Amidst the conclusion of the semifinals and the buzz around expansion, the declaration list for the 2026 PWHL Entry Draft was released on Tuesday. With a clearer picture of each teams’ options, here’s a look at some notable prospects on PDH’s list, as well as the full 36-player rankings, expected to make up Rounds one through 3.

Top Defender: Caroline Harvey (1)

Between her NCAA title, Patty Kazmaier nod, and Olympic MVP en route to gold, Harvey has left zero doubt as to who should go first overall. Rookie of the Year shouldn’t be the only award she’ll be in contention for next season.

Top Forward: Abbey Murphy (2)

Her extracurriculars don’t change the fact that Murphy is the best pure scorer in the draft. She led the NCAA in both goals and points on a per-game basis, and hit 40 tallies in her final game of the season.

Top Goalie: Andrea Brändli (16)

Brändli’s declaration was a saving grace to this year’s underwhelming goaltending class. The Olympics’ best netminder led Frölunda to an SDHL regular season title with a .945 SV%, to add to her numerous accolades prior to 2026.

High On: Viivi Vainikka (8)

SDHL forwards’ offence failing to translate to the PWHL has been a major storyline over the last couple seasons, but Vainikka could be the one to buck that trend. She’s a creative playmaker and excellent puck protector, and is coming off an SDHL championship run where she was named MVP.

Low On: Josefin Bouveng (25)

Bouveng’s counting stats are excellent, but looking further into them shows more of a complementary player rather than an offensive driver herself. More than half of her 43 points came on scoring plays involving the aforementioned Murphy, and without Sweden’s primary scoring threat in Hilda Svensson on her line at the Olympics, Bouveng put up just two points in seven games.

Wild Card: Kyla Josifovic (31)

Josifovic not only captained UConn to a Hockey East championship, she scored the title-winning goal in 2OT, and followed it up with the GWG in their NCAA tournament victory over Princeton. The 5’11” forward cracked the point-per-game barrier with 40 in 39 games, but had a career high of just 17 prior to this season. PWHL teams need to be wary of Josifovic potentially being a one-year wonder, but the undeniable strength of that one year makes her incredibly enticing.

Full Rankings

First Round

Rank	Last	First	Position	Team	Nation
1	Harvey	Caroline	D	Wisconsin	USA
2	Murphy	Abbey	F	Minnesota	USA
3	Janecke	Tessa	F	Penn State	USA
4	Edwards	Laila	F	Wisconsin	USA
5	Eden	Lacey	F	Wisconsin	USA
6	Simms	Kirsten	F	Wisconsin	USA
7	Laitinen	Nelli	D	Minnesota	FIN
8	Vainikka	Viivi	F	Brynäs	FIN
9	Peschel	Emma	D	Ohio State	USA
10	Holopainen	Elisa	F	Frölunda	FIN
11	Nieminen	Petra	F	Luleå	FIN
12	Biederman	Elyssa	F	Colgate	USA

Second Round

Rank	Last	First	Position	Team	Nation
13	Wunder	Isabel	F	Princeton	CAN
14	Dwyer	Grace	D	Cornell	USA
15	Morrow	Sydney	D	Minnesota	USA
16	Brändli	Andrea	G	Frölunda	SUI
17	Shannon	Lily	F	Northeastern	USA
18	DiAntonio	Carina	F	Yale	CAN
19	Constantinople	Jules	D	Northeastern	USA
20	Jungels	Vivian	D	Wisconsin	USA
21	Matthews	Sloane	F	Ohio State	USA
22	Johansson	Thea	F	Minnesota-Duluth	SWE
23	Ray	Jordan	F	Yale	USA
24	Adam	Avi	F	Cornell	CAN

Third Round

Rank	Last	First	Position	Team	Nation
25	Bouveng	Josefin	F	Minnesota	SWE
26	Regalado	Alyssa	D	Cornell	CAN
27	Swiderski	Sara	D	Ohio State	CAN
28	Iginla	Jade	F	Brown	CAN
29	Catterall	Sena	F	Clarkson	CAN
30	Chan	Tia	G	UConn	CHN/CAN
31	Josifovic	Kyla	F	UConn	CAN
32	Jarvis	Emerson	F	Quinnipiac	CAN
33	Nelson	Jamie	F	Minnesota	USA
34	Batalova	Mariia	D	Agidel Ufa	RUS
35	Kirchmair	Reichen	F	Providence	CAN
36	Fortino	Laura	D	Real Torino	ITA/CAN