TORONTO, ON (September 13, 2023) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today announced the 268 eligible players from across the women’s hockey world that have declared for the inaugural PWHL Draft presented by Canadian Tire. PWHL teams will call the names of 90 eligible players across the 15-round selection process on Monday, September 18, beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET at CBC’s headquarters in downtown Toronto, and streamed live in partnership with CBC Sports.

“Declaring for the draft was the first step for players to become part of this historic PWHL season and the depth of talent in our player pool is evident with stars from various collegiate, professional, and international programs,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hokey Operations.

“All six PWHL teams are going to be able to select many of the best players in the world that will make for an exciting draft and inaugural season.”

Jayna Hefford Senior VP Hockey Operations

• All 268 eligible players officially declared for the draft prior to the Sept. 3 deadline.
• The group consists of 146 forwards, 78 defenders, and 44 goaltenders representing a total of 17 different countries. 237 of the players competed during the 2022-23 season including 98 players in the PHF, 63 players with the PWHPA, and 49 players at the NCAA and U SPORTS level.
• A Player Evaluation Advisory Committee has assessed the eligible player pool as an additional resource for General Managers.

The PWHL Draft follows the league’s initial 10-day free agency period where 18 players (three per team) were signed to Standard Player Agreements (SPAs) between Sept. 1-10.

Those foundational players include:

• Boston’s Aerin Frankel (G), Megan Keller (D), and Hilary Knight (F)
• Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield (F), Kelly Pannek (F), and Lee Stecklein (D)
• Montreal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens (G), Marie-Philip Poulin (F), and Laura Stacey (F)
• New York’s Alex Carpenter (F), Abby Roque (F), and Micah Zandee-Hart (D)
• Ottawa’s Emily Clark (F), Brianne Jenner (F), and Emerance Maschmeyer (G)
• Toronto’s Renata Fast (D), Sarah Nurse (F), and Blayre Turnbull (F)

Collectively, the decorated group of Canadian and United States National Women’s Team players have won 38 Olympic medals and 117 medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship.

Download: Inaugural PWHL 2023 Draft Eligibility List

Source: thepwhl.com