Kirsten Simms is a top forward pick for this upcoming draft with an Olympic gold and three NCAA national championships to her name.
| Position | Forward — LW/RW |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height | 167 cm (5’6”) |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lbs) |
| Date of Birth | August 31, 2004 (Age 21 at draft) |
| Nationality | United States 🇺🇸 |
| Current Club | University of Wisconsin — NCAA |
Recent Statistics
Source: eliteprospects.com. NCAA stats are not directly comparable to PWHL competition.
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | PTS | PTS/GP | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | Univeristy of Wisconsin | NCAA | 41 | 25 | 47 | 72 | 1.76 | 18 |
| 2025–26 | University of Wisconsin | NCAA | 31 | 26 | 33 | 59 | 1.90 | 18 |
Who Is Simms?
From Plymouth, Michigan, Simms played for the Little Caesars and Honeybaked 19U AAA organizations before attending the University of Wisconsin. She also earned a gold and a silver at the U18 Women’s World Championship (WWC) with Team USA.
With the Wisconsin Badgers, Simms registered 238 points in 152 regular-season games, an astonishing pace of 1.57 points per game. In her freshman season, she scored the game-winning goal in the NCAA championship game—a feat she would accomplish again in 2024–25. In her sophomore season, she led the nation with 75 points in 39 games and was named a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
Perhaps the most iconic moment of her collegiate career was scoring the game-tying goal on a penalty shot (and then the overtime game-winner) against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2023–24 NCAA championship game.
Her senior season brought another key goal: the overtime game-winner in the semifinals against Penn State to send the Badgers to another championship game.
On Team USA, Simms has earned a gold and a silver at the WWC and, most recently, a gold at the 2026 Olympics. At the 2024 WWC, Simms scored the overtime winner against Canada in preliminary play.
What Simms Brings to the Table
The 21-year-old is a prolific goal-scorer who shines in the biggest moments.
- Shot: She’s a true sharpshooter who can pick corners or weak spots with ease.
- Space creation: She uses her skating and edges to consistently create space for herself to find better angles for a shot or a pass.
- Overtime heroics: Calm under pressure, she’s been a key (if not the key) player in her team winning multiple championships.
Areas to Develop
Depending on her spot in a team’s lineup, she may have a quieter rookie season. On Team USA, buried in the overstuffed forward group, she hasn’t stood out the way she did on the top line for the Badgers.
Where Could She Land?
Natalia has her at sixth, but I might put her at fifth depending on who’s picking when. The Toronto Sceptres desperately need a goal-scorer like Simms to spark their offence, and she could also fit well as a complement to Daryl Watts.
Simms would also make a great franchise player for PWHL Detroit as a hometown player, if she’s still available when they choose.
The Bottom Line
She’ll be selected in the top five or six, likely to a team that needs offence like Toronto or New York.
PDub Hockey 2026 PWHL Draft Profiles
Caroline Harvey | Abbey Murphy | Tessa Janecke | Laila Edwards | Lacey Eden | Kirsten Simms | Nelli Laitinen | Viivi Vainikka | Emma Peschel | Elisa Holopainen | Petra Nieminen
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