At the 2026 PWHL draft on June 17, most draft picks came from the NCAA, the American university athletics system. Of the 72 players picked, only two came straight out of U Sports, the Canadian counterpart to the NCAA. Two more graduated from U Sports a few seasons ago. What can we expect from these players?
Grace Elliott (forward – 38th pick, Seattle Torrent)
Before U Sports
Grace Elliott is from White Rock, British Columbia, close to the American border. In her teenage years, she was a student-athlete at Delta Hockey Academy with fellow PWHL draft picks Tova Henderson and Hailey MacLeod as well as Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Katie Chan. In 2019–20, Elliott played for the U18AAA Greater Vancouver Comets alongside Jenna Buglioni (selected eighth overall by the Seattle Torrent in 2025) and Sara Swiderski (selected ninth overall by the Minnesota Frost in 2026). That season, Elliott led the team with 27 goals.
U Sports Career: University of British Columbia
In 2021, Elliott made the move to the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. (While there, Rylind MacKinnon, defender on the Boston Fleet, was her teammate.) Across 129 regular-season games over five seasons, she recorded 132 points.
Profiles on Elliott always note her height—her 6’2” frame will make her the tallest player in the league. Known for her net-front presence and ability to screen goalies, she had a highly productive last two seasons with UBC. In 2024–25, she won the Brodrick Trophy for the U Sports women’s hockey player of the year, recording 22 goals and 20 assists in 28 games. In her final season with the university, she tallied 24 goals and 13 assists in 28 games. She earned Canada West conference Player of the Year twice.
Elliott leaves UBC as the program’s leader in goals and points. Her 25 game-winning goals also surpassed Canada West’s previous record of 20, set by none other than Hayley Wickenheiser.
Next step: Seattle Torrent
Picked up by Seattle in the fourth round, she’ll have the opportunity to continue to play hockey close to home. She also could become the first UBC Thunderbird to be drafted and signed in the PWHL. Chanreet Bassi was drafted by Vancouver in 2025 but was released after training camp, while Rylind MacKinnon went undrafted in 2024 but earned a spot with the Toronto Sceptres at training camp.
Elliott will need to work on her speed and skating. But her size in front of the net would be a huge asset on the power play.
Émilie Lavoie (forward/defence – 72nd pick, Montréal Victoire)
Before U Sports
Émilie Lavoie was born in Beloeil, Quebec, a suburb of Montréal. She played two seasons of Cégep at Collège Édouard-Montpetit—the same Cégep that Olympic gold medallist and former PWHL Montréal forward Mélodie Daoust attended. With that program, Lavoie earned 52 points in 47 games.
U Sports career: Concordia University
Lavoie continued her higher education at Concordia University in Montréal. She played three seasons with Emmy Fecteau of the New York Sirens and two with Alice Philbert, Olympic goaltender for France, who recently signed with PWHL Detroit. Across 107 regular-season games with the Stingers, Lavoie recorded 121 points.
Lavoie began her university career winning Rookie of the Year for the RSEQ (the Quebec U Sports conference). In 2025–26, she capped off her career on the U Sports 2nd Team All-Canadian. She helped lead her team to two U Sports championships.
At Concordia, Lavoie was coached by legends of the game Julie Chu and Caroline Ouellette (the latter departed the Stingers in 2025 to become an assistant coach for the Victoire). Chu described Lavoie as “a complete 200-foot player” that the team relied on “in every scenario.” In her final season at Concordia, Lavoie made the switch to defence. However, Victoire general manager Danièle Sauvageau said she drafted Lavoie as a forward.
Many had ranked her teammate Jessymaude Drapeau as the most likely pick from the RSEQ. Drapeau captained the Stingers and led the nation in scoring. She was awarded the 2026 Brodrick Trophy and was named a finallist for the U Sports Athlete of the Year Award. Yet with the final pick of the 2026 PWHL draft, the Victoire opted for the versatile Lavoie. Drapeau and Lavoie frequently combined for points with the Stingers.
Next step: Montréal Victoire
Reunited with Ouellette, Lavoie may earn a reserve contract. Or, she may follow future teammates and fellow U Sports alumnae Catherine Dubois and Alexandra Labelle (Université de Montréal) and Jade Downie-Landry (McGill University) and earn a full-time contract.
U Sports alumnae from years past
Erica Rieder (defence – 60th pick, Montréal Victoire)
Erica Rieder has been playing in the SDHL since 2019, but she played her collegiate years with the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg. From Regina, Saskatchewan, Rieder captained the Bisons in 2018–19 while leading all Canada West defenders in scoring.
With the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folding in May 2019, Rieder moved to Sweden, where she signed with MoDo Hockey. After three seasons and 52 points, she decided to hang up the skates and focus on track cycling. She managed to earn funding for the national team program but ultimately didn’t qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
In 2024–25, Rieder returned to the SDHL, this time playing for Luleå HF. With that club, she put up two 20-point seasons. Picked by the Montréal Victoire, she’ll be reuniting with Luleå teammates Petra Nieminen and Nadia Mattivi.
Gabriella Durante (goaltender – 62nd pick, Seattle Torrent)
The Torrent picked up another U Sports alum in Gabriella Durante, who graduated from the University of Calgary in 2025. The goaltender from Calgary, Alberta, played 76 regular-season games for the Dinos. She earned a career 0.917% save percentage (SV%) and 2.35 goals-against average.
Durante obtained Italian citizenship and moved to Italy, playing with Real Torino and the EV Bozen Eagles in 2025. She then became Italy’s starting goaltender at the 2026 Winter Olympics, appearing in four games and earning a 0.908 SV%. In the quarterfinals, Durante held the Americans to just one goal on 20 shots in the first period (Italy eventually lost 6–0.)
Durante will join fellow goaltenders Hannah Murphy and CJ Jackson in Seattle. She’ll also join Abbey Murphy, whom she absolutely robbed in Milano.
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