State of PWHL Vancouver: Expansion Draft Update and Entry Draft Preview

It's hard to write about what the new Vancouver PWHL team needs to do in the draft since it appears that they've signed every possible free agent they could get their hands on.

A week ago, I had an entire plan for who they should draft, but now I feel like they have the most complete lineup going into the 2025-2026 season. Plenty of teams with missing pieces will need a strong draft, and those players will need to show up on day one, but I'm not sure Vancouver will be in that boat.

But there are a couple of places I could see them shoring up, so let's recap what Vancouver has done so far, and what they might need when they start picking seventh overall on Tuesday.

The Exclusive Signing Window

Vancouver made a big splash during the exclusive signing window, starting with taking two of the top defenders from the reigning cup champs. Thompson and Jaques, fresh off raising the Walter Cup, will be playing in front of Ottawa Charge netminder Emerance Maschmeyer. And they weren't done, they also picked up fan-favourite Sarah Nurse, and hometown girl and Rookie of the Year finalist, Jennifer Gardiner.

The foundation of a stellar goaltender, one who has proven that she can play behind just about any level of defense, two of the top defenders in the league, and two strong offensive talents, solidified for me that this team would be a formidable opponent in the upcoming season.

And it didn't stop there.

The Expansion Draft

I do think that the expansion draft was the weakest point of Vancouver's process up to this point.

The team did make the excellent choice of taking Ashton Bell first overall in the expansion draft. Not only is she a great defender who can fit in well on the second pairing, but she has spent the last two years playing in front of Vancouver's starting goaltender, Emerance Maschmeyer.

With their second pick, they added a forward who was a huge pleasant surprise for me last season, Brooke McQuigge. She joins former Minnesota Frost teammates Jaques and Thompson. McQuigge was the second-highest scoring rookie on the Frost and had three points in her first playoffs.

Boreen and Daniel were the team's next two picks. These are two solid forwards who can fit in well on the second or third lines. Boreen is a slightly more seasoned player who put up strong numbers as a depth scorer for the Montréal Victoire. Aside from Poulin and Stacey (both protected from the expansion draft) and Gardiner, who already joined Vancouver, Boreen was Montréal's most desirable forward (in my mind).

Daniel suffered from the same rookie curse that many do in their first season. It's a very hard jump from the NCAA to the PWHL. With one solid season under her belt playing with the strong forward group on the Toronto Sceptres, she'll hope to find a bit more offensive success in her second season.

Vancouver used their last three picks on Rosenthal (New York Sirens, forward), Denisa Křížová (Minnesota Frost, forward), and Sydney Bard (Boston Fleet, defender). While Křížová isn't a bad pickup, I was disappointed that Rosenthal was the team's choice from New York. Although New York didn't have the strongest season, the team prioritized protecting defense, so there was lots of offensive talent available in the draft. Seattle snagged Eldridge and Carpenter, and I was hoping for something that level for Vancouver.

Bard, a rookie defender who had an okay first season, will learn a lot on the third pairing or as the seventh defender, and hopefully find her flow as the playmaker that she was at Colgate.

While I don't think that Vancouver had a bad draft, I do think that Seattle out-drafted them, especially with Eldrige, Bilka, and Tejralová.

Free Agent Frenzy

There was some discontent among fans about how the expansion draft bolstered the new teams and devastated the original six teams, but I don't think anyone could have expected how free agency would go.

Vancouver wasted no time filling out their roster. They immediately signed three more powerful forwards in Hannah Miller (Toronto Sceptres), Michaela Cava (Minnesota Frost), and Tereza Vanišová (Ottawa Charge). Combined, they put up 65 points last season, and Cava and Vanišová both had strong playoffs. It's clear that Vancouver plans to be incredibly strong offensively, something that they'll need against the goaltenders in this league.

They also bolstered their defense, which was the biggest weak spot I had identified after the expansion draft. Emma Greco (Boston Fleet) signed with the team for two years, while Mellissa Channell-Watkins (Minnesota Frost) signed for one year.

There's still plenty of time for free agency signings, but going into the draft, this is how the lineup looks.

Forwards:
W C W
Miller Nurse Boreen
Gardiner ? Cava
McQuigge* Rosenthal Daniel
Vaniśová ? Kříšová

Defenders:
Thompson Jaques
? Bell
Channell-Watkins Greco
Bard

Goaltenders:
Maschmeyer
?
?

*Note: McQuigge is unsigned at this time

The Entry Draft

If we look at the above lineup, it's pretty clear that a couple of spaces need to be filled. Forwards are pretty versatile in the PWHL, so some players might move around. Plus, the team is very offense-heavy, so I'm less worried about the forward class in the draft.

The team needs to look at picking up another strong defender to join either Bell on the second pair, or at least a third-pairing defender to allow Channell-Watkins to move up to the second pairing.

I'd like to see them look at Nina Jobst-Smith (Minnesota-Duluth, Team Germany) or Rory Guilday (Cornell, Team USA), but picking seventh, those two may be off the table. In our mock draft, I went with Dayle Ross (St. Cloud), who can contribute offensively, but is also a strong shot blocker who can take some work off of Maschmeyer.

They also need a goaltender. Maschemeyer can play every single game in a season, but she shouldn't have to (and legally, she can't be the only one on the roster). It would be any goalie's dream to play behind and learn from Maschmeyer. In our mock draft, Ahola (St. Cloud, Team Finland) was still on the board, so I picked her in the second round. She's a strong goaltender playing in a very offensively-minded NCAA division who also has international experience playing against the players she'll face in the PWHL each game.

If Ahola isn't still on the board by the second round, Hannah Murphy (Colgate) could be a strong second choice. She's used to playing behind teams who are strong offensively and could spend a couple of seasons playing backup to Maschmeyer until the time comes for the starter's retirement.

Going into the 2025-2026 season, I think Vancouver is in one of the strongest positions, with just a few places to build on, either with more signings or draft picks.