The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) held its first inaugural draft on Monday. The league drafted 90 players in 15 rounds. This brand-new league comes from the players in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. These players were calling for a fully professional hockey league for women. This league features three Canadian teams: Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto, as well as three teams in the United States: Boston, Minnesota, and New York.
Many of the top draft picks came right from playing college hockey in the United States. The U.S. has some of the best college-level hockey players in the world. Here are 5 top draft picks and where they went to college:
1. Taylor Heise: University of Minnesota
Taylor Heise played college hockey at the University of Minnesota. In her five years with the Gophers, Heise racked in the awards. She was a 2x first-team All-American, WCHA Forward of the Year, Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, WCHA Player of the Year, WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year, and many more. She totaled 97 goals and 130 assists. Heise was deservedly the first pick in the PWHL Draft by her home state of Minnesota.
2. Alina Müller: Northeastern University
Alina Muller played college hockey at Northeastern University. Müller also played five years of college hockey, where she scored 97 goals and had 156 assists. She was also a 5x Patty Kazmaier Top-10 Finalist, 3x first-team All-American, and 3x Hockey East Player of the Year. She also owns the Northeastern program record for points (254), assists (156), and game-winning goals (28). Müller was the third overall pick in the PWHL Draft by Boston.
3. Ella Shelton: Clarkson University
Ella Shelton played four years of college hockey at Clarkson University. As a defender, Shelton was a second-team All-American, first-team ECAC Hockey All-Star, and an ECAC's Best Defenseman finalist. Shelton finished her four years with 26 goals and 82 assists. Ella Shelton was the fourth overall pick in the PWHL Draft by New York.
4. Savannah Harmon: Clarkson University
Savannah Harmon also played four years of hockey at Clarkson University. Harmon was a first-team All-American, a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist, and an All-USCHO first-team All-Star. The defender scored 37 goals and had 83 assists at Clarkson. Savannah Harmon was picked fifth overall by Ottowa at the PWHL Draft.
5. Erin Ambrose: Clarkson University
Clarkson University certainly represented well in the first round of the PWHL Draft. Erin Ambrose was also a defenseman at Clarkson. In her four years, she scored 33 goals and tallied 104 assists. She was a first-team All-American, first-team ECAC Hockey All-Star, and was the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year. Erin Ambrose was the sixth overall pick in the PWHL Draft by Montreal.
Image Credit: Clarkson Athletics/Clarkson Athletics/Clarkson Athletics/Northeastern University Athletics/University of Minnesota Athletics
