PWHL Mock Draft: Sarah Fillier goes No. 1 to New York, but what comes next?

The PWHL Draft is fast approaching.

While Sarah Fillier has long been expected to go first overall to New York, there’s still a lot of uncertainty — and intrigue — about how the draft will all play out on June 10.

How will Minnesota, fresh off a PWHL championship, improve its roster with the No. 3 pick? Will we see another early run on defenders? How many goalies — if any — will get drafted? Minnesota and Boston have their tandems set, and Ottawa has said they’re looking to keep their backup (Sandra Abstreiter) from last season. Could we see elite goalies such as Gwyneth Philips and Klára Peslarová  selected later than expected, or drop out entirely?

Before we get real answers to those questions, we are once against going to attempt to project how the seven-round draft will play out. The most difficult decision was Boston with the No. 4 pick. What they decide — whether it’s Amanda Kessel, a defender or another top forward prospect —will impact how the rest of the top picks play out.

These are, of course, just educated guesses, as only the teams themselves know for certain who they’re targeting when building their rosters. This task is made more difficult without knowing which players teams are expected to re-sign — the extension window for players to re-up with their current team opened on June 1 — or any potential trade or free-agent targets that teams may have when those windows open in the coming weeks.

The goal here is to balance what we think could happen based on team need or preference, with my evaluation on players from The Athletic’s top-50 ranking that came out this week.

With all that in mind, New York is on the clock.

Round 1

1. New York: Sarah Fillier, C, Princeton University–ECAC

Fillier is as close to the consensus No. 1 pick as we’re going to get. There might be some conversation about Danielle Serdachny going first — she has pro size and plays a different style than Fillier — but in terms of her overall toolkit, Fillier is the best player available. GM Pascal Daoust shouldn’t overthink this.

Fillier is an elite skater, which will make New York’s attack more dangerous in transition and in the offensive zone with her straight-line speed and lateral agility. She’s developed her shot, scoring a career-high 30 goals at Princeton last year, and reads plays at an advanced level to get open or make plays to her teammates. The thought of Alex Carpenter and Fillier setting up each other in the slot should be exciting for the New York front office, and a real threat to opponents next season.

2. Ottawa: Danielle Serdachny, C, Colgate University–ECAC

Serdachny is pretty clearly the best player available at No. 2. She brings size, a hard shot and good overall tools. Serdachny is hard to push off pucks, knows how to use her frame (5-foot-9) to gain favorable position at the net front and is effective on the cycle.

Ottawa’s top line of Brianne Jenner, Daryl Watts and Kateřina Mrázová was one of the best in the league in the second half of the season. And if the team can re-sign Watts and Mrázová, Serdachny could give Ottawa a real 1-2 punch as a second-line center. She would also be excellent on the top line, should the top of the lineup shuffle a bit in the offseason.

3. Minnesota: Hannah Bilka, LW, Ohio State University–WCHA

What do the reigning Walter Cup champions need at No. 3? They have top-end forward talent, depth that contributed when it mattered most, one of the best defensive defenders in the game and a young star offensive defender in Sophie Jaques.

The idea of a Claire Thompson-Jaques pair is scary. Amanda Kessel, a University of Minnesota legend, is also an option. Bilka also makes a lot of sense here. She is really creative and slippery with the puck and has game-breaking speed. Bilka would have familiarity with Walter Cup MVP Taylor Heise, as they’ve been linemates on Team USA, and would fit coach Ken Klee’s puck-possession system well.

4. Boston: Amanda Kessel, RW, Team USA (DNP)

This may be the biggest decision in the draft. That someone such as Kessel is even in an entry draft is a little silly. She’s 32 years old and has accomplished just about everything you can at hockey’s highest level. Getting an accurate sense of where she might go has been incredibly difficult.

It’s easy to imagine Kessel slipping to Round 2, despite her credentials, because of her age and questions around how long she might continue to play. But Boston is a win-now team with a 34-year-old captain in Hilary Knight. Boston had the worst offense in the league this year, with only 50 goals in the regular season – just over two per game. And they only scored two goals in the last four games of the PWHL Finals and were shut out in the championship-deciding game.

Boston needs offense. And Kessel has a long track record of making an impact on the scoresheet. During her last game action, she played on a line with Knight at women’s worlds in 2023 and they won a championship. Not to mention that her sister-in-law, Courtney Kessel, is the head coach. It might seem like a reach, but it would be a fun (bold) move.

5. Montreal: Claire Thompson, LHD, Team Canada (DNP)

Montreal’s biggest need is someone to help Erin Ambrose out on the blue line in a meaningful way. Who would be better than Ambrose’s national-team partner?

As a pair at the 2022 Olympics, Ambrose and Thompson were the top two scoring defenders, with Thompson breaking the record for points by a defender in a single tournament (13). Thompson led the tournament with a plus-23, and Ambrose tied for second at plus-19. Seems like an easy choice.

6. Toronto: Britta Curl, C, University of Wisconsin–WCHA

Toronto picked, and signed, a lot of Team Canada athletes (and staff) last year, so maybe opting for Curl over someone such as Julia Gosling or Jennifer Gardiner is a mistake. But there’s reason to believe that Curl will go fairly high in the draft – she was our No. 7 ranked player, so this isn’t really a reach for Toronto. Curl projects to be a good pro player with her combination of size (5-foot-9), two-way play and high compete level. She was really strong on faceoffs at Wisconsin, blocked a ton of shots and won puck battles at a high rate in open ice or along the walls. Not to mention that she scored 62 points last year, which ranked first among draft-eligible NCAA forwards.

Toronto could opt for a defender here, given that Renata Fast and Jocelyne Larocque played heavy minutes last season, but with Natalie Spooner out long-term after offseason surgery, there’s a real need at forward. The fact that Cayla Barnes is still available would be enticing, though, as she could be a true power-play quarterback in Toronto.

Round 2

7. New York: Izzy Daniel, RW, Cornell University–ECAC

There are a ton of elite defenders on the board still, but New York has four D – Ella Shelton, Jaime Bourbonnais, Micah Zandee-Hart and Brooke Hobson – signed for next season. It’s plausible that New York could go for a top-tier forward here and still get an elite defender in Round 3, given how many there are in the top 20.

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Only Curl and Serdachny had more points than Daniel – the national player of the year – in the NCAA last season. Daniel is poised with the puck and is an excellent playmaking winger. She’s also a natural right-shot winger, which gives her an edge over Gosling, given how many natural centers New York already has who were kicked out to the wing at times last season.

More than anything, I’m just manifesting a top line of Daniel, Carpenter, Fillier.

8. Ottawa: Cayla Barnes, RHD, Ohio State University–WCHA

It’s going to be tempting for Ottawa to jump on Daniela Pejšová – a top-pair defender for Czechia, which is coached by Carla MacLeod – but Barnes is the best player available in this mock draft and would be an absolute gift at No. 8.

Ottawa only has one right-shot defender signed for next season (Ashton Bell), so Barnes would slot in nicely as a top-four defender and power-play quarterback. She’s only 5-foot-1, so it’s fair to wonder if Ottawa would want someone with more size, such as Ronja Savolainen or Pejšová. But Barnes is strong on her skates and her size has been more than fine at two Olympics and five world championships for Team USA.

9. Minnesota: Ronja Savolainen, LHD,  Luleå–SDHL

Minnesota might feel the need to swing for Abby Boreen as high as Round 2, but Savolainen feels like the correct pick if we project teams start to go on a defensive run here. Savolainen checks a lot of boxes: She has a good shot, size, above-average speed and defends well enough to have real two-way value. With Stecklein, Jaques and Savolainen, Minnesota would have an enviable top four. Savolainen and Jaques could combine for an elite offensive d-pair, while Stecklein and Natalie Buchbinder handle the shutdown minutes.

10. Boston: Allyson Simpson, RHD, Colgate University–ECAC

After adding some offense, Boston could look to add to its blue line, with only Megan Keller and Jessica Digirolamo currently under contract for 2024-25. Both play in the top four on the left side, so a right-shot defender, such as Simpson, would be the priority here. Simpson is a solid transitional defender with a heavy shot and good hands from the point. She defends well and can play with some sandpaper, which should translate well to top-four minutes in the PWHL.

11. Montreal: Daniela Pejšová, LHD, Luleå–SDHL

Montreal would do well to grab a forward that could play on the top line with Marie-Philip Poulin early in the draft, but it’s also hard to imagine a defender such as Pejšová will be available by pick No. 17 for Montreal. It’s a bit earlier than our ranking would suggest, but Pejšová is young (21) and brings a different element to Montreal’s blue line than what they’d have in Ambrose and Thompson.

Pejšová isn’t as dynamic offensively as that duo, but she would give the blue line size (she’s 5-foot-9) and she plays a steady game with no discernible holes. She’d be a longer-term building block, too, given Ambrose’s age and Thompson’s intent to return to medical school in two years.

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12. Toronto: Julia Gosling, C, St. Lawrence University–ECAC

Once again, Toronto could opt for a defender here, but if Gosling is available, it’s probably worth going with back-to-back forwards. Only Spooner and Sarah Nurse hit double-digit goals last season – though Hannah Miller picked things up at the end of the year with seven. And with Spooner out, the offense is going to be tested. Gosling has desirable size (5-foot-10) and does well at driving the net and using her shot from mid-range. She also played for Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury and coach Troy Ryan at world championships, winning a gold medal, in April.

There should be enough blue-line talent in the draft for Toronto to beef up its top-six and get a top-four defender in Round 3. It’s a gamble, but I’m going to take it.

Round 3

13. New York: Maja Nylén Persson, RHD, Brynäs–SDHL

Nylén Persson is a likely best-case scenario for New York after taking two forwards with their first two picks. She was named the SDHL’s defender of the year for three straight seasons and has been a top player for Sweden at three women’s world championship tournaments. She’s a smart, offensive defender who could pair well with Ella Shelton, a left-shot who led all defenders in scoring in the PWHL this season, giving New York an elite offensive pair. Or she could play on the second pair, giving the team a 1-2 punch from the offensive blue line – and both power-play units.

14. Ottawa: Jennifer Gardiner, LW, Ohio State University–WCHA

Gardiner is a well-rounded forward and would match the identity of several players Ottawa picked during last year’s initial roster build – such as Emily Clark, Hayley Scamurra and Gabbie Hughes. Gardiner has good offensive tools – a hard shot and nice one-timer – but also hunts pucks and plays a solid defensive game. She’s committed to all the little details and would be an excellent top-nine winger who could scale up and down the Ottawa lineup.

15. Minnesota: Abby Boreen, RW, Minnesota–PWHL

If Minnesota wants to keep Boreen – who played 14 games for the team last season – they’re probably going to need to do it here. It’s frankly ridiculous that Minnesota needs to use a top pick for a player who was on the team last year, but such are the rules. Boreen was a reserve player last year, while still in school, and so she is required to enter the draft in order to be a full-time player in 2024-25.

When she played for Minnesota, she was largely on the top line with her former University of Minnesota teammate Taylor Heise.

16. Boston: Elle Hartje, C, Yale University–ECAC

Hartje was one of the top-scoring forwards in college the last three years (143 points in 101 games) and would add more offense to Boston’s lineup. She’s a smaller forward (5-foot-5) but shows a real will to battle for pucks and has great hands and hockey IQ. Noora Tulus would be an option if Boston wants to add a forward with more pro experience than Hartje would provide.

17. Montreal: Noora Tulus, C, Luleå–SDHL

It’s time for Montreal to address its secondary scoring issue – maybe they should have done this sooner. Still, Tulus would be an excellent solution. She led the SDHL in scoring by nine points last season and would add some veteran experience to a team that had a lot of young college players last season.

18. Toronto: Megan Carter, LHD, Northeastern University–Hockey East

Toronto finally gets its defender, and Carter makes a lot of sense. She’s a competitive defender with good size (5-foot-8) who could give Toronto a second layer of physical, hard-to-play against defense behind the punishing Fast-Larocque pair. She’s a left-shot defender, too, which is likely more of a need with Kali Flanagan (RHD) signed for another season.

Round 4

19. New York: Sydney Bard, RHD, Colgate University–ECAC

20. Ottawa: Dara Greig, LW, Colgate University–ECAC

21. Minnesota: Madeline Wethington, LHD, University of Minnesota–WCHA

22. Boston: Hadley Hartmetz, RHD, Ohio State University–WCHA

23. Montreal: Anna Meixner, LW, Brynäs–SDHL

24. Toronto: Stephanie Markowski, RHD, Ohio State University–WCHA

Round 5

25. New York: Gabby Rosenthal, C, Ohio State University–WCHA (DNP)

26. Ottawa: Klára Hymlárová, C, St. Cloud State University–WCHA
Hymlárová also played on the wing and on defense at St. Cloud State.

27. Minnesota: Dominique Petrie, C, Clarkson University–ECAC

28. Boston: Mae Batherson, LHD, St. Lawrence University–ECAC

29. Montreal: Gwyn Philips, G, Northeastern–Hockey East

30. Toronto: Kayle Osborne, G, Colgate University–ECAC

Round 6

31. New York: Anna Kjellbin, RHD, Luleå–SDHL

32. Ottawa: Anna Wilgren, LHD, University of Wisconsin–WCHA

33. Minnesota: Lauren Bernard, LHD, Ohio State University–WCHA

34. Boston: Sara Hjalmarsson, C, Linköping–SDHL

35. Montreal: Emmy Fecteau, C, Concordia University–USports

36. Toronto: Rylind MacKinnon, LHD, University of British Columbia–USports

Round 7

37. New York: Noemi Neubauerová, RW, Brynäs—SDHL

38. Ottawa: Brooke McQuigge, C, Clarkson University–ECAC

39. Minnesota: Mannon McMahon, C, University of Minnesota-Duluth–WCHA

40. Boston: Katy Knoll, C/RW, Northeastern University–ECAC

41. Montreal: Alexie Guay, LHD, Clarkson University–ECAC

42. Toronto: Darcie Lappan, LW, Clarkson University–ECAC

(Photos of Hannah Bilka and Sarah Fillier: Troy Parla / Getty Images)