When the eight existing PWHL teams announced their three phase one expansion protections on Wednesday, something became abundantly clear. Most teams are prioritizing goaltending. Seven of eight teams used a protection on their starting goaltender.

This means a couple of things. First, backup goaltenders on existing teams are likely to move into starting positions ahead of the draft. Second, drafting goalies will be an important piece of the draft.

No goalies are anticipated to be first-round picks in PDub Hockey’s draft rankings, so you won’t be seeing profiles on them from us. However, because there will be much shifting around of goalie depth in the league, it’s important to know who is up for grabs at the goaltender position.

With this in mind, here’s a breakdown of some of the goalies to look out for at the 2026 Draft.

Andrea Brändli

Brändli is probably the most eye-popping name for any team looking for an experienced goaltender. She’s considered by some as one of the only goalies available who could immediately slot into a starting position.

She exploded into North American interest at the 2026 Olympics, where she was Switzerland’s starting goalie. Her performance was a crucial reason that team won bronze.

In Milan, the 29-year-old put up a .953 save percentage and a 1.94 goals against average in four starts. As a result, she earned the honour of being named the best female goaltender at the Olympics.

Apart from that tournament, Brändli has a proven pedigree of success.

In college, she spent four years with Ohio State, and she left the program in 2022 as its all time leader in wins (57) goals against average (1.88) and save percentage (.929). She spent her graduate season in 2022–23 at Boston University, where she posted a 2.41 GAA and a .928 save percentage.

At the pro level in the SDHL, she won the goalie of the year award in the 2024–2025 season with a .942 save percentage and 1.56 GAA in the regular season. The following season, she had the best save percentage and goals against average of the entire league, at .945 and 1.49 respectively.

New York was the only team not to protect their starting goaltender, Kayle Osborne, who just signed with PWHL Hamilton. Her backup, Callie Shanahan, had a rather unimpressive rookie campaign. Therefore, it’s extremely possible that Brändli is drafted in the first round just based on positional need.

Tia Chan

The Hamilton, Ontario, native might be of particular interest to her hometown team (who doesn’t love a hometown hero?). Still, Chan has had unbelievable stats at the University of Connecticut that should turn the heads of several PWHL teams.

Chan backstopped UConn to a Hockey East championship in 2023–2024, earning conference goalie of the year honours in 2025 and 2026. She exits her collegiate career as the school’s all-time leader in wins (70), save percentage (.946) and shutouts (25), and second all-time in goals against average (1.52) and total saves (3,293).

Her international experience came with the Chinese national team. She played one game in the 2022 Olympics. That same year, she had a 1.93 GAA and a .901 save percentage in five starts at the Division 1B level of the World Championships. China then earned promotion to Division 1A, where Chan had a 1.20 GAA and .958 save percentage and two shutouts in five starts.

If she’s not immediately starting for whichever team selects her, she has enormous potential to become a starter.

Hailey MacLeod

With six feet in size and the raw numbers that she has, MacLeod has to be part of the conversation, but put an asterisk beside her name. Keep in mind that in four collegiate seasons (two with the University of Minnesota Duluth, followed by two with Ohio State), she only played one season in which she started 20 or more games, and only two where she started more than 15.

Throughout 28 games across two years with Minnesota Duluth (2022–23 and 2023–24), MacLeod had a 1.32 goals against average and a .946 save percentage. Across 46 games across the following two years after transferring to Ohio State, she had a .926 save percentage and a 1.52 goals against average.

In her lone appearance for Canada’s U18 team, she had an .800 save percentage and a 4.98 GAA in two games played.

I expect her to get drafted because the WCHA is a particularly tough conference to succeed in. However, I don’t anticipate her being an immediate starter because her games played numbers are relatively low over the past four years. She shapes up to be a reliable backup for whatever team picks her up.

Saskia Maurer

I’ll admit, Maurer is my slight wild card pick. Her overall stats are less jaw-dropping than others on this list. However, I watched her play in the Olympics versus Canada, where she made 50 saves and let in just one even strength goal, and couldn’t help but imagine that with stronger offence in front of her, she could become a crucial piece of any depth chart.

Maurer spent two seasons with the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota in 2021–22 and 2022–23. It’s worth noting that these marked the Tommies’ first two years as a Division I program, and that the program entered into the WCHA with pre-existing powerhouses such as the University of Minnesota, the University of Wisconsin, and Ohio State.

Under these circumstances, she managed a career 3.27 GAA and .914 save percentage before moving back home to the Swiss Women’s Hockey League (SWHL), playing for SC Bern Frauen.

The club website doesn’t contain up-to-date stats, and Elite Prospects only has goals against averages available, but these are her numbers since 2023–24.

2023–24: 1.88 GAA – 15 starts

2024–25: 1.52 GAA – 20 starts (Best in league, won championship)

2025–26: 1.93 GAA – 21 starts

If that can translate to success in North America, Maurer will be a great acquisition.

Katie DeSa

DeSa seems to be an underrated goaltender. She doesn’t have any national team experience, but her game has really developed in her four years at Penn State.

DeSa spent the last two years as a starter for the program and her 1.43 career goals against average is the best in school history. She also leads the university all-time in shutouts with 25.

She has a career save percentage of .932, and her senior season save percentage of .936 was 10th best in the entire NCAA.

Penn State won their conference championship every year that DeSa was on the roster. She subsequently won AHA goaltender of the year honours in 2025 and 2026. Perhaps most notably, she helped lead Penn State to its first ever Frozen Four appearance in her senior season.

In the PWHL, she could be an extremely promising backup with room to move into a starter position in her future.

To Sum It Up

While it has a few notable names, this goaltending class is described as relatively weak.

It’s an interesting time for rookie goalies nonetheless. With 12 new roster spots for goaltenders and depth charts across the league expected to shuffle, the ability of these prospects, and others, to adapt to professional caliber play will have major consequences for the performance of their teams.