Minnesota wins inaugural PWHL draft lottery, will select first overall
The Minnesota Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise will select first overall in the upcoming 2023 PWHL Draft, the league announced Friday morning.
The league’s six rosters will be primarily populated through the draft, although each of the six teams will sign three players in an initial free agency period, which opens at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday.
Results are in! Here is the order of the first round picks for the inaugural PWHL Draft:
📰Learn more about the draft lottery process:https://t.co/zLNp1aTq5V pic.twitter.com/BVrvgJpSld
Whereas NHL teams typically select junior players in that league’s draft, the PWHL’s draft will cover the existing pool of professional players, including those who previously played in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), showcases for the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), and international competition (including the Winter Olympics).
Minnesota will have the first crack at that group of players in the draft, which is scheduled to take place on September 18 — a week after the end of the free agency period. Players have until September 3 to declare for the draft.
Toronto, Boston, New York, Ottawa, and Montreal will respectively select second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth in the 2023 PWHL Draft. As the draft follows a snake format, Montreal will then pick seventh and Ottawa will pick eighth (and so on), with Minnesota finally returning to the podium at 12th overall.
The PWHL previously announced its six general managers on Friday morning: Danielle Marmer (Boston), Natalie Darwitz (Minnesota), Daniele Sauvageau (Montreal), Pascal Daoust (New York), Michael Hirshfeld (Ottawa), and Gina Kingsbury (Toronto).
Here is the full 2023 PWHL Draft order:
2023 PWHL DRAFT ORDER OF SELECTION
Round 1:
1. Minnesota, 2. Toronto, 3. Boston, 4. New York, 5. Ottawa, 6. Montreal.
Round 2:
7. Montreal, 8. Ottawa, 9. New York, 10. Boston, 11. Toronto, 12. Minnesota.
Round 3:
13. Minnesota, 14. Toronto, 15. Boston, 16. New York, 17. Ottawa, 18. Montreal.
Round 4:
19. Montreal, 20. Ottawa, 21. New York, 22. Boston, 23. Toronto, 24. Minnesota.
Round 5:
25. Minnesota, 26. Toronto, 27. Boston, 28. New York, 29. Ottawa, 30. Montreal.
Round 6:
31. Montreal, 32. Ottawa, 33. New York, 34. Boston, 35. Toronto, 36. Minnesota.
Round 7:
37. Minnesota, 38. Toronto, 39. Boston, 40. New York, 41. Ottawa, 42. Montreal.
Round 8:
43. Montreal, 44. Ottawa, 45. New York, 46. Boston, 47. Toronto, 48. Minnesota.
Round 9:
49. Minnesota, 50. Toronto, 51. Boston, 52. New York, 53. Ottawa, 54. Montreal.
Round 10:
55. Montreal, 56. Ottawa, 57. New York, 58. Boston, 59. Toronto, 60. Minnesota.
Round 11:
61. Minnesota, 62. Toronto, 63. Boston, 64. New York, 65. Ottawa, 66. Montreal.
Round 12:
67. Montreal, 68. Ottawa, 69. New York, 70. Boston, 71. Toronto, 72. Minnesota.
Round 13:
73. Minnesota, 74. Toronto, 75. Boston, 76. New York, 77. Ottawa, 78. Montreal.
Round 14:
79. Montreal, 80. Ottawa, 81. New York, 82. Boston, 83. Toronto, 84. Minnesota.
Round 15:
85. Minnesota, 86. Toronto, 87. Boston, 88. New York, 89. Ottawa, 90. Montreal.