PWHL mock draft: Who could your favourite team pick on Tuesday?

Just 2 weeks aft an enlargement draught that reshaped the PWHL, teams volition person a accidental to re-stock endowment astatine this year's introduction draft.

The PWHL Draft, acceptable for Tuesday astatine 7 p.m. ET successful Ottawa, volition spot each squad prime players implicit six rounds.

The New York Sirens volition prime first, followed by the Boston Fleet, Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Minnesota Frost, PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle. Vancouver and Seattle volition alternate draught positions each round, portion the remainder of the teams volition support the aforesaid order.

Unlike successful 2023 and 2024, which brought Taylor Heise (Minnesota) and Sarah Fillier (New York) into the league, the prime astatine archetypal wide isn't arsenic wide chopped this season. The draught besides isn't rather arsenic heavy arsenic past season, erstwhile teams could prime from a ample cohort of players finishing their NCAA careers and veterans coming from Europe.

But that doesn't mean determination isn't high-end endowment available.

Top contenders to beryllium taken archetypal see Casey O'Brien, a centre retired of the University of Wisconsin who scored astatine a prolific complaint successful college, sharp-shooting guardant Kristýna Kaltounková (Colgate University), and two-way defender Haley Winn (Clarkson University).

Here's a look astatine what each team needs to add, and which draught imaginable mightiness acceptable those needs.

New York Sirens

Pick: Casey O'Brien, guardant (Wisconsin)

The Sirens person large holes at guardant aft losing some Alex Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge to PWHL Seattle.

The champion result for the Sirens would spot the squad get a apical guardant who tin play alongside Fillier, who is simply a restricted escaped cause successful request of a caller contract.

Leadership volition besides beryllium a cardinal origin successful who GM Pascal Daoust selects successful the draft. Last season, each 7 of his picks were erstwhile captains.

The evident prime would beryllium O'Brien, the 2025 Patty Kazmaier victor who has the smarts to play alongside 1 of the world's champion forwards. No Wisconsin player, antheral oregon female, scored much vocation points than O'Brien's 267, a fig that lone 7 pistillate players successful past person surpassed during their assemblage careers.

What the five-foot-four centre lacks successful size, she makes up for with her skating and IQ.

"She plays mode supra her size," Gordie Stafford, who coached O'Brien successful prep schoolhouse astatine Shattuck-St. Mary's, told CBC Sports. "Her spot connected her skates is incredible, but to besides skate connected apical of the crystal similar she does, I deliberation that's 1 of the things that's been truly remarkable. You cannot sound that kid disconnected the puck."

Alternatively, New York could opt for Kaltounková, who Sirens' caput manager Greg Fargo would cognize well, having coached Colgate earlier coming to the PWHL.

Boston Fleet

Pick: Haley Winn, defender (Clarkson University)

GM Danielle Marmer has prioritized rebuilding her defence, wherever 5 players person departed owed to escaped bureau oregon expansion.

Marmer added size and toughness successful escaped bureau with Zoe Boyd and Rylind MacKinnon, but a top-four defender who tin determination the puck volition apt beryllium connected her buying list.

Winn would beryllium the cleanable candidate. She could play connected Boston's apical brace beside Megan Keller oregon anchor a 2nd pair.

Clarkson University caput manager Matt Desrosiers described Winn arsenic a dynamic defender who excels astatine some ends of the ice. She's a beardown skater, but she besides works harder than conscionable astir anyone else.

"I've been fortunate to person immoderate truly bully players spell done our programme but Haley's decidedly astatine the apical arsenic idiosyncratic who puts successful the time, the effort, the preparation," Desrosiers told CBC Sports. "She's truly dialled successful to reaching her goals of making the Olympics and being connected the nationalist squad and making it to the PWHL."

Toronto Sceptres

Pick: Nicole Gosling, defender (Clarkson University)

It wouldn't beryllium a agelong to ideate GM Gina Kingsbury and caput manager Troy Ryan opting for a subordinate they cognize good successful Gosling, who became a satellite champion with Team Canada successful 2024.

She models her crippled aft Renata Fast, who would go her teammate.

"She has the quality arsenic a defenceman to dilatory the crippled down but past besides velocity it up," Clarkson manager Desrosiers said.

Montreal Victoire

Pick: Rory Guilday, defender (Cornell University)

GM Danièle Sauvageau has done a formidable occupation rebuilding the team's defence aft losing respective cardinal pieces to enlargement oregon escaped agency. She re-signed Kati Tabin and brought successful Jessica Digirolamo and Maggie Flaherty via escaped agency.

But adding different apical tier defender should beryllium the extremity successful the archetypal circular of the draft. Winn oregon Gosling would beryllium an perfect fit.

Assuming some are gone by the clip Montreal picks astatine fig four, the adjacent champion stake mightiness beryllium Guilday.

The five-foot-11 defender is much of a shutdown benignant than Gosling oregon Winn. She won a satellite title with Team USA successful 2023.

Anna Wilgren and Mariah Keopple blocked 117 shots combined connected Montreal's bluish enactment past season. With some successful Seattle adjacent season, Guilday could beryllium the cleanable campaigner to prime up the slack.

Ottawa Charge

Pick: Kendall Cooper, defender (Quinnipiac University)

The statement is that determination is simply a spread betwixt the apical 4 defenders disposable successful this draught and the remainder who play the position.

With that successful mind, it wouldn't beryllium astonishing to spot them spell disconnected the committee aboriginal successful the archetypal round. Every team, but for New York, needs astatine slightest 1 top-four defender, and Ottawa is nary different.

GM Mike Hirshfeld knows precisely however hard it is to find antiaircraft endowment successful this league. He utilized his archetypal 3 picks successful the 2023 draught to prime defenders.

Guilday fits into the Ottawa Charge DNA a spot more, but assuming she's gone, Hirshfeld could opt for Cooper.

"I deliberation size and physicality is important to us," Hirshfeld said connected Monday, erstwhile asked what benignant of defender helium mightiness beryllium looking to add. "But astatine the aforesaid time, we request to amended our powerfulness play adjacent twelvemonth and truthful puck moving violative defenders are besides of interest."

Only 1 squad allowed less goals than Quinnipiac University past season, and Cooper was a large portion of that. She besides owns the grounds for astir points by a defender successful Quinnipiac women's hockey history.

Minnesota Frost

Pick: Kristýna Kaltounková, guardant (Colgate University)

It would beryllium astonishing to spot Kaltounková autumn this far, but that's much of a connection connected the proviso and request of defenders crossed the league.

Kaltounková was the archetypal Czech subordinate to beryllium a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award this play aft scoring 26 goals successful 37 games for Colgate, wherever she is the all-time extremity scoring leader.

She besides tied Natálie Mlýnková, who has besides declared for this draft, atop the Czech team's leaderboard astatine her debut satellite title successful April, signaling six points successful 7 games.

PWHL Vancouver

Pick: Anne Cherkowski, F (Clarkson University)

"She tin play successful immoderate situation," said Desrosiers, who coached Cherkowski astatine Colgate.

"She tin play centre. She tin play wing. At [the PWHL] level, if they request a third-line checker that tin lend connected the violative side, she's capable to bash that. But if they request idiosyncratic successful a top-six role, she's capable to bash that."

As a bonus, Cherkowkski is from Coldstream, B.C.

PWHL Seattle

Pick: Ella Huber, F (University of Minnesota)

Seattle doesn't person galore holes to fill. On enlargement draught night, GM Meghan Turner already had a coagulated apical six sketched out.

A versatile guardant similar Huber seems to acceptable into the DNA Turner is looking for successful a PWHL Seattle player: idiosyncratic who is accelerated and tin marque plays with quickly, knowing that a deed is coming.