“I was attacked with hugs,” Brianna Brooks laughed. “I didn’t even know what team I got drafted to at first. My heart dropped. I started crying.”

Brooks was surrounded by family and friends during the 2025 PWHL draft, overwhelmed with emotion, and briefly confused amid the chaos.

“We were watching the draft… and I didn’t know what to expect,” she recalled. “I was completely in shock. My family started screaming… it was just a surreal moment. Then I looked up and saw it was Vancouver, and I couldn’t have been happier.”

PWHL Vancouver chose Brooks, a Penn State grad, in the fourth round, 32nd overall in the 2025 PWHL Draft. While the West Coast brings the beginning of a new chapter for Brooks, the East laid the foundation for her hockey journey.

“I started playing when I was three. My mom just threw me on the ice with my older sister… I didn’t even know how to skate. To this day, they call me the ‘floppy fish’ because I would just lie on the ice.”

Despite the slippery start, Brooks fell fast and hard for the game.

“I’d sleep in my hockey undergear and wake up in the mornings just so excited to play. I loved it. It made me happy.”

Nicolleta Panos talks to Brianna Brooks about her path through hockey to the PWHL

Finding Her Game At Penn State

Growing up in a hockey family – with three siblings and a dad who played – competition became second nature. It was an integral part of her collegiate hockey and, most importantly, shaped her decision to transfer to Penn State.

“I loved the University of New Hampshire… but I knew if I wanted to be the best hockey player I could be, I needed to make a change,” Brooks said. “I had committed to UNH when I was young, so I probably chose it for the wrong reasons. Hockey-wise, I needed more, I needed a push. I wanted to be around more like-minded people who also wanted to be the best they could be.”

Having finalized the decision to transfer just a few days before the portal closed, Brooks, without knowing, had created a defining moment in her career.

The turning point, however, came from her first season at Penn State as a Nittany Lion.

“Winning the CHAs that first year… that was the moment I knew I’d made the best decision of my life as a hockey player. That feeling – that’s why I play the game,” she said. “It was definitely the moment I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to do this for my job.’”

Still, the path to pro hockey hadn’t always been so clear.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to play after college,” Brooks admitted. “The opportunity was basically going to Europe, and there wasn’t this big league like there is now.”

That changed with the arrival of the PWHL. As the league began to take shape, so did her mindset.

“I would like to say my mindset gradually shifted,” she said. “Watching the league develop — that’s when I started thinking, ‘Okay, we can do this professionally now, this is what I’m going to strive for and I’m going to have the best end to my college career’.”

Now, drafted to one of the league’s brand-new expansion teams, Brooks is not only part of that next chapter — she’s helping write it.

“I think it is so special that I’m going to be a part of a team that is brand new,” she said. “We’re making history over there. It’s special that I get to be surrounded by girls I’ve looked up to my whole career, like it’s crazy these girls are going to be my teammates and my friends.”

“Growing up, this was something you didn’t think was possible. You’d look at the NHL and think, ‘That’s the dream,’ but you’d also have to keep in mind that that’s not possible. Now it is.”

Her role in that dream is still taking shape. She’s not walking into the league with bold declarations or a guaranteed spot in the lineup — and she prefers it that way.

“I wasn’t sure if I was even going to get drafted,” Brooks said. “So, my goal is just to get better every day. I’m working hard now to be the best version of myself, and wherever I may fit on the team in Vancouver — that’s the role I’m going to take on.”

“I’m just trying to be open-minded and accepting of whatever role I’ll be given — and be the best in that role I can be. My biggest goal is to improve and try to get one percent better every day.”

Who is Brianna Brooks on the ice?

As for what kind of player fans can expect to see?

“I would say I’m a strong 200-foot player,” she explained. “I’ve played center basically my whole life, with a bit of wing here and there. I would say I’m an offensive threat who spends just as much time in the D zone as in the offensive zone. I see the game well, I like to make plays, and I like to score goals, too.”

But above all: “I’m competitive — like, crazy competitive. I like to win. I want to do what’s best for the team.”

That intensity is part of what’s always set Brooks apart — something she saw in one of the players she admires most: fellow Ontario standout Julia Gosling.

“She’s somebody I’ve always admired — even before I knew her,” Brooks said. “She’s a strong 200-foot player, she’s fast, she wins battles, she’s competitive. I just think she’s amazing — as a hockey player and a person. She’s definitely someone I model my game after and look up to.”

Off the ice, Brooks likes to keep things simple.

“I like to cook a lot and try new recipes,” she said. “I love to meal prep; I would make these spinach feta burgers and would freeze them for me and my roommate all year.”

“I also like to go on walks and hang out with friends. I’d say I’m an introverted extrovert. I like to be on my own and like to do the simple things, but I also like to be outgoing and hang out with my friends. You've got to have a good work-life balance.”

She studied kinesiology in school and says that, unsurprisingly, her passion for human performance and wellness ties directly back to her identity as an athlete.

“I love kinesiology and the human body. I’m definitely passionate about all that and being my best self… probably stemmed from being an athlete.”

Looking ahead, Brooks’ goals aren’t wrapped in numbers or stats.

“Success is not given, it’s earned,” she said. “It’s something you have to work for and build up toward. It’s gradual.”

“I hope I look back and am happy with my improvement. I know there will be ups and downs, but I hope I can say I learned from it all, the good and the bad, and came out better.”

She also hopes to help set the tone in the locker room, something she sees as just as important as anything that happens on the ice.

“I think culture is so important,” Brooks said. “I hope we’re surrounded by like-minded people who are all there for the same reason — to win, and to be a good team. Whether we’re close friends or just great teammates, we need to come together around that common goal.”

As for her jersey number in Vancouver?

“I was 17 my whole life, but when I transferred to Penn State, 17 was taken,” she explained. “They gave me a few options, and 16 was the closest, so I picked that. My boyfriend was also number 16, so I asked if he thought it was weird. He said it was the best number they gave me, and now I kind of like it better.”

When asked if she’d keep the number, she smiled. “I’m thinking I’ll stick with 16. I was 17 my whole life, and now it’s the start of a new era.”

And in case you're wondering — she'd rather set up the game-winner with a no-look assist than score it herself. “Definitely,” she said. “I’m a playmaker.”

That mindset —team-first, role-flexible, and relentlessly competitive — may be what makes Brooks such a strong fit for a franchise that’s still finding its footing.

Gritty. Competitive. Brooks isn’t focused on how she’ll contribute; just that she will.

Brianna Brooks - Photo @ Penn State Women's Hockey

How PWHL Vancouver's Brianna Brooks Found Her Game – and Her Future