With the 2024-25 PWHL season complete, the success of the 2024 PWHL Draft for each of the league's current six franchises is more clear. Unlike other leagues, the majority of drafted players in the PWHL step directly into the league and are expected to contribute.
Here's a grading from first to worst of how each of the six PWHL draft classes fared this season. For each roster we've provided the total games played by their 2024 Draft class, goals and points by all 2024 draft picks, and a points per game rate for those picks.
Montreal Victoire: A
167GP - 16 goals - 58 points - .369 Pts/GP
Jennifer Gardiner, Cayla Barnes, and Abby Boreen made up a strong trio in this draft class. They each hit double digits in points with Gardiner finishing in the top 20 in scoring after playing on Montreal's top line alongside Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey for the bulk of the season. Another draft pick where Montreal found good value was Anna Wilgren. Wilgran turned out to be one of the better defensive rookies and shot blockers in the league, and her performance prompted her selection to USA's senior national team winning gold at the 2025 World Championships. Montreal was certainly a winner among the 2024 Draft. They drafted boldly and effectively.
New York Sirens: A-
199 Games Played - 19 goals - 53 points - 0.266 Pts/GP
New York's numbers aren't actually as accurate as they seem considering Sarah Fillier accounted for 68% of their rookie goals and 55% of their rookie points. Regardless, when you get Fillier in a draft, the rest is irrelevant. Luckily for New York they also added defenders Maja Nylen Persson and Ally Simpson who contributed, and netminder Kayle Osborne claimed their backup role and played well in her starts. She posted a 2-4-0-3 record, 2.22 GAA, 0.916 save percentage in 10 appearances. Noora Tulus looked like a missed opportunity as they demoted the talented Finnish forward quickly and left her buried in an unfamiliar role the rest of the year. Elle Hartje showed promise, but New York's overall team performance made it difficult for their rookies to find a groove.
Minnesota Frost: B
180 GP - 26 goals - 65 points - .361 Pts/GP
Claire Thompson was the headliner of their draft class, followed by the contributions of Britta Curl-Salemme and Brooke McQuigge. McQuigge turned into a draft day steal as she produced well above expectations and played Minnesota's in-your-face style well. Klara Hymlarova was a year one bust, but she's got the tools to put it together moving forward. The choice to pass on Abby Boreen remains perplexing, and certainly hurt their overall result in this draft.
Ottawa Charge: B
144 GP - 10 goals - 32 points - .222 Pts/GP
Ottawa, oh Ottawa. How they handled Danielle Serdachny this season was a disservice to Serdachny, and to their roster. It would be shocking to not see her take a massive step offensively next year after she spent most of the year in unfamiliar territory playing a depth checking line role. She was outscored by every other member of the first round and several others. Gwyneth Philips was a spectacular get for the Charge who relied on her down the stretch and into the playoffs as the rookie posted an 8-5-1-0, 2.11 GAA, and .919 save percentage along with two shutouts. Ronja Savolainen was another key pick up and she got stronger as the year went on. It would not be surprising to see her step into a new tier of defenders next year. Outside this group, Mannon McMahon was a pleasant surprise, and they got good depth contributions from much of their class.
Boston Fleet: C
103GP - 9 goals - 26 points - .252 Pts/GP
Hannah Bilka was stellar while she was in the the lineup for the Fleet this year. She looks like she'll be a game changer for their lineup, and had a Rivalry Series not derailed her season, Bilka would have likely been the difference for Boston between making and missing the playoffs. It's hard to call Daniela Pejsova a bust at seventh overall because she just wasn't put in situations to succeed. Questions should be raised about Boston's ability to coach and develop defenders after they bailed on Sophie Jaques early last year to see her tie for the defensive lead in scoring this year, and then to see them abandon Pejsova within their own lineup this year. Boston's draft performance was impacted by Hadley Hartmetz's season-long injury, and the fact Ilona Markova couldn't make the team out of camp. Shay Maloney turned out to be a steal that impacts the game in more ways than simple offense, and Sydney Bard should turn into a contributor, but also saw her time slide as the season went on.
Toronto Sceptres: C-
117GP - 6 goals - 19 points - .162 Pts/GP
Offensively, Toronto's draft fell flat. Julia Gosling continues to have that upside, but due to the depth of Toronto's forward group, there just wasn't a lot of room to give rookies prime time minutes up and down Toronto's lineup. In fact, by the time the season ended, three of Toronto's seven picks (Anneke Rankila, Lauren Bernard, Noemi Neubauerova) were no longer on their active roster. Megan Carter missed half the season but was impactful upon her return, and you can see the intelligence and ability of Izzy Daniel, who could be a breakout player next year whether it's in Toronto or with an expansion team. Raygan Kirk provided strong goaltending for Toronto in her eight decisions where she went 5-1-1-1, posting a 2.26 GAA and .917 save percentage. Toronto was the only PWHL team without a scouting staff last year and it showed.