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The 2025 PWHL Draft, which took place on June 24 in Ottawa, delivered jaw-dropping moments and bold strategies that will reverberate across the league this season and beyond. Surprises, bold trades, and defining moments will shape the PWHL for years as established squads and expansion teams alike set the course for their franchise's future.
To set the draft on fire from the start, the New York Sirens selected Czech sniper Kristýna Kaltounková first overall, a somewhat expected pick with the team recently parting ways with offensive stars like Alex Carpenter via the expansion draft. Kaltounková brings an impressive scoring pedigree to a squad that finished dead last each of the last two campaigns, having netted a program-record 111 goals in her career at Colgate.
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Just as the draft began to settle, New York made another headline-grabbing move, trading elite defender Ella Shelton to Toronto to move up and select forward Casey O’Brien at No. 3. O’Brien, the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Award winner, led the NCAA with 88 points. Between her addition and the seven other players they got in their draft haul, these moves signal that the Sirens are fully committed to revamping their offensive core to balance out the lineup's defensive stability.
The Toronto Sceptres shocked many for some similar reasons. Acquiring Shelton, a proven national team-caliber defender, gives their blue line a massive boost, and the Scepters also made another move to send Kristen Campbell and the No. 19 pick to Vancouver for the 16th and 23rd picks. The moves showed that Toronto quickly shifted its strategy from potential offensive targets to a defense-first draft approach.
Meanwhile, expansion teams Vancouver and Seattle made smaller but still surprising moves of their own. Outside of trading for Campbell, Vancouver took 35-year-old Danish-Finnish three-time Olympian Michelle Karvinen with its first-ever draft pick, defying expectations that they’d build through youth.
Seattle followed with Ohio State captain Jenna Buglioni, whose leadership and production made her a smart choice at No. 8. Both teams clearly prioritized solid depth and immediate impact over long-term development, signaling their desire to compete out of the gate.
Boston made a strong, calculated decision to select defender Haley Winn at No. 2 overall. Winn, who had a stellar 46-point season while leading the team in scoring at Clarkson, was seen as the ideal player to shore up Boston’s defense following free agency losses. She has been praised for her work ethic and two-way ability, which will come in handy after the Fleet lost the league's top goal scorer Hilary Knight to Seattle.
In Montreal, the selection of Nicole Gosling at No. 4 added another layer of Canadian talent to the roster, continuing a trend that saw 16 Canadians drafted overall. But the real story of the day was the interesting choice to acquire Abby Roque from the Sirens in exchange for Kristen O'Neill and the 28th pick.
It'll be interesting to see how this physical forward meshes with new teammates like Marie-Philip Poulin, as the two have had run-ins with one another in the past two seasons. Roque put up six goals and 17 points in 30 games with the Sirens in 2024-25, a slight improvement from her rookie campaign, which saw her log six goals and 13 points in 24 games.
From shocking trades to historic selections, the 2025 PWHL Draft delivered drama, unforgettable moments, and intriguing foreshadowing, setting the stage for a thrilling upcoming season.
