The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced that its 2025 draft will be held in the nation’s capital on June 24.
Executives from the league’s six franchises will congregate at the Rideau Carleton Casino to determine where some of the best and brightest in women’s hockey will play next season, though it remains to be seen which team will hold the first-overall pick.
The PWHL’s draft order is determined by how many points each team earns after being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. As such, the team that accrues the most points after being eliminated will select first in the draft.
Currently, each team still has three regular season games to play and, while the Montreal Victoire have already clinched a postseason berth, the remaining five squads still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs, though the New York Sirens will be officially eliminated if they lose their next game.
Last year, the Ottawa Charge had the second-overall pick after missing the playoffs in the league’s inaugural season. The Charge went on to select Danielle Serdachny from Colgate University, who has scored two goals and six assists in 27 games this season.
In comparison, Sarah Filier, who New York selected with the first pick in last year’s draft, has posted 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points through 27 games.
In a press release, the PWHL said additional details regarding the draft, like ticketing information, will be released “in the coming weeks.”
Prospective players have until May 8 to declare their eligibility for the draft, which means teams also do not know who exactly will be available when the time comes to make their selections.
Certain players, like Casey O’Brien, a highly-touted prospect from the University of Wisconsin, have already declared their eligibility. In her fifth season of NCAA hockey, O’Brien has amassed an impressive 88 points in only 41 games.
Other star youngsters, like the University of Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy, have yet to make a decision on whether to declare for this year’s draft.
Murphy is one of the few players outside the PWHL to make the U.S. roster for the women’s world hockey championships, which is currently underway in Czechia.
The tournament is scheduled to wrap up this weekend, after which the PWHL will resume its regular season.
Currently, Ottawa holds the fourth and final playoff spot with a one-point lead over the fifth-place Minnesota Frost, last year’s Walter Cup champions.
