The Hockey News' Cee Benwell chats with three-time Olympic gold medalist Becky Keller about the PWHL's best rookie pairs. Every team in the PWHL added depth to their roster in June’s draft. None were looking exclusively for scoring forwards or for blue line additions, and as it turned out, teams drafted one of each to add star players to their rosters. Of course, New York might have gotten the best of the bunch with first overall pick, forward Sarah Fillier (from Princeton). She’s currently leading the league with six points in three games. However, they traded their second-round pick to Boston and moved down to select Maja Nylén Persson from the SDHL with the tenth pick, Nylén Persson finished fifth in the league and led all defenders in scoring with 38 points in 36 games. She also won the SDHL award for top defender for the third consecutive time. This pair looks like a solid combination already with New York jumping out to first place in the league after the first three games. The Boston Fleet decided to take a chance and traded up to get New York’s seventh overall pick. They took young star Czech defender Daniela Pejšová, who is the youngest player in the league at 22 and who has a huge upside. She’s already played for Czechia four times in the World Championships. In the first round, Boston took Ohio State’s leading scorer, Hannah Bilka, with the fourth overall pick. She had 49 points in 38 games last season in the NCAA. That duo will be a force for years to come. Bilka has scoring prowess unlike many skaters, and if Pejšová becomes the player most think she will, this pair might end up being the strongest of them all. Minnesota surprised observers when they drafted defender Claire Thompson third overall. But they focused on a position of need (defense) and selected an immensely talented skater who adds a dimension of offense and playmaking. In the 2022 Olympics, Thompson set the Olympic record for points by a defender with 13. Her poise and smarts have already shown that she is a huge boost to the Frost lineup. In the second round, Ken Klee and company chose Wisconsin forward Britta Curl (a controversial pick at the time). Her skills as a power forward are undeniable. She had a career-best 62 points for the national champions last season with 22 goals and 40 assists. She scored her first two goals in the Frost’s third game against Toronto. This pair is definitely a force. Ottawa’s forward-defender pair is another one to watch and just might be the strongest among the teams' picks. With the second overall selection, they chose Danielle Serdachny, the dynamic power forward from Colgate University. A big, strong player with outstanding offensive prowess, she was last seen on the international stage scoring the overtime winning goal for Canada at the World Championships in April. Her presence immediately gives the Charge a different look up front. The defender that GM Mike Hirshfeld selected in the second round (immediately after her Luleå teammate Pejšová) was another big power presence: Finland’s Ronja Savolainen. Known as a physical defender, Savolainen was openly looking forward to the PWHL game and the chance to use her size against opponents. These two look like they could be the cream of the crop of the “first round - second round” duos. Ottawa did well to land two huge difference-makers. Montreal (selecting fifth in each round) and Toronto (selecting sixth) also took forward/defense pairs, but their packages might not live up to the four ahead of them. Cayla Barnes and Jenn Gardiner have already looked impressive with the Victoire, connecting on each other’s goals in the early going and displaying natural chemistry from having played together at Ohio State. Toronto’s Julia Gosling, meanwhile, has been kept off the board in her first three games, and their second-round pick, defender Megan Carter, is sidelined with a lower-body injury. The potential for those two will have to wait to be seen. Meanwhile, the outstanding rookie class has given fans a lot to debate when it comes to deciding which team has the best one-two punch.
