With the PWHL draft just ahead, the time has come for yet another draft board. Last season, our NCAAW hockey production model (similar to the one we use for the PWHL) saw 9 of who we perceived as the 10 most likely draft eligible NCAA players to be selected in the draft. Additionally, of those 9 players, all of them were above the 20th percentile in scoring efficiency in the league, with 3 of them being above the 80th percentile in the league in scoring efficiency. Overall, the top of the 2024 draft class had a solid set of rookie campaigns, which we can use as a guide based on scoring efficiency to estimate the impact and ability of the 2025 draft class. See our top 10’s from last year and this year compared below:
To explain my draft ranking process and my opinion on the upside of this draft class, I’ve included an approximated goal creation per games played calculation that weights goals and assists at a ratio of 2:1 to determine a player’s goal scoring impact. The most notable thing about this class is that it is not as deep as last season’s at the top. Based on GC/GP (Goals Created per Games Played), this year’s 3rd ranked forward, and 5th ranked overall, Makenna Webster ‘s performance would have placed her between Jennifer Gardiner and Dara Greig in last year’s class (12th on our board) and places her in 50/50 territory as Gardiner was among the PWHL’s most effective scorers last season while Greig ended up in a 4th line checking role by season’s end. Additionally, the drop off on defense after Nicole Gosling’s 0.64 GC/GP is notable, as Gosling outperformed Cayla Barnes in their respective draft years; however, Kendall Cooper (Quinnipiac) is our 3rd rated defender with a GC/GP of 0.45, which would have ranked her 6th in last year’s class, slightly ahead of Megan Carter.
In this class, Casey O’Brien leads all draft eligible players in scoring, and to compare her to a former teammate to best discern her translatable upside based on similar linemates and competition, Britta Curl had a 1.02 GC/GP in her draft year at Wisconsin, which translated to a 0.54 PPG as a rookie in the PWHL. Noting O’Brien’s 1.39 GC/GP, it is incredibly likely that she will be a Star+ level producer in her rookie season.
At 2nd and 4th on this list are Haley Winn and Nicole Gosling whose scoring output indicates that they should be among the first four players selected in the draft. The biggest question for both is as to whether the quality of competition they encountered at Clarkson will degrade their PWHL output like what happened with players like Mae Batherson, Ally Simpson, and Sydney Bard. I lean in the direction that they will both at least be viable Top-4 defenders in the league this season. Despite the lower scoring ceiling of the aforementioned three players, the ability to create zone exits and possessions earned all of them regular roles on their teams by season’s end, and with Winn and Gosling having more upside than the trio, in a league where excellent puck moving defenders are hard to come by, they are effectively can’t miss prospects.
Kristýna Kaltounková (ranked 3rd) is similar to Winn and Gosling in the sense that she certainly has a decent floor at PWHL level, but her ceiling, at least in her rookie season, is anyone’s guess. In the model, Kaltounková’s closest player comp from 2024 is Danielle Serdachney. Both players were incredibly effective scorers at Colgate, but I can’t ignore that Serdachney’s scoring touch didn’t translate from the opening puck drop of her first season. Of course, there are any number of reasons why it didn’t work for her (Sophie Jaques never recorded a point for PWHL Boston) and Serdachney could turn the corner immediately in Seattle, but with the limited data set of only one PWHL draft so far, Kaltounková’s ceiling is a complete mystery.
Looking at the rest of the top 10, all six listed players should be good PWHL forwards who can contribute in at least a bottom-six role if not more depending on circumstances. Makenna Webster and Jenna Buglioni (Ohio State) did not match Hannah Bilka’s (Ohio State) scoring efficiency in their draft years, but the quality of competition they faced could allow them to be above the 50th percentile in the PWHL in scoring efficiency in their rookie seasons. Ella Huber has a similar story to Webster and Buglioni in a vacuum after playing at Minnesota (think Abby Boreen). Anne Cherkowski suffers from the same high-level narratives as her teammates in Winn and Gosling but is once again the 50/50 range. Abby Hustler could be the dark horse of this draft following four great years at St. Lawrence. Clara Van Wieren is in the same boat as the other WCHA players mentioned but is the draft eligible player I enjoyed watching the most this season during her time at Minnesota-Duluth.
One final caveat/disclaimer that I deem necessary to mention is that just because a player does not perform well in the model, it does not mean that I think they’re not going to succeed in the PWHL. The model doesn’t love Natálie Mlýnková (and several other talented players) as much as Ian Kennedy does, but that’s because the model only cares about how much offense you can create and finish for your team. This model only cares about a player’s resumé of scoring efficiency as they declared for the PWHL draft and how likely that those players are to be above the league’s 20th percentile in scoring efficiency (as that is how games are won).
Included below in the entire statistical outline for draft eligible/declared NCAA W (Division I) players.
| Player | POS | Team | GP | G | A | TP | PPG | GC/GP | F Rating | D Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casey O’Brien | F | Univ. of Wisconsin | 41 | 26 | 62 | 88 | 2.15 | 1.39 | Superstar | |
| Kristýna Kaltounková | F | Colgate Univ. | 37 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 1.3 | 1.00 | Superstar | |
| Makenna Webster | F | Ohio State Univ. | 30 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 1.17 | 0.78 | Superstar | |
| Jenna Buglioni | F | Ohio State Univ. | 38 | 17 | 25 | 42 | 1.11 | 0.78 | Superstar | |
| Anne Cherkowski | F | Clarkson Univ. | 40 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 1.13 | 0.78 | Superstar | |
| Ella Huber | F | Univ. of Minnesota | 42 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 1.14 | 0.75 | Superstar | |
| Abby Hustler | F | St. Lawrence Univ. | 39 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 1 | 0.74 | Superstar | |
| Vanessa Upson | F | Mercyhurst Univ. | 38 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 1.13 | 0.74 | Superstar | |
| Clara Van Wieren | F | Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth | 39 | 17 | 23 | 40 | 1.03 | 0.73 | Superstar | |
| Olivia Wallin | F | Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth | 39 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 1.03 | 0.72 | Superstar | |
| Skylar Irving | F | Northeastern Univ. | 37 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 0.89 | 0.68 | Superstar | |
| Natálie Mlýnková | F | Univ. of Minnesota | 39 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 0.87 | 0.64 | Superstar | |
| Julia Wysocki | F | Post Univ. | 36 | 18 | 9 | 27 | 0.75 | 0.63 | Star | |
| Morgan Neitzke | F | Lindenwood Univ. | 32 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 0.81 | 0.63 | Star | |
| Bryn Saarela | F | Syracuse Univ. | 38 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 0.76 | 0.61 | Star | |
| Olivia Mobley | F | Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth | 39 | 19 | 8 | 27 | 0.69 | 0.59 | Star | |
| Peyton Hemp | F | Univ. of Minnesota | 42 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 0.79 | 0.58 | Star | |
| Claire Vekich | F | Minnesota State Univ. | 37 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 0.73 | 0.58 | Star | |
| Jeannie Wallner | F | Long Island University | 37 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 0.73 | 0.57 | Star | |
| Anna Bargman | F | Yale Univ. | 32 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 0.72 | 0.56 | Star | |
| Maya Labad | F | Quinnipiac Univ. | 38 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 0.71 | 0.55 | Star | |
| Kiara Zanon | F | Ohio State Univ. | 40 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 0.8 | 0.55 | Star | |
| Alexis Paddington | F | Minnesota State Univ. | 32 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 0.69 | 0.55 | Star | |
| Kylie Aquaro | F | RIT (Rochester IOT) | 37 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 0.81 | 0.54 | Star | |
| Madison Mashuga | F | Minnesota State Univ. | 37 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 0.78 | 0.54 | Star | |
| Millie Rose Sirum | F | Providence College | 28 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 0.68 | 0.54 | Star | |
| Jada Habisch | F | Univ. of Connecticut | 36 | 16 | 6 | 22 | 0.61 | 0.53 | Star | |
| Tyra Turner | F | Saint Anselm College | 37 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 0.7 | 0.51 | Star | |
| Abby Newhook | F | Boston College | 36 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 0.72 | 0.49 | Star | |
| Lily Delianedis | F | Cornell Univ. | 35 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 0.63 | 0.49 | Star | |
| Kira Juodikis | F | Univ. of New Hampshire | 33 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 0.61 | 0.48 | Star | |
| Brianna Brooks | F | Penn State Univ. | 38 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 0.63 | 0.46 | Star | |
| Emma Gentry | F | St. Cloud State Univ. | 36 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 0.56 | 0.46 | Star | |
| Alyssa McLeod | F | St. Lawrence Univ. | 39 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 0.62 | 0.44 | Star | |
| Anna Segedi | F | St. Lawrence Univ. | 39 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 0.62 | 0.44 | Star | |
| Sarah Marchand | F | St. Lawrence Univ. | 39 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 0.64 | 0.44 | Star | |
| Lauren Messier | F | Dartmouth College | 29 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 0.59 | 0.43 | Star | |
| Jenna Goodwin | F | Clarkson Univ. | 40 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 0.53 | 0.43 | Average | |
| Ellie Kaiser | F | RPI (Rensselaer Poly In.) | 35 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 0.51 | 0.41 | Average | |
| Laura Fuoco | F | Dartmouth College | 29 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 0.55 | 0.41 | Average | |
| Katie Chan | F | Cornell Univ. | 35 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 0.54 | 0.40 | Average | |
| Maddy Samoskevich | F | Quinnipiac Univ. | 38 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 0.58 | 0.39 | Average | |
| Sara Boucher | F | Univ. of New Hampshire | 35 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 0.51 | 0.39 | Average | |
| Alyssa Machado | F | Penn State Univ. | 38 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 0.55 | 0.37 | Average | |
| Jenna Donohue | F | Quinnipiac Univ. | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 0.5 | 0.37 | Average | |
| Sarah Wozniewicz | F | Univ. of Wisconsin | 41 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 0.51 | 0.37 | Average | |
| Lauren Stenslie | F | Univ. of St. Thomas | 36 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 0.47 | 0.36 | Average | |
| Maddi Wheeler | F | Ohio State Univ. | 40 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 0.53 | 0.35 | Average | |
| Tatum White | F | Syracuse Univ. | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 0.5 | 0.34 | Average | |
| Chavonne Truter | F | Univ. of New Hampshire | 33 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 0.52 | 0.32 | Average | |
| Paige Lester | F | Harvard Univ. | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.46 | 0.31 | Average | |
| Sydney Langseth | F | Minnesota State Univ. | 37 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 0.46 | 0.28 | Average | |
| Alyssa Wruble | F | Univ. of Maine | 35 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 0.37 | 0.27 | Average | |
| Evelyne Blais-Savoie | F | Univ. of Vermont | 36 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 0.25 | 0.21 | Average | |
| Jenna Lawry | F | Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth | 37 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 0.32 | 0.20 | Average | |
| Baylee Kirwan | F | Clarkson Univ. | 40 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0.28 | 0.20 | Average | |
| Kathryn Stockdale | F | Quinnipiac Univ. | 38 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0.26 | 0.20 | Average | |
| Riley Grimley | F | Univ. of Connecticut | 32 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0.25 | 0.19 | Average | |
| Audrey McCutcheon | F | RPI (Rensselaer Poly In.) | 34 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.15 | 0.12 | Average | |
| Shelbi Guttormson | F | Minnesota State Univ. | 37 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0.16 | 0.08 | Average | |
| Jenna Carpenter | F | Boston College | 33 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.09 | 0.06 | Replacement | |
| Michela Lio | F | College of the Holy Cross | 34 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.06 | 0.06 | Replacement | |
| Katie Davis | F | Northeastern Univ. | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.05 | 0.03 | Replacement | |
| Olivia Haag | F | Boston Univ. | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.03 | 0.02 | Replacement | |
| Haley Winn | D | Clarkson Univ. | 38 | 14 | 32 | 46 | 1.21 | 0.79 | Superstar | |
| Nicole Gosling | D | Clarkson Univ. | 40 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 0.98 | 0.64 | Superstar | |
| Kendall Cooper | D | Quinnipiac Univ. | 37 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 0.7 | 0.45 | Superstar | |
| Cameron Sikich | D | Brown Univ. | 30 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 0.57 | 0.37 | Superstar | |
| Charli Kettyle | D | Syracuse Univ. | 38 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 0.47 | 0.36 | Star | |
| Tamara Giaquinto | D | Boston Univ. | 38 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 0.47 | 0.36 | Star | |
| Lyndie Lobdell | D | Penn State Univ. | 38 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 0.55 | 0.33 | Superstar | |
| Brooke Becker | D | Providence College | 35 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 0.51 | 0.33 | Superstar | |
| Ava Rinker | D | Univ. of Connecticut | 36 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 0.56 | 0.32 | Superstar | |
| Hanna Baskin | D | Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth | 38 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 0.58 | 0.30 | Superstar | |
| Madison Clough | D | Univ. of St. Thomas | 36 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 0.42 | 0.29 | Star | |
| Riley Brengman | D | Ohio State Univ. | 40 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 0.48 | 0.29 | Star | |
| Marina Alvarez | D | Univ. of New Hampshire | 35 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0.43 | 0.29 | Star | |
| Nina Jobst-Smith | D | Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth | 37 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 0.49 | 0.28 | Star | |
| Vita Ponyatovskaya | D | Yale Univ. | 30 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0.37 | 0.28 | Star | |
| Julia Shaunessy | D | Boston Univ. | 38 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 0.47 | 0.26 | Star | |
| Dayle Ross | D | St. Cloud State Univ. | 36 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 0.42 | 0.24 | Star | |
| Olivia Muhn | D | Yale Univ. | 32 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0.41 | 0.23 | Star | |
| Karley Garcia | D | Penn State Univ. | 29 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 0.38 | 0.21 | Star | |
| Nicole Vallario | D | Univ. of St. Thomas | 35 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0.29 | 0.20 | Average | |
| Taylor Larson | D | St. Cloud State Univ. | 34 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0.32 | 0.19 | Average | |
| Kyla Bent | D | Univ. of Vermont | 36 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0.31 | 0.18 | Average | |
| Jamie Grinder | D | Univ. of Maine | 35 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 0.29 | 0.16 | Average | |
| Andie Proulx | D | Clarkson Univ. | 39 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0.21 | 0.14 | Average | |
| Lily Yovetich | D | Northeastern Univ. | 36 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 0.25 | 0.14 | Average | |
| Emily Zumwinkle | D | Ohio State Univ. | 40 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0.23 | 0.14 | Average | |
| Mia Biotti | D | Harvard Univ. | 29 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0.21 | 0.12 | Average | |
| Meredith Killian | D | Bemidji State Univ. | 35 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0.14 | 0.07 | Average | |
| Emilie Fortunato | D | College of the Holy Cross | 31 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.1 | 0.05 | Average | |
| Alli Pahl | D | Univ. of St. Thomas | 36 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.06 | 0.03 | Replacement |
Leave a Reply