice, because a player who inherently gets more time on ice should have more retrievals making the adjusted PRAS/60 a better predictor of a player's effectiveness in retrievals after shots.

1. Jenna Buglioni, F, Ohio State – 3.62 (9.57 PRAS/60)
2. Anne Cherkwoski, F, Clarkson – 3.38 (8.48 PRAS/60)
3. Vanessa Upson, F, Mercyhurst – 3.35 (9.31 PRAS/60)
4. Lily Delianedis, F, Cornell – 3.15 (10.29 PRAS/60)
5. Haley Winn, D Clarkson – 3.08 (5.81 PRAS/60)
6. Nicole Gosling, D, Clarkson – 2.95 (5.91 PRAS/60)
7. Laura Fuoco, F, Dartmouth – 2.89 (7.32 PRAS/60)
8. Peyton Hemp, F, Minnesota – 2.86 (9.37 PRAS/60)
9. Kira Juodikis, F, New Hampshire – 2.83 (7.91 PRAS/60)
10. Morgan Neitzke, F, Lindenwood – 2.81 (7.41 PRAS/60)
11. Kristyna Kaltounkova, F, Colgate – 2.76 (6.90 PRAS/60)
12. Olivia Wallin, F, Minnesota-Duluth – 2.76 (7.21 PRAS/60)
13. Ella Huber, F, Minnesota – 2.74 (7.42 PRAS/60)
14. Brynn Saarela, F, Syracuse – 2.74 (6.96 PRAS/60)
15. Skylar Irving, F, Northeastern – 2.70 (7.59 PRAS/60)
16. Maya Labad, F, Quinnipiac – 2.68 (8.53 PRAS/60)
17. Nina Jobst-Smith, D, Minnesota-Duluth – 2.66 (6.47 PRAS/60)
18. Brianna Brooks, F, Penn State – 2.65 (8.19 PRAS/60)
19. Clara Van Wieren, F, Minnesota-Duluth – 2.65 (6.61 PRAS/60)
20. Kylie Aquaro, F, RIT – 2.58 (8.46 PRAS/60)

Takeaways Versus Puck Losses Per Game

In the real world people say to give more than you take. In hockey, you need to takeaway the puck more than you give it away. Players who have a positive takeaway to puck loss ratio do just that. Here's a look at the top takeaway to puck loss ratios from the NCAA cohort entering the PWHL Draft.

1. Dayle Ross, D, St. Cloud State – 2.21
2. Karley Gacria, D, Penn State – 2.19
3. Rory Guilday, D, Cornell – 2.08
4. Kendall Cooper, D, Quinnipiac – 2.04
5. Nicole Gosling, D, Clarkson – 1.98
6. Haley Winn, D Clarkson – 1.90
7. Olivia Muhn, D, Yale – 1.83
8. Julia Shaunessy, D, Boston University – 1.82
9. Vita Ponyatovsaia, D, Yale – 1.81
10. Mia Tsilemos, D, RIT – 1.79
11. Hanna Baskin, D, Minnesota-Duluth 1.70
12. Tamara Giaquinto, D, Boston University – 1.69
13. Lyndie Lobdell, D Penn State – 1.63
14. Ava Rinker, D, Connecticut – 1.55
15. Nina Jobst-Smith, D, Minnesota-Duluth – 1.49
16. Brooke Becker, D, Providence – 1.47
17. Riley Brengman, D, Ohio State – 1.47

Defensive Zone Face-Offs (Total Taken / Win %) (Minimum 120 Draws)

Offensive zone starts and defensive zone starts play a key role in a player's ability to produce. While getting more offensive zone starts is advantageous, seeing a player utilized for defensive zone responsibilities is something PWHL teams will covet. Here's a look at the top draft eligible centres when it comes to defensive zone draws.

1. Kristyna Kaltounkova, C, Colgate – 205 / 66.8%
2. Ella Huber, C, Minnesota – 123 / 60.2%
3. Casey O’Brien, C, Wisconsin – 255 / 56.9%
4. Maddy Samoskevich, C/D, Quinnipiac – 160 / 56.9%
5. Skylar Irving, C, Northeastern – 192 / 56.8%
6. Brianna Brooks, C, Penn State – 140 / 55.7%
7. Anna Segedi, C, Colgate – 247 / 55.1%
8. Lily Delianedis, C, Cornell – 201 / 51.2%
9. Lauren Messier, C, Dartmouth - 234 / 50.9%
10. Evelyne Blais-Savoie, C, Vermont - 209 / 49.8%

Face-offs (Total Taken / Win %) (Minimum 250 Draws)

1. Kristyna Kaltounkova, C, Colgate – 735 / 66.0%
2. Casey O’Brien, C, Wisconsin – 822 / 62.3%
3. Peyton Hemp, C, Minnesota – 266 / 60.5%
4. Brianna Brooks, C, Penn State – 588 / 58.2%
5. Natalie Mlynkova, C, Minnesota – 395 / 58.2%
6. Anna Segedi, C, Colgate – 678 / 58.0%
7. Ella Huber, C, Minnesota – 709 / 56.1%
8. Skylar Irving, C, Northeastern – 579 / 55.6%
9. Maddy Samoskevich, C/D, Quinnipiac - 633 / 55.5%
10. Vanessa Upson, C, Mercyhurst - 750 / 54.5%