PWHL Expansion Could Cause More Draft Declarations As Payday Awaits

As we wait for news on a contract for Sarah Fillier, the excitement of potential expansion ahead of the 2025-26 season has taken over. 

It could also lead to more players declaring for the PWHL Draft next year than anticipated, as a potential payday awaits. For the PWHL's inaugural season, six players received guaranteed contracts worth a minimum of $80,000, some climbing toward the $150,000 range. 

Players entering the PWHL this season however, were met with the prospect of below league average salaries, and no potential to negotiate into the range last year's rookies could. The current cohort headlined by players like Sarah Fillier, Danielle Serdachny, Hannah Bilka, Claire Thompson, Cayla Barnes, and Julia Gosling, who were all first round picks, looks like the odd players out in the financial aspect of their deals. Why? If expansion occurs ahead of next season, there will be two teams, each with more than $1.3 million in salaries to divvy up. Whether the league devises an expansion draft, or allows the new teams to build exclusively through the draft and free agency, the teams will have plenty of money to throw at top players. There will however, remain inequity in the process, as players selected by the expansion teams will have a much larger pool of money to work with, while players drafted by existing teams will be forced to pay picks less...unless expansion forces the CBA to re-opon. 

Regardless, the result could be high end prospects like Abbey Murphy and Lacey Eden, and European veterans like Michelle Karvinen, Michaela Pejzlova, Hanna Olsson, and Elisa Holopainen choosing to opt into the draft to capitalize on a financial benefit that might only come around once in their career. A player like Murphy in particular, who would certainly be one of the top two picks in the draft as it stands today, would have a lot to gain.

Had the league announced expansion earlier, we may have seen other players choose to extend their careers by another season, even if it meant going to Europe for a campaign. 

Regardless, if expansion is confirmed prior to draft declaration deadlines, it would greatly increase the probability of prospects declaring this season, and perhaps even entice a handful of players to declare a year early.

Several players in the PWHL remain enrolled in post secondary education, completely online courses and visiting campuses sporadically for evaluations. It could become a viable option for elite prospects like Caroline Harvey, Nelli Laitinen, Laila Edwards, Tessa Janecke, and Kirsten Simms who will have achieved all they can achieve at the NCAA level, and would be passing up the possibility of top end contracts by playing out their eligibility.

Looking at the existing 2025 PWHL Draft class, it's already a group that includes Natalie Mlynkova, Kristyna Kaltounkova, Haley Winn, Nicole Gosling, Rory Guilday, Viivi Vainikka, Casey O'Brien and others. The real impact could come in Abbey Murphy and Lacey Eden. Eden is already in her fifth season at the University of Wisconsin, gaining a year of eligibility during the Olympic cycle and COVID, while Murphy is in the same situation in Minnesota.

From Europe, national team stars will have more incentive to make the move now, rather than waiting. For example, Elisa Holopainen, who is currently leading the SDHL in scoring, was rumored to be considering staying in Europe until the 2026 Olympics. The opportunity to cash in could change that for the 22-year-old Finnish star.

Similarly, it could push other European players like future Hall of Famer Jenni Hiirikoski to consider closing out their career in North America. As well, should Ilona Markova crack Boston's lineup this season, a new wave of Russian players could attempt to follow. 

Depending on when expansion is announced, it could have a significant impact in enticing more talent to the PWHL sooner, which would be a win for the league and for fans.