Where Are The Biggest Battles For Roster Spots on PWHL Hamilton's Training Camp Roster?

Hamilton announced a 31-player camp roster Wednesday featuring 17 forwards, 10 defenders and four goaltenders. Sixteen players are already under contract, leaving a sizeable group competing for the remaining places on the team's opening-day roster.

Not every unsigned player enters camp in quite the same position, however.

Third-round draft pick Elyssa Biederman remains unsigned, but the former Colgate forward is one of the more intriguing players entering camp.

Selected 30th overall by Hamilton in June, the 5-foot-1 Biederman finished her collegiate career with 183 points in 155 games. As a senior, she recorded 19 goals and 44 points in 36 games.

Those numbers only tell part of the story. Biederman is a highly skilled offensive player who can create with the puck and generate offense, giving Hamilton something different among its forward options.

The question at camp may be less about whether Biederman can produce offense and more about how quickly that skill translates against PWHL competition, where players have less time and space.

Hamilton already has an established group of forwards under contract, including Brianne Jenner, Alina Müller, Emily Clark, Peyton Hemp and Abby Hustler. Biederman's ability to complement those players could determine how quickly she earns an opportunity higher in the lineup.

Biederman isn't Hamilton's only unsigned draft pick.

Fourth-round selection Megan Woodworth, sixth-rounder Mya Vaslet and fifth-round goaltender Emma-Sofie Nordström will also enter camp without contracts.

Woodworth is coming off a strong final season at UConn, where she scored 16 goals and 27 points in 39 games. She'll also have some familiar company at camp, with UConn teammate Brooke Campbell receiving an invitation.

That creates an interesting dynamic. Hamilton invested a draft pick in Woodworth, but Campbell and the other undrafted invitees now have an opportunity to make their own case once everyone is on the same ice.

Vaslet faces a similar challenge. The former Penn State forward was Hamilton's final selection in the draft and enters a crowded competition for jobs in the bottom half of the forward group.

Draft position may provide an indication of how Hamilton viewed these players in June. Training camp provides an opportunity for those evaluations to change.

Anneke Rankila brings a different background to the competition.

Rankila spent last season with SDE HF in Sweden, but she isn't new to the PWHL. She previously joined the Toronto Sceptres as a reserve player and gained experience in the league before heading overseas.

Now she has an opportunity to turn that experience into a regular roster position with Hamilton.

Joelle Fiala, Kate Ham, Sara Stewart and Campbell are among the other unsigned forwards trying to do the same.

With 17 forwards in camp, there won't be room for everyone.

The competition may be even tighter on defence.

Hamilton already has six defenders signed in Zoe Boyd, Riley Brengman, Nicole Gosling, Anna Kjellbin, Nelli Laitinen and Allyson Simpson.

That leaves Maeve Carey, Cristina Cavaliere, Payten Evans and Olivia Muhn competing against an already established group.

Laitinen, Hamilton's first-round selection and sixth overall pick in June, recently signed a three-year contract, while Gosling gives Hamilton another young defender capable of taking on a significant role.

With six defenders already under contract, the four unsigned players may be fighting for only a small number of available positions.

Hamilton will also bring four goaltenders to camp.

Kayle Osborne is already under contract, while Nordström remains unsigned after Hamilton selected her in the fifth round of the draft. Sandra Abstreiter, who spent last season with Montréal, and Lucy Morgan, who played with MoDo in Sweden, round out the group.

Abstreiter's move to Hamilton has been anticipated, but the four-player group still gives the team decisions to make about how it structures its goaltending depth and where Nordström fits following her selection in June.

For an expansion franchise, that's part of the opportunity provided by a first training camp.

Hamilton has already assembled much of the core that will begin its inaugural season. Now comes the process of determining which players can fill the remaining roles around it.

For some, camp will be about establishing where they fit in the lineup. For others, it will be about earning a contract at all.

And with nearly half of the 31-player camp roster currently unsigned, there should be genuine competition for those jobs.