2026 PWHL Draft top prospects: Ranking the 10 best players available
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Wisconsin’s latest batch of generational talents will soon be on the move to the Professional Women’s Hockey League, along with a handful of other Olympic gold medalists, college stars and elite European talent.
We don’t yet have a date for the 2026 PWHL Draft, and we don’t know how many teams will make selections as the PWHL eyes expansion to either two or four new cities as soon as next season. But those details aren’t required to start breaking down the top 10 players in the class of 2026.
Let’s get started.
Caroline Harvey
Forget being the best prospect in this year's draft class, Harvey has a claim as one of the very best players — and certainly the best offensive defender — in women's hockey right now. In the last month alone, Harvey has won an Olympic gold medal, tournament MVP, the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Award and her third-career NCAA championship.
As a senior, Harvey led all defenders in the NCAA this season with an absurd 64 points in 33 games; her 1.94 points-per-game finished second in the nation behind only Abbey Murphy, a forward.
Harvey is a dynamic skater who breaks down coverage with her feet, deceptive puck skills and playmaking intuition. She's one of the most intelligent players in the sport on both sides of the puck, with an elite ability to read and process the game both offensively and defensively. She's a special talent and should be a transformational superstar for the team that's lucky enough to select her.
Abbey Murphy
Nobody was more productive in the NCAA this season than Murphy, who led the nation in goals per game (1.29) and points per game (2.13).
She’s an elite skater, handler and shooter with an ultra-competitive spirit and reputation as a pest who will challenge you with the puck and be a thorn in your side without it.
Murphy plays a hard-nosed game and talks trash, which often puts more of a spotlight on her extracurriculars, but make no mistake, this is an ultra-elite player. Former Minnesota coach Brad Frost likened Murphy’s talent to “Connor McDavid with a chip on her shoulder.”
There have been on-ice discipline issues with Murphy over her career, but she’s matured enough to stay more frequently on the right side of the line, which makes her pesky nature more a feature than a bug.
Murphy is an every-shift player who should immediately be a first-line star in the PWHL and thrive in its more physical style of play. In a class with five high-end forward prospects, she's the clear No. 1.
Laila Edwards
With a combination of size (6-foot-1) and skill, Edwards is one of the most exciting prospects in women’s hockey. She has one of the heaviest shots in the game and can be a lot to handle when she drives the net or enters into a battle along the wall. She’s also a natural fit for multiple roles on the power play, as she can beat goalies from long range with her shot or play the net front.
Edwards transitioned to defense for Team USA last season, but had largely remained a highly productive winger for Wisconsin. Last season, no player had more goals than Edwards (35). It’s pretty telling that, despite her success on D at the Olympics, Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson moved Edwards back to forward for the NCAA Frozen Four, where she scored two goals in the national semifinal to lead Wisconsin back to a fourth straight national championship game. Edwards’ 12 career goals during the Frozen Four tournament are a new program record, surpassing Badger great and U.S. captain Hilary Knight.
While Edwards is certainly versatile, we see her as a power winger who plays the point on a PWHL power play. She’s a singular player in the women’s game and will be a coveted asset in the PWHL.
Kirsten Simms
Coming up through high school and college as part of a generational trio with Harvey and Edwards, Simms has taken something of a backseat in terms of public perception and notoriety. And that's probably unfair because, at worst, she’s the second most skilled forward available in the draft this year.
Simms is the only player available in the 2026 draft to score 70-plus points twice in her NCAA career. She has some of the best hands in the sport, a great shot and an incredible clutch gene. As a freshman, Simms scored the game-winner in the 2023 national championship game. Last season, she sent the championship game to overtime with an incredible shootout goal, then won it all in overtime. Just last week, she scored the overtime winner against Penn State in the national semifinal.
She also possesses great vision and hockey IQ, as well as quick feet, giving her game dimension. Simms might not be as complete a player as Tessa Janecke, who could very well be higher on some PWHL general managers’ draft boards. But her creativity and productivity make her a worthy option in the top five.
Tessa Janecke
At Penn State, Janecke was a program builder, leading the Nittany Lions to four straight conference championships and the team’s first-ever Frozen Four in her senior year. She leaves Hockey Valley as Penn State’s all-time scoring leader — for men’s and women’s hockey — with 201 points in 145 career games, and became the first woman in program history to be named a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award and a First-team All-American.
Janecke is not quite as dynamic as Simms or Murphy, but she’s a natural center and a complete two-way package. She’s excellent in the faceoff circle and can contribute on both the power play and the penalty kill. She’s a good skater, can make plays and can find the back of the net — as she did twice in the national semifinal last week, pushing the back-to-back champion Badgers to overtime.
She projects as a counted-upon top-six center in the PWHL who makes her lines better, and could go higher than fifth, given she’s the only sure-thing center in this class.
Lacey Eden
Over six years with Wisconsin and on the U.S. national team, Eden has built a reputation as a strong two-way forward capable of providing energy to whatever line she’s on. But that might sell her short as a productive force. She showed that in February when her Wisconsin teammates — Harvey, Edwards, Simms and goalie Ava McNaughton — went to the Milan Olympics and Eden — who was a surprising last-minute cut from the team — carried the Badgers with 17 points in eight games.
With more games under her belt, Eden led the nation with 77 points and 48 assists this season. Her plus-minus (70) was also first in the NCAA, which is usually less notable when you play for Wisconsin, but more notable when you’re still plus-13 higher than your nearest teammate. She’s a well-rounded offensive player with a hard wrister and deceptively quick release. On top of her production, Eden has been a go-to penalty killer for the Badgers and is a gritty forward willing to do the dirty work in all three zones.
Eden leaves Wisconsin ranked third all-time in points (248), tied for third in goals with Meghan Duggan (108) and as the only player in the history of women’s college hockey to win four national championships.
Emma Peschel
Peschel has been one of the top defenders for one of the best teams in women’s college hockey for the last two years. In her final season for the Buckeyes, she recorded a career-high 39 points from the blue line, second nationally among defenders and was named a First-Team All-American alongside Harvey.
Peschel is a strong, competitive defender who has played big minutes in all situations for Ohio State and won an NCAA championship in her sophomore year. She's a good, balanced skater. She defends well, blocks shots — she had a team-high 34 blocks this season — and has the ability to hold onto pucks and attack offensively when the timing is right. She has pro size (5-foot-10) with a game that fits the PWHL’s style well. She should be a solid second-pairing D for any team in the league.
Sydney Morrow
Morrow has been one of the most productive defenders in women’s college hockey, tallying 107 points in 115 games over her last three seasons at Colgate and Minnesota.
With the Golden Gophers the last two seasons, Morrow averaged around 25 minutes per game as a first-pairing all-situations defender. She's very mobile and athletic, with excellent skating that allows her to influence the game all over the ice, whether that's breaking pucks out, joining the rush, walking the line or gapping up and turning back to get pucks defensively.
She's a very heady player who keeps her eyes up and combines her offensive IQ with a quick release and comfortable handles. Morrow could be a solid top-four D who can run a PWHL power play.
Issy Wunder
Wunder, the top Canadian in the class and a captain at Princeton, has been one of the top scoring forwards in the NCAA for two straight years.
As a junior, Wunder scored 0.81 goals per game, which ranked higher than stars such as Murphy and 2025 PWHL No. 1 pick Kristýna Kaltounková. As a senior, Wunder scored a career-high 27 goals and was named the Ivy League Player of the Year and a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award for the second straight year. Her eight game-winning goals co-led the nation.
Wunder is not the most physical or fleet of foot player, but she has coveted size (5-foot-11) for the PWHL and a strong offensive package. She has a big shot, good hands — she'll deke on goalies one-on-one — and is a strong skater when she gets going. She puts herself in good spots off of the puck as well. Wunder didn't penalty kill at Princeton and likely won't as a pro but she projects as a top-nine winger and power-play option who can finish.
Nelli Laitinen
At just 23 years old, Laitinen is already a longtime veteran of Finland’s senior national team and a two-time Olympian. At the Milan Olympics last month — while the team dealt with a norovirus outbreak and a tournament-ending injury to veteran defender Jenni Hiirikoski — Laitinen was a workhorse, leading the team in time on ice and playing against top competition.
She was an all-situations defender over four years at Minnesota and has proven to be a smart two-way blueliner. Laitinen is not the most physical or dynamic offensive D, but she moves well, has good instincts offensively and a good stick defensively. Blue-line depth has been an issue for many PWHL teams over the league’s first three seasons, which also gives Laitinen an edge over some of the forwards — such as Thea Johansson and Elyssa Biederman — who just missed out on the top-10.
On her own merit, though, Laitinen should upgrade a team's top six on the back end and contribute in multiple areas.
Petra Nieminen
Nieminen is the best of the European players expected to make the leap to North America this season. She led the SDHL in scoring in back-to-back seasons and has been the league-leader in goals for three straight years. A mainstay on the Finnish women’s national team, Nieminen is a two-time tournament all-star at women’s worlds and is one of the most productive Finnish players of all time at just 26 years old.
Nieminen is a strong, competitive, engaged center who can contribute on both special teams. She possesses good puck protection skills and hands and uses them to take pucks from the perimeter to the guts of the offensive zone, constantly looking to find ways to funnel play to the net.
The SDHL is not the WCHA, so her near goal-per-game production will come with some caveats for PWHL clubs, but her play internationally should solidify her case as a top-two-rounds candidate.
Elyssa Biederman
Biederman is a small but talented and agile forward who can play both center or the wing. She’s been extremely productive across four years at Colgate and graduates as the third all-time leading scorer in program history (183 points), behind two PWHL first-round picks Danielle Serdachny and Kristýna Kaltounková.
Biederman uses her good skating and handles to attack off the perimeter and has a quick release to score from the slot. Her size (5-foot-1) might give some teams pause, given the increased physicality in the PWHL. But Biederman wasn’t shy about going to the net in college and has shown penalty kill value because of her instincts and ability to go the other way, which could factor into her finding her way in the league for more than just her offense — especially with the league’s jailbreak rule.
There may also be more top-six jobs for a skilled winger such as Biederman as the league expands. She was a fun player to watch in college and has one of the strongest statistical track records on this list.
Sara Swiderski
Swiderski is a right-shot D with size in a class that doesn't have any and was the No. 2 on a top program at Ohio State opposite Peschel this year. She's an effective two-way D who skates very well and plays the game with balance over her feet and her head and eyes up. She also competes and plays a solid defensive game. She could get some Canadian national team reps soon, too, with the team’s D-core from the Milan Olympics in transition.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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