2025 Mock PWHL Draft

What's draft season without a mock draft?

The 2025 PWHL Draft is Tuesday, June 24 at 7 p.m. eastern in Ottawa, but the 2025 TIG Mock PWHL Draft took place (mostly) on a Monday in a Google Document. We opted to draft three rounds and the general managers were only required to provide explanations for their first two picks, though some did all three.

So, without further ado, let the mock draft begin!

ROUND 1

Pick 1: New York Sirens (Mike Murphy) - Kristýna Kaltounková, forward

New York has said goodbye to Alex Carpenter as a result of the expansion draft, which means that the Sirens have lost one of the best drivers of offense in the game. That's why, as New York, I'm taking the best and most complete forward available in the draft. That player is Kristýna Kaltounková.

Kaltounková's production dipped in her senior season (48 points in 37 games) but she still finished the season with (at least) 26 goals for the third time in her collegiate year. All told, she earned 233 points in 171 games at Colgate while also proving herself to be a true 200-foot player with both size and skill.

A natural center, Kaltounková could play on Fillier's wing on the top line or center a revamped second line that has a combination of size and speed. All signs point to her adapting well to the PWHL game with her frame and recent impressive performance at the 2025 Worlds.

New York needs a reset after two discouraging seasons. Kaltounková is a player to build around and can star in this league for years to come.

Pick 2: Boston Fleet (Lydia Murray) - Haley Winn, defender

The Fleet want to get better at transitioning from defense to offense, and there’s no better available player to help them do that than Haley Winn. She’s been an elite puckhandling defender throughout her career at Clarkson and with Team USA, and there’s no doubt she’ll continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the pros.

Plus, Winn isn’t just a puck mover. She’s excellent defensively and not afraid to throw her body on the line, blocking 99 shots in 38 games this past season and 298 in 151 career NCAA games. So, not only is Winn the best defender available in the draft, but she’ll fit the Fleet’s style perfectly from Day 1. You can’t ask for more than that.

Pick 3: Toronto Sceptres (Melissa Burgess) - Casey O’Brien, forward

At this point, I’m in full on “take the best player available” mode, and Casey O’Brien absolutely fits that bill. The 23-year-old Patty Kaz winner has a lethal offense that’s only gotten better over the last few years at Wisconsin, and though we can’t be certain how that will transition from college to the pro game, it definitely won’t hurt to see. O’Brien is pretty much guaranteed to be one of the top picks in this year’s PWHL Draft, and rightly so.

For the Sceptres, she’d be a great addition to their offense and could help fill in where Sarah Nurse’s absence leaves a gap. Even if O’Brien doesn’t produce at quite the same level as college (she had 88 points in 41 games this season, which is probably not realistic in the PWHL), she should be able to play significant minutes and be one of Toronto’s top scorers.

Notably, of course, O’Brien was also linemates with Daryl Watts in Wisconsin, where the duo had great success. Reunion, anyone?

Pick 4: Montréal Victoire (J Gray) - Nicole Gosling, defender

After losing their top pair defenders in Cayla Barnes and Anna Wilgren to PWHL Seattle, the Victoire have a dire need for elite help on the back end. Gosling can contribute offensively, making up for some of the firepower Montréal lost, but she is also a good fit for the Victoire’s defensive setup, which emphasizes taking care of the puck and blocking shots. Her experience with Team Canada could also be an advantage. 

Pick 5: Ottawa Charge (Elisha Côté) - Rory Guilday, defender

Ottawa’s defense corps took a hit this offseason with the loss of Ashton Bell in the expansion draft. That’s why, at pick #5, I’m drafting one of the most pro-ready defenders available: Rory Guilday.

Guilday is a 5’11” left-shot defender who plays a steady, physical game with exceptional hockey sense. She’s been a fixture on Team USA blue lines and just wrapped up an impressive career at Cornell, where she consistently blocked shots, drew top assignments and anchored the penalty kill. Her calm under pressure and commitment to the defensive zone make her a player coaches trust, and a perfect fit for a Charge team that needs to rebuild their defense.

Pick 6: Minnesota Frost (Alyssa Turner) - Nina Jobst-Smith, defender

As we approach the 2025 PWHL Draft, Nina Jobst-Smith will look to become just the third-ever Germany-born player to play in the league. Joining forward Laura Kluge of the Sceptres and goaltender Sandra Abstreiter of the Victoire. Jobst-Smith spent her entire collegiate career on the blueline for the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She finished her career with 172 games played, 67 points, 13 goals including five on the power play, and 179 total shot blocks. 

In her final year at Duluth, the right-shot defender was named a co-captain. With the losses of Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson in expansion, the Frost are in dire need on the blue line. Jobst-Smith will not only bring reliability and consistency to Minnesota, but she also comes with an abundance of experience, including at the international level where she has represented Team Germany as a strong two-way defender. During this past season she recorded five points in eight games for Germany this season at the Olympic qualifiers and World Championships.

In my opinion, Jobst-Smith is one of the more PWHL ready defenders in this year’s draft class and won’t take long to adapt her game to the professional level. I’m looking forward to possibly seeing her mentored by someone like Lee Stecklein in her rookie season with the hopes that Jobst-Smith will become a staple on the Frost for years to come. 

Pick 7: PWHL Vancouver (Maya Smith)- Dayle Ross, defender

Vancouver is SET for forwards, with their signings of Nurse, Miller, Cava, Vanišová, and Gardiner. They have a couple of strong defenders, but I definitely think that’s where they need to beef up their team. That’s why I have them taking a defender first. In our draft, by the time seventh came around, a lot of the defenders on my list were taken. 

However, I think Dayle Ross is a good pick-up for the team. Ross can add to the team’s offense, she had the most points of all defenders on the Huskies last season, but she is also a strong defender in her own zone. She had 46 blocked shots last season, and led the entire NCAA in blocked shots for the 2022-23 season. Her 104 blocked shots that season broke the St. Cloud record. 

She’ll likely be playing in front of Maschmeyer, who is used to facing a ton of shots. So hopefully a defender like Ross can help take some of the weight off of their goaltending. 

Plus, she’s from Alberta, so she’d be playing as close to home as possible. 

Pick 8: PWHL Seattle (LJ Bachenheimer) - Anne Cherkowski, forward

Seattle already has a fantastic forward line-up with the likes of Hilary Knight, Alex Carpenter, and one of last year’s first-rounders, Hannah Bilka, but I can see them using the draft to build an equally solid supporting cast for their stars. Anne Cherkowski fits that role perfectly. 

She is a consistently productive goal-scorer with two-way skill. Over four seasons with Clarkson, Cherkowski scored 59 goals. As a fifth-year senior in 2024-25, Cherkowski’s 45 points were the most of all Golden Knights forwards and second on the team, with only Haley Winn having more. Her experience playing alongside Winn might also help Cherkowski fit in Seattle, whose roster includes another talented offensive defender in Cayla Barnes.

In addition to her offensive impact, Cherkowski stepped into a bigger role on both ends of the ice and doubled her blocked shots total last season, as Emma Sullivan discussed in her NCAA forwards draft preview. Cherkowski also brings a knack for power-play scoring, which is common to Clarkson alumni, with six power-play goals in 2024-25. She could be a useful contributor when Seattle has a player advantage. 

Add in the fact that she’s from British Columbia, so Seattle isn’t too far from home, and Anne Cherkowski is a great fit for PWHL Seattle’s first draft pick.

ROUND 2

Pick 9: New York Sirens (Mike Murphy) - Michelle Karvinen, forward

There aren't a lot of picks in this draft that are sure things but that is exactly what Karvinen represents. For over a decade, Karvinen has been a superstar for Team Finland. She is a marquee name and has been a mentor to a generation of young, talented Finns.

The Sirens may only get one season out of Karvinen who is now 35. With that said, she proved to still be better than a point-per-game player in the SDHL the last two seasons and should be a positive influence in the locker room for a team that is searching for a new identity in the wake of the expansion draft. Most importantly, she should be able to play and thrive with Fillier and replace some of the firepower that the Sirens lost with Carpenter.

TRADE ALERT: Sirens trade Abby Roque to Charge for pick 13) 

Elisha's reasoning: Then, with pick #13, I’m making a win-now move, sending it to New York in exchange for Abby Roque.

This isn’t a gamble, Roque has already proven she can play at this level. With two full PWHL seasons and extensive international experience under her belt, she brings skill to any forward group. Ottawa lost several forwards to free agency and the expansion draft, and Roque slots in as a top-six option right away. She’s a center who can also play the wing, excels in transition, and has the ability to create offense with patience and creativity. A new environment could help unlock her full potential. 

Pick 10: Boston Fleet (Lydia Murray) - Ella Huber, forward

I debated whether I wanted Huber or Jenna Buglioni with this pick, but Huber got the narrow edge here because I think her game will translate to the pros a bit faster. The University of Minnesota captain enters the draft after a career year in which she scored 48 points in 42 games. However, a big reason why I chose her is because of her two-way play, high hockey IQ, and her ability to play (and produce!) in all situations. The Fleet covet well-rounded players and give them a much longer leash to find their games than players who might have some deficiencies. Given there isn’t really anyone left at this stage that’s a sure bet to step right into a top-six or top-pairing role in the pros, I wanted to grab a player that will certainly still make an impact even if she isn’t scoring. Huber is that kind of player.

Pick 11: Toronto Sceptres (Melissa Burgess) - Madison Samoskevich, defender

Samoskevich entered the PWHL draft listed as a defender, but if you’ve watched her over the years at Quinnipiac, you’ll know that she’s an incredibly versatile player who is useful across the board. She spent her first four seasons at Quinnipiac as a defender, then moved to play center in her graduate season.

When she made the switch, Bobcats head coach Cass Turner said it was a mutual decision, noting that she was always an offensive defender and the similarities between the two spots. Versatility like that is never a bad thing in hockey and it’s something the Sceptres - and probably every team in the league - could use.

Samoskevich had 62 points in her four seasons as a defender at Quinnipiac, then had her best season - 22 points in 38 games - in her final year, as a center. She finished her NCAA career as a plus-73 with 84 points in 168 games as a member of the Bobcats.

Pick 12: Montréal Victoire (J Gray) - Sara Hjalmarsson, forward

At this point in the draft, with a top defender selected, I looked at the Victoire’s next-biggest concern: center depth. Montréal played a number of players at the position this past season, and only Marie-Philip Poulin and Alexandra Labelle stood out as successes. Sara Hjalmarsson has shown she can play with and against tough competition in the NCAA, in the SDHL, and internationally. The Victoire’s coaching staff likes to try players out at different spots in the lineup, and I could see Hjalmarsson ending up anywhere from lines two through four. She’s a big body with a scoring touch along the lines of Catherine Dubois, who was one of the Victoire’s more valuable players toward the end of last season. And as the captain of Linköping for the last two seasons, she would fit in with the mature, focused group in Montréal.

Pick 13: New York Sirens (formerly Ottawa Charge) (Mike) - Kiara Zanon, forward

As the Sirens’ general manager, I decided to move Abby Roque and the final year of her at least $80,000 contract to give me ample room to lock up Fillier and get aggressive in free agency and to snag another early pick in the draft. Karvinen is a short-term solution, but Kiara Zanon can be a long-term fixture.

Zanon is a quick-footed national champion and a New York native. Her production waned in her graduate season but Zanon scored 41 points as a junior at Penn State and 49 points as a senior at The Ohio State University. She is a middle-six solution for the Sirens who represents the scoring depth that this team sorely needs.

Pick 14: Minnesota Frost (Alyssa Turner) - Natalie Mlynkova, forward

I knew that Minnesota needed help on the blue line more than anything, but with Natalie Mlynkova still on the board at pick 14 this one was a no brainer to me. 

If you take a look at Mlynkova’s Elite Prospect Page, the Czech forward’s resume is outstanding both in her point totals, but also her experience at all levels. The left winger from the University of Minnesota has a very high ceiling and a style of play that might take half a season or so to fully adapt to the pro level, but once she does she will be a strong top six option and power play option for the Frost for a long time. 

Mlynkova is a fantastic forward with high level two-way play. She loves to carry the puck and can generate scoring chances on a dime. With Minnesota losing Michala Cava in Free Agency, the selection of Mlynkova would provide the Frost with some much needed scoring and offensive numbers.

In this past year’s World Championship with Czechia she led the team in offense with six points in seven games and was also named a tournament All-Star in 2024. In her college career, she was just short of being a point-per-game player with 131 points in 143 games played. Her point totals are also very balanced as she tends to not only feed the puck extremely well, but also can bury it too as she had 64 goals and 67 assists with the Gophers.

Pick 15: PWHL Seattle (LJ Bachenheimer) - Tamara Giaquinto, defender

I struggled with this pick. I considered taking another forward, maybe Jenna Buglioni (who I was amazed was still available at this point), before rethinking taking a similar player to my first pick. I decided to go for a defender, since blueliners come at such a premium in the draft and I wanted a player who could add to Seattle’s already-strong defense corps (side note: we did this round on June 16-17, before Seattle’s free agent signings came through). Since she was the only player from Giselle Velazquez’s NCAA defender list still on the board, I picked Tamara Giaquinto.

The Boston University captain made a serious impact on her team and the conference. Giaquinto led the Terriers in blocked shots with 57 and with 18 points, tied for the most points by a BU defender. She was a clear contributor to BU’s memorable season, which included their first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade. In Hockey East, Giaquinto won Defender of the Year and was named to the All-Tournament and conference All-Star First Teams. 

Giaquinto isn’t the most offensively talented defender out there, but she still scored six power-play goals for the Terriers. Giselle also highlighted that she has a great one-timer that I agree would be cool to see in the PWHL. Giaquinto could be a valuable addition to Seattle’s blueline as a consistent, responsible defender with experience playing big minutes. The best teams need solid defensive depth, and I could see Giaquinto being part of that for PWHL Seattle.

Pick 16: PWHL Vancouver (Maya Smith)- Sanni Ahola, goaltender 

I agonized over this pick like a real general manager. I knew that I wanted to take a goaltender in the second round in the hopes of taking some of the work off of an aging (and returning from injury) Maschmeyer. But I was torn between taking Ahola and Murphy. 

In my mind (and in many others’), Ahola is the best goaltender available for this draft, and ultimately, that’s why she was my pick. I just couldn’t allow myself to leave her on the table. But, in Angelica Rodriguez’s NCAA goaltender roundup, she mentioned that Hannah Murphy is really comfortable playing in front of an offensively-minded team, which is clearly where Vancouver is going this season. 

So, I went back and forth, but ultimately, after much deliberation and nail-biting, I went with Ahola. Ultimately, it’s her experience on the international stage that makes me think she’ll be ready to enter the league faster than Murphy. 

Ahola has six years of experience facing players at the international level, in both junior and senior championships. Playing at the World Championships has allowed her to face many of the star players that she’ll face day-to-day in the PWHL. And she’s not just been to international tournaments, she’s won two bronze medals at the World Championships and made the tournament all-star team in 2023. 

She enters the PWHL draft with an overall save percentage of .917 and 10 shutouts while playing in the offense-heavy WCHA. Even if she spends one season as the third goaltender, she’ll get to learn from some of the best and improve her skills before stepping into a larger role in the future. 

ROUND 3

Pick 17: New York Sirens (Mike Murphy) - Hannah Murphy

18 Boston Fleet (LYDIA)- Jenna Buglioni

I cannot believe Buglioni was still on the board at this stage (to be fair, my colleague LJ did briefly select her 15th before changing her mind, but it’s still amazing she was there that late). There’s almost no chance she will be in the real draft, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun thinking about it. Like I mentioned earlier, I nearly took Buglioni in the second round before giving the narrow edge to Huber. Buglioni is another strong two-way, high-IQ player who produces in all situations.

However, the bonus of Buglioni over Huber is that she was a more consistent offensive threat throughout her career, producing over a point per game in three of her five seasons. Part of that can be attributed to being on one of the top two teams in the nation, but she’s also just a really good player. However, the drawback and reasons why I believe Huber’s game will translate just a bit faster is because Buglioni is small (listed at just 5’3” so she might take a little bit to adjust to the physicality of the PWHL. However, I think it will before too long, so I wouldn’t hesitate to grab her if she’s somehow still available at this stage. Nor would I be too upset to see her taken 12th. 

Pick 19: Toronto Sceptres (Melissa Burgess) - Allie Thunstrom

I feel like Thunstrom here might be a sneaky pick, but for anyone who’s watched her play hockey in recent years, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. At 37, she is one of the older players in the draft, but if she’s interested in making a return to the game, I absolutely would say yes.

Thunstrom, who last played for the Boston Pride in 2022-23 (where she played with Kali Flanagan) has admittedly been out of the game for a few years. Historically, she’s been known for her speed - with a speed-skating background - and she contributes well offensively, too. She may not be on Toronto’s top line, but would be a great fit on a second or even third line as she readjusts to the game.

Thunstrom had 84 points, including 58 goals, in 88 PHF/NWHL games over five seasons. In college, she recorded 139 points in 141 games at BC.  

Pick 20: Montréal Victoire (J Gray) - Makenna Webster

Pick 21: Ottawa Charge (Elisha Côté) - Abby Hustler

Pick 22: Minnesota Frost (Alyssa Turner) Abby Newhook

Pick 23: PWHL Vancouver (Maya Smith)- Emma Bergesen*

*As this article was being edited, Bergesen signed with the Ottawa Charge. Per the Charge press release she was eligible because she declared for the 2024 Draft. She had also declared for the 2025 Draft.

Pick 24: PWHL Seattle (LJ Bachenheimer) - Sarah Wozniewicz