With Minnesota selecting first overall, Taylor Heise becomes the immediate leading candidate to be selected first overall by her former NCAA coach, and new Minnesota GM Natalie Darwitz.

With 18 players off the board in free agency, the wealth of players available, including all USports and NCAA graduating players, will be immense when Minnesota steps to the microphone to select the first player in the inaugural 2023 PWHL Draft.

The options are endless, although one name stands out as a target for new general manager Natalie Darwitz. 

Taylor Heise is the obvious candidate to go first overall. As a new NCAA graduate, Heise is not eligible for the PWHL's free agency period.

The University of Minnesota grad, the same school where Darwitz served as an associate head coach for multiple seasons is the most likely candidate to go first overall. Securing Heise would be securing a decade of one of the game's top superstars to stay in her home state, and the city she's already well known as a hockey standout. Heise captained Minnesota last season scoring 65 points in 38 games, and was the 2022 Patty Kazmaier winner as the NCAA's top player. 

Heise was also the 2022 Best Forward and MVP at the World Championships, and has 30 points in 14 games during her two World Championship appearances. She's a generation talent for Team USA, and now the PWHL.