In the 1990s, "Be Like Mike" became a popular saying. At the 2026 PWHL Draft, it was "Be Like Megan." When asked what PWHL blueliner they watched most, and aspired to model their game after, the answer was overwhelmingly, Megan Keller.
This season, young defenders including Haley Winn, Nicole Gosling, and Kendall Cooper entered the PWHL and thrived. Some of them are inspiration for this year's 2026 PWHL Draft class.
The recently selected players hope they can make the jump and have the immediate impact those young defenders had.
"Haley Winn, she treats everything like a pro, even her behaviour off the ice, and you can see it," said Sydney Morrow, the 14th overall pick to the Seattle Torrent in 2026. "She did so well in her rookie season, so hoping to be a little like her."
While this year's rookie class inspired the 2026 picks to believe they could make an immediate impact, one name continued to find its way into the discussion of who players picked in the 2026 PWHL Draft looked up to most among PWHL defenders, and who they wanted to model their game after.
It was clear, the incoming cohort of PWHL prospects wanted to be like Megan.
Boston Fleet captain, Team USA golden goal scorer at the 2026 Olympics, and 2026 PWHL Defender of the Year Megan Keller, that is.
"Megan Keller comes to mind, she's a really great two-way defender, plays simple, makes the other girls around her better," said 2026 seventh overall pick of the New York Sirens Emma Peschel. "I think off the ice as well, the way she carries herself, the way she leads, I think that's the way that I want to play and the way I want to start in the league."
"Megan Keller is amazing in every zone, so I just like to watch her and like to be like her," said Finnish Olympian and sixth overall pick to PWHL Hamilton Nelli Laitinen.
While the PWHL is filled with strong defenders including the likes of Renata Fast, who won the 2025 PWHL Defender of the Year, Lee Stecklein, Sophie Jaques, Ella Shelton, and others, Keller reigned supreme.
"Megan Keller, I feel like, obviously, she won Defender of the Year, which was super awesome," said Tova Henderson, a fourth round pick of the Minnesota Frost. "Just to watch her, watch her footwork, her stick handling skills, all that, it's something that I look up to, and I hope to implement some of that in my game."
