The 2023 PWHL Draft was the first draft in
Professional Women's Hockey League history, and took place on September 18, 2023, at the
Canadian Broadcasting Centre
The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, also known as the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre, is an office and studio complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves as the main broadcast and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corpor ...
in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big T ...
forward
Taylor Heise
Taylor Heise (born March 17, 2000) is an American women's ice hockey forward for Minnesota and member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She won the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2022.
Early life
Heise attended Red Wing High School ...
was the first player chosen in the draft, selected by
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...
. In all, 90 players were selected over 15 rounds of drafting.
List of Eligible Players
286 eligible players from 17 different countries declared for the inaugural PWHL draft.
Top NCAA/U Sports prospects
:Source: ''
The Hockey News
''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a reader ...
'' ranking (September 5, 2023).
Format
The draft consisted of 15 rounds. The order of picks in the first round was decided by using a computerized list randomizer during a video conference call with all 6 team's general managers. In the second round this order was reversed, so the team with the 6th pick would also receive the 7th pick, whilst the team with first overall pick would not pick again until the 12th pick (last pick in the second round). The order would continue alternating in each subsequent round, producing a 'snaking' order.
The final draft order was:
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Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...
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Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
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Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
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New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
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Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
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Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
Selections by round
Picks from the 2023 Draft are listed below by round.
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Round six
Round seven
Round eight
Round nine
Round ten
Round eleven
Round twelve
Round thirteen
Round fourteen
Round fifteen
Draftees based on nationality
North American draftees by state/province
References
External links
Official website
{{Professional Women's Hockey League
Ice hockey drafts
September 2023 sports events in Canada
2023 in Toronto
Ice hockey in Toronto
PWHL draft