PWHL Mock Draft (2024)
On June 10 the PWHL draft will take place. Last year we saw Taylor Heise, the inaugural Playoffs MVP, go first overall to Minnesota. This year it’s New York with the first-overall pick. It’s time to discuss this draft.
Now, I do want to mention that I have not watched the majority of the 150 players who are eligible for the draft play. Plus, it’s not exactly easy to find tape on most of these players and it doesn’t help that the list of players eligible for the draft came out so shortly before the draft. So admittedly, this is going to be less informed than my NHL draft articles. I do cover college women’s hockey though, (the ranked teams, at least,) and I talk to people who watch it far more religiously than I do. So I do feel informed enough to make an educated guess on the top of the draft, at least. So here is my mock draft for the first two rounds. I’m sorry, I’m not doing a full seven-round mock draft, even if it is only 42 players. I simply don’t know enough and didn’t have enough time to try to find out enough about all draft-eligible players to get this article out before the draft.
Anyway, without further ado, here is my mock draft for the first two rounds of the PWHL draft:
New York: Sarah Fillier (C, Princeton University). She’s the consensus #1 overall pick for a reason. She’s that good. New York will be getting a game-changing forward in this draft, a true face of the franchise player. What can I say about her that hasn’t been said by every other women’s hockey news outlet, pundit, and scout? She’s elite at everything. Her skating is elite, she’s dangerous in transition, she has a wicked shot, has a high hockey IQ, and the passing ability to take full advantage of the high hockey IQ. She and Carpenter are going to be a formidable duo next season.
Ottawa: Danielle Serdachny (C, Colgate University). While she is clearly the second-best player in the draft, I did hesitate to put her here. The reason for that is that insiders are saying that the other teams in the league seem convinced that Ottawa is going to go defense with this pick. I, on the other hand, in all my brilliance am going to assume that those who work in the league are wrong and I know better. Look, I get that defense is Ottawa’s main weakness and is what sank them, but I just cannot understand how you could justify picking for need rather than the best player available when the best player available is Serdachny. She’s just too good to pass up in my view.
Minnesota: Cayla Barnes (RHD, Ohio State University). I’m probably going to regret this, but I’m going to have Barnes get taken as the top defender in the draft instead of Claire Thompson. Not only that, but I’m going to have Minnesota take a defender instead of a forward. Look, I know the consensus is that Thompson will be the first defender taken off the board and Minnesota will go with a forward. I get that. I also get that Minnesota already has Sophie Jacques as their top-line right-hand defender. That said, you can never have too many quality defenders, especially if they’re right-handed. Quality right-hand defenders are in short supply in the hockey world, and Barnes plays the type of game that head coach Ken Klee likes: puck possession. Minnesota is all about puck possession and she is a wizard at that. She’s an elite puck mover who doesn’t make many mistakes when the puck is in her possession. Add to that her high compete level where she always battles for the puck, is highly physical, and has an elite shutdown presence, I think it’ll be too much for Minnesota to pass up. She’s both the kind of player they’d want and need.
Boston: Amanda Kessel (RW, Team USA). This is another bold pick but I think that Boston will take Amanda Kessel here. The reason for that is that Boston needs to win now. They’re not set up for long-term success but for immediate success and Kessel would put them closer to that goal than any player coming out of college. We know who Kessel is and what she brings to the table, she’s been in the game for a long time. Plus, she’s good, like really good. She’s already developed her pro game and is seasoned. It just makes sense for the veteran Boston team to add another impact veteran.
Montreal: Claire Thompson (LHD, Team Canada). This feels like a pretty obvious one. Montreal needs defense, badly. I just don’t see a world where they don’t take a defender here and Thompson is the second-best defender in the draft in my view. Plus her national team defense partner, Erin Ambrose is already on Montreal’s roster and they’re quite formidable. The chemistry is already there and they’re young enough that those two could be your top line for awhile.
Toronto: Hannah Bilka (LW, Ohio State University). Yes, I know I’m delusional for thinking she’ll slide this far. I don’t care. This is how my board has gone. Plus, in every draft for every sport, there’s always that one player who everyone expected to be taken near the top (or at the top, like Shane Wright) and falls. I think it’ll be Bilka. Anyway, Toronto needs firepower now that Spooner is out with a long-term injury, and what better way to try to replace that than with the best forward available: Hannah Bilka. Yes, as stated, in the actual draft she probably will be taken sooner than six because she’s that good. Elite hands, skating (including being quite speedy), is creative, deceptive, creates space for herself, elite passer, and great shooter. She does it all. In my view, she’s the third-best player in the draft. Toronto will be adding another star if the draft falls like it does in my mock draft.
New York: Izzy Daniel (RW, Cornell University). I think we’ll see New York make a bit of a reach here. Britta Curl is the best forward available at this point, but New York already has a top-line left-winger in Alex Carpenter and this team needs top-end talent badly. So, they’ll take the second-best forward available and grab a right-winger. Frankly, it wouldn’t be a bad choice at all. There’s a reason why she won the Patty Kazmaier Award (the award for best female college hockey player) this past season. She was the third-highest scorer last season in college so she brings some goal-scoring prowess to the table, but even more than that, she’s creative, fast, and defensively solid as well.
Ottawa: Maja Nylén Persson (RHD, Brynäs IF, SDHL). I think we’ll see a second straight reach here. Ottawa’s most pressing need is right-handed defenders. They have one signed through next season. Unfortunately, the next two best defenders are left-handed, so they’ll have to reach a bit and take Nylén Persson. Now, that shouldn’t scare Ottawa fans as there’s a reason she’s been named Best Defender in the SDHL for three seasons in a row. She’s a strong offensive presence with a high hockey IQ, a great passer, and dictates the pace of the game. Defensively, she’s solid. She’s definitely not a shutdown defender by any means, but she’s competent in her own zone.
Minnesota: Britta Curl (LW, University of Wisconsin). If Curl falls this far (which admittedly wouldn’t be too surprising if she falls further than this and we’ll get to why) and Minnesota doesn’t go offense with their first pick like I think, then they’ll fill a need and get the best player available, in my view. She’d be an amazing top-line player alongside Heise and Zumwinkle, as a top-tier play driver, highly competitive, you’ll always see her fighting for the puck, is known for her puck retrieval skills, blocks a lot of shots, and is strong defensively. She makes life hell for other players. She's one of the toughest to play against players in the draft. Now here’s where we need to discuss why I made that little note about it not being surprising if she falls further than this. Frankly, she’s a potential PR nightmare. If the league or team doesn’t get her to shut up about her political and social views, she could alienate a not-insignificant portion of the fanbase. She’s openly transphobic and more quietly is an anti-vaxxer, anti-masker, and believes Kyle Rittenhouse is innocent. But she was the captain of the Wisconsin Badgers and is really good at hockey. She’ll get taken by someone, likely in the first two rounds. I think Minnesota will be the team to bite the bullet for the rest of the league. I mean, they already won a championship, if any team can afford potential controversy, it’s them.
Boston: Allyson Simpson (RHD, Colgate University). To be honest, this is a wild card spot. I genuinely don’t know what Boston would do here, but since right-hand defenders are going to be a need for them, I think they’ll look to add one here. So, Allyson Simpson is my pick for them. She’s one of those players who is above average at everything but excels at nothing. She’s a good skater and shooter, good at transition play, passing, and defense. She’s just not elite at anything. Still, a solid pickup who plays gritty and is the type of player that you need to win.
Montreal: Ronja Savolainen (LHD, Luleå, SDHL). Frankly, there are no forwards left on the board that are “must draft” players but there are still “must draft” defenders. Savolainen is the best of those (in my opinion) and frankly, I’d be surprised if she lasted this long during the actual draft. She’s very similar to Simpson in that she’s also above-average in everything but elite in nothing. The only reason she’s getting taken lower is because she’s a left-hand shot.
Toronto: Daniela Pejšová (LHD, Luleå, SDHL). I think Toronto would ideally take another forward here to help replace Spooner, but frankly, I think Pejšová is too good to pass up. More than any forward like Gosling, Gardiner, Tulus, or Boreen, (the players commonly mocked to go around this spot,) anyway. She’s similar to the last two defenders taken, but less so. She’s not as strong offensively and is better used as a defensive defender with some offensive upside rather than a pure two-way defender like the other two. Importantly, though, she brings size and is quite physical, something Toronto could use.
Anyway, that is all for my PWHL mock draft. If you found value in this article, please consider paying for a subscription here at Prism Hockey, as subscription money goes to other subscriptions such as ESPN+ or Google One to ensure I can continue to cover hockey. If you aren’t able to buy a paid subscription, please consider at least getting a free subscription as all articles are free, and sharing this article. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on this article in the comments below (only paid subscribers can comment) or on social media. I can be found on Bluesky, Instagram (Personal | Prism Hockey), Mastodon, Threads, Tumblr, and Twitter.