The PWHL Draft just lost the consensus top pick as Abbey Murphy chose to return to the University of Minnesota for her final season of NCAA eligibility rather than declaring for the draft.
For the PWHL, who recently announced expansion to Seattle and Vancouver, it's the temporary loss of an instant star. For much of the season it was believed that Murphy would declare if expansion occurred. After the teams were announced however, she made her decision to go back to the NCAA regardless.
It leaves a question mark at the top of the 2025 PWHL Draft. Who will go first overall?
Kaltounkova And Winn Lead The Way
There's truly no way to tell who will go first overall on June 24 when the 2025 PWHL Draft kicks off in Ottawa. It could be Czech forward Kristyna Kaltounkova coming off another strong year at Colgate and an All-Star selection at her first World Championship.
It could also be long-time Team USA stalwart Haley Winn. Winn was a top-four defender with Team USA, and will immediately be an upgrade to a top pairing in the PWHL. She's mobile, defends well, and will jumpstart the offensive attack from the blueline.
There's also an outside chance the first overall pick could be Wisconsin's Casey O'Brien. She has been a force in the NCAA scoring at will, and was this year's Patty Kazmaier winner.
Less Depth From Top To Bottom In 2025
When the PWHL was making their decision to expand, the business case was certainly top of mind, but the player pool would have been close behind. The league would not want to risk losing more talented players to retirement. What they didn't manage however, was to attract more European players this year. Initially it was anticipated far more European players would declare in 2025 including Viivi Vainikka, Andrea Brandli, and others who have since re-signed in Europe. There will be a small group of European players in the draft including Michelle Karvinen, Sara Hjalmarsson, Anna Shokhina, and others. But the top to bottom talent of the draft after you remove Murphy, Lacey Eden (who is also expected to return to the NCAA), and the likes of Vainikka, a trio who were projected top 10 picks, has been impacted. There is still good depth in the draft, albeit lacking as much top end talent to bolster not only the expansion teams, but to replace the talent that will be plucked from teams via a player dispersal process.
2026 Is Shaping Up To Be A Draft Like No Other
With the addition of Abbey Murphy, Lacey Eden, Viivi Vainikka and others to the 2026 PWHL Draft pool, it will be a draft class like no other this league will see for years to come.
At the top of the draft, a potential first round could look like Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, Kirsten Simms, Lacey Eden, and Nelli Laitinen. The second wave will be players like Sydney Morrow, Emma Peschel, Sarah Paul, Issy Wunder, Josefin Bouveng, and Elyssa Biederman from the NCAA.
The European cohort who are expected to declare is what will push this draft over the top. Viivi Vainikka is expected to be joined by players like Elisa Holopainen, Hanna Thuvik, Sara Cajanova, and potentially big name veteran stars like Petra Nieminen and Lara Stalder, who would both warrant first round picks. There's another tier of European players like Michaela Pejzlova, Sanni Rantala, Tereza Radova, Emilia Vesa and Estelle Duvin who could also declare. There remains others in Europe under contract like Lindsay Agnew who many believe will declare in 2026.
Scoring And Defence Are Of Equal Scarcity
If you're looking for an impact player in the 2025 PWHL Draft you want to insert into a top six or top four, the list is short. Defensively it starts and ends with Haley Winn, Rory Guilday, and Nicole Gosling. There are others like Kendall Cooper who will play and could earn that spot soon, but immediate impact on the blueline will only come in round one. Up front, scoring punch will be equally scarce in Kaltounkova, O'Brien, Karvinen, and Natalie Mlynkova. There's potential for players like Anne Cherkowski, Jenna Buglioni, Ella Huber, Abby Hustler, Kiara Zanon, and Sara Hjalmarsson to have impacts if they're placed in top six roles, and of course Anna Shokhina is a wild card to watch. Cherkowski in particular could find Jennifer Gardiner level success on a team, and conveniently enough, she is likely the only player outside of the top group who could be available when the Montreal Victoire pick 8th. This draft will be as much about selecting players to fit specific roles, and whose styles of play can provide chemistry inside existing lineups as it will be players who can step in and do it themselves.