Britta Curl, on the ice, is one of the PWHL's top prospects for the 2024 PWHL Draft. There are off ice concerns that could impact her draft status, or longevity in the league, which will be factors PWHL teams must consider.
Britta Curl, on the ice, is one of the PWHL's top prospects for the 2024 PWHL Draft. There are off ice concerns that could impact her draft status, or longevity in the league, which will be factors PWHL teams must consider.
Coming out of the NCAA, 24-year-old Britta Curl has pretty much accomplished everything a player her age can. Curl has a U-18 World Championship gold, a World Championship gold and two silvers, and three NCAA national titles with Wisconsin.
It's a resume that will entice many PWHL teams at the 2024 PWHL Draft. That said, teams have stated they have placed Curl on a "do not draft" list, which could impact where she goes and how high.
This season the Wisconsin captain recorded a career high 62 points in 41 games, and played her first full World Championship recording three assists in seven games for USA.
Curl can obviously score, but with USA played a checking role, which is likely where she'll start in the PWHL with the opportunity to claim a scoring line role as well. She's hard to play against, and doesn't shy away from any physical battle.
Curl is strong on her feet and can separate from defenders using her speed. In traffic she protects the puck well and uses her body to drive herself and pucks to the net. Her style should transfer seamlessly to the PWHL maximizing her blend of speed, physicality, and skill.
Curl's willingness to get to the tough spaces on the ice will benefit her in the tight checking PWHL.
While Curl is respected for her on ice play, there are concerns related to her off-ice support for transphobic and anti-LGBTQ+ messaging online. A large portion of the PWHL's fan base and athletes are members of the LGBTQ+ community, and Curl's support for bigoted messaging including social media posts referring to initiatives supporting the transgender community as "perverted", and attacking inclusive language related to transgender individuals, meaning her actions could become a significant issue for the PWHL and whatever team selects Curl. In other circumstances, Curl liked online posts spreading conspiracy theories related to COVID-19, and posts questioning police brutality against Black people.
On the ice, Curl would immediately help any PWHL team, off the ice, any PWHL team who selects Curl will need to commit to education and community work related to diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice or risk isolating fans, and turning away youth who already feel excluded in the game of hockey.