Canada's National Development team will face-off against USA's Collegiate Select team this week in a three-game series in Lake Placid, New York.
The series will serve as the first major scouting event of the season for the 2026 PWHL Draft. While USA left behind current members of their senior national team who remain in college, including 2026 eligible players Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, Kirsten Simms, and Lacey Eden, as well as Ohio State defender Emma Peschel, both Canada and USA's rosters are filled with players who will hear their names at the 2026 PWHL Draft.
Chobak and MacLeod Headline Goalie Crop
Several goaltenders were chosen in the 2025 PWHL Draft, and the 2027 PWHL Draft class is loaded with elite goalies including Eve Gascon, Ava McNaughton, Annelies Bergman, and others. The 2026 PWHL Draft class is a little less certain in the crease. There are strong prospects, but not all are guaranteed to declare. Two goalies who scouts know will be heading to the PWHL Draft are Canada's Hailey MacLeod (Ohio State), and USA's JoJo Chobak (St. Cloud). Both netminders will look to set themselves apart as the top NCAA goaltenders available in 2026 alongside Connecticut's Tia Chan, and newly reemerged 2024 NCAA Goaltender of the Year Michelle Pasiechynk. They'll contend with pro goalies like Andrea Brandli and Stephanie Neatby if they declare, and their performance, if they get the start in games in this Summer Series, will get the ball rolling in the discussion of what NCAA goalies can make the jump.
Strong Defensive Group At Summer Series
There continues to be a shortage of elite defenders in the PWHL. USA's Caroline Harvey and Finland's Nelli Laitinen are two that will make an immediate impact coming from the NCAA to the PWHL next year, and there's a large cohort playing in the Summer Series who will make that step as well. For Canad, Ohio State's Sara Swiderski, Minnesota-Duluth's Tova Henderson, and Cornell's Alyssa Regalado are three who will get the call. Henderson had a strong 2024-2025 season in the WCHA as a conference All-Star. From the American side, Sydney Morrow (Minnesota) should be a pick in the opening two rounds of the draft, and Grace Dwyer (Cornell) and Vivian Jungels (Wisconsin) won't be far behind. Jules Constantinople is an under the radar pick from Northeastern who has a solid two-way game, while Casey Borgiel emerged as one of the NCAA's best offensive defenders after transferring from Holy Cross to Colgate last season.
Diverse Skill Sets Up Front
Without USA's elite group of certain first-round picks for 2026 who are already with their senior national team, there's more room for some of the next wave to show their diverse skill sets. Undersized Elyssa Beiderman is the top scoring NCAA forward at the event. She's coming off a 51 point season in only 39 games with Colgate last year. Biederman sees the ice better than most, and uses her creativity and offensive IQ to generate scoring. Sarah Paul is one of the best pure goal scorers in NCAA hockey. Coming to Minnesota from Princeton, she'll face strong competition in the WCHA while surrounded by top talent. She notched 28 goals last season and features a release point that is difficult for goalies to judge. She'll be joined as a transfer to Minnesota by Jamie Nelson, who captained Minnesota State, and has a strong two-way game. Two-way acumen is a trait featured by Avi Adam, Sloane Matthews, MaryKate O'Brien, and the sizeable Lily Shannon. Maddie Kaiser is another name to watch as she looks to get off on the right foot following an injury shortened season.
The teams will play a trio of games on August 13, 14, and 16 in Lake Placid, New York.