2026 PWHL DRAFT ELIGIBILITY LIST FEATURES RECORD NUMBER OF PLAYER DECLARATIONS | PWHL
NEW YORK AND TORONTO (May 12, 2026) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) immediately introduced that 235 eligible gamers have declared for the 2026 PWHL Draft offered by Upper Deck, representing the most important expertise pool of potential gamers because the inaugural season. The draft will happen on Wednesday, June 17 at 5 pm ET on the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan, with the Vancouver Goldeneyes holding the primary total decide.
Five US gold medalists headline an inventory of 23 draft-eligible gamers who competed on the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, together with Tournament MVP and Best Defender Caroline Harvey, who additionally earned the celebrated Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award earlier than successful a National Collegiate Championship with the University of Wisconsin. She enters the draft alongside fellow Badgers Laila Edwards and Michigan native Kirsten Simms, together with Penn State’s Tessa Janecke and Abbey Murphy from the University of Minnesota.
The checklist additionally contains 2026 Olympians from Finland (4), France (1), Germany (5), Italy (3), Japan (1), Sweden (2), and Switzerland (2), together with Swiss bronze medalist Andrea Braendli, named Best Goalkeeper in Milan, and prime Swedish scorer Thea Johansson. Laura Fortino, who gained Olympic gold (2014) and silver (2018) with Canada earlier than representing Italy in 2026, has additionally declared for the draft, as has four-time Canadian Olympian and three-time gold medalist Meghan Agosta.
The group of 235 gamers options 129 forwards, 69 defendersand 37 goaltenderswith greater than 50% of draft-eligible gamers from NCAA packages. All eligible gamers formally declared for the draft by the May 8 deadline.
The 2026 PWHL Draft offered by Upper Deck will happen on Wednesday, June 17 at Fox Theatre, starting at 5 pm ET, and will probably be open to ticketed followers. Tickets for the 2026 PWHL Draft offered by Upper Deck can be found to the general public here,opens in a new tab starting on Wednesday, May 13 at 10 am ET.
2026 PWHL DRAFT ELIGIBILITY LIST
Players are grouped by place and listed alphabetically by final identify. The * within the nationality column denotes gamers who’ve Senior National Team expertise representing their nation in worldwide competitors.
DNP = Did not play in 2025-26