Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Announces Player Eligibility List For 2024 PWHL Draft

167 eligible players representing 19 countries have declared for the June 10 draft in Minnesota

NEW YORK AND TORONTO (May 25, 2024) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today announced the 167 eligible players that have declared for the second annual PWHL Draft. PWHL teams will select 42 players from the eligibility list throughout the seven-round process scheduled for Monday, June 10 at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in Saint Paul, MN, beginning at 6:00 p.m. CT / 7:00 p.m. ET.

“The global interest in the PWHL continues to grow and the depth of talent across the women’s hockey player pool will raise the level of play in the league’s second season,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. “Fans are going to see stars from collegiate and international programs selected by their favourite PWHL teams, which makes the draft one of the most exciting events of the year.”

All 167 eligible players officially declared for the draft prior to the May 8 deadline. The group consists of 93 forwards, 48 defenders, and 26 goaltenders. There are 19 different countries represented in the player pool including 86 Canadians, 46 Americans, and 35 international players. A total of 42 players have Senior National Team experience competing for Austria, Canada, China, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States. During the 2023-24 season, 96 of the players were collegiate athletes including 61 from NCAA women’s hockey programs and 35 from U SPORTS, and another 55 players in various professional leagues around the world.

New York will select first overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft after earning the most ‘Draft Order Points’ upon elimination from playoff contention. Ottawa will select second overall as the other non-playoff team. Based on the inverse order of the regular-season standings among the four playoff teams, Minnesota will select third overall, Boston fourth, Montréal fifth, and Toronto will select sixth. The draft will utilize the same order of selection in all seven rounds.

Undrafted players from the eligibility list will become free agents. PWHL teams can sign free agents from the 2024 and 2023 eligibility lists to Standard Player Agreements starting June 21, 2024.

A total of 268 players were eligible for the inaugural PWHL Draft with 90 selections in the 15-round process held on Sept. 18, 2023, in Toronto. Taylor Heise was selected first overall by Minnesota, with legendary sports icon Billie Jean King announcing the historic pick.

2024 PWHL DRAFT ELIGIBILITY LIST

Players are grouped by position and listed alphabetically by last name. The team and league columns correspond to a player’s most recent professional or collegiate program. The ^ denotes players who did not compete during the 2023-24 season. The * in the nationality column denotes players who have Senior National Team experience representing their country in international competition.

The draft eligibility list is subject to change as players may withdraw prior to June 10.

Forwards

Defenders

Goaltenders