Jason La Rose
The inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Draft is in the books, and Canadian hockey was the star of the show.
In total, more than half of their players who were selected in Toronto – 48 of 90 (53.3%) – hail from the Great White North.
The list features representation from eight Members, and 43 players who have worn the Maple Leaf in international competition at some level (or all levels) of the National Women’s Program – nine Olympic gold medallists, 13 Women’s Worlds gold medallists and nine U18 Women’s Worlds gold medallists among them.
(Ten other Canadians – all of them Olympic gold medallists – were among the players who inked deals during the early free-agent signing period, and were not part of the draft pool. That contingent included Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin, 2022 Olympic MVP Brianne Jenner and standout goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, among others.)
The run of Canadians started from the No. 2 pick, where Toronto selected veteran defenceman Jocelyne Larocque. She was the first of three first-rounders, along with fellow blue-liners Ella Shelton (No. 4 to New York) and Erin Ambrose (No. 6 to Montreal).
The first 🇨🇦 are off the board in the #PWHLDraft2023! Voici les premières joueuses du 🇨🇦 sélectionnées au repêchage 2023 de la LPHF! 🍁 Jocelyne Larocque (2-TOR) 🍁 @ella_shelton11 (4-NY) 🍁 @ambrose_13 (6-MTL) pic.twitter.com/dFm0NUV2Q6
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) September 18, 2023
Each of the 15 rounds featured at least two Canadians, with a high of five going in Round 2. Toronto selected a Canadian with 13 of its 15 picks, followed by New York (11), Montreal (nine), Boston (seven), Ottawa (six) and Minnesota (two).
With the National Women’s Under-18 Championship set to return to the ice in November for the first time since 2019, its alumna were all over the draft; 42 players represented their province or region at the tournament.
CANADIAN PLAYERS DRAFTED – BY MEMBER
Ontario Women's Hockey Association (28) – Lexie Adzija, Erin Ambrose, Victoria Bach, Jaime Bourbonnais, Zoe Boyd, Emma Buckles, Michela Cava, Mellissa Channell, Elaine Chuli, Claire Dalton, Kristin Della Rovere, Jessica DiGirolamo, Jessie Eldridge, Loren Gabel, Brittany Howard, Sophie Jaques, Rebecca Leslie, Amanda Leveille, Emma Maltais, Kennedy Marchment, Kristin O’Neill, Jamie Lee Rattray, Ella Shelton, Natalie Spooner, Alexa Vasko, Kayla Vespa, Daryl Watts, Emma Woods
Hockey Quebec (7) – Ann-Sophie Bettez, Gabrielle David, Jade Downie-Landry, Élizabeth Giguère, Alexandra Labelle, Maude Poulin-Labelle, Audrey-Anne Veillette
Hockey Manitoba (5) – Ashton Bell, Kristen Campbell, Jocelyne Larocque, Corinne Schroeder, Kati Tabin
BC Hockey (2) – Olivia Knowles, Hannah Miller
Hockey Nova Scotia (2) – Allie Munroe, Jill Saulnier
Hockey Saskatchewan (2) – Brooke Hobson, Sophie Shirley
Hockey Alberta (1) – Jess Healey
CANADIAN PLAYERS DRAFTED – BY INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
National Women’s Team (19) – Erin Ambrose, Victoria Bach, Ashton Bell, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Jaime Bourbonnais, Kristen Campbell, Jessie Eldridge, Loren Gabel, Élizabeth Giguère, Brittany Howard, Jocelyne Larocque, Rebecca Leslie, Emma Maltais, Kristin O’Neill, Jamie Lee Rattray, Jill Saulnier, Ella Shelton, Sophie Shirley, Natalie Spooner
National Women’s Development Team (41) – Lexie Adzija, Erin Ambrose, Victoria Bach, Ashton Bell, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Jaime Bourbonnais, Zoe Boyd, Emma Buckles, Kristen Campbell, Elaine Chuli, Maggie Connors, Claire Dalton, Gabrielle David, Kristin Della Rovere, Jade Downie-Landry, Jessica DiGirolamo, Jessie Eldridge, Loren Gabel, Jess Healey, Brooke Hobson, Brittany Howard, Sophie Jaques, Olivia Knowles, Alexandra Labelle, Jocelyne Larocque, Rebecca Leslie, Amanda Leveille, Emma Maltais, Hannah Miller, Allie Munroe, Kristin O’Neill, Jamie Lee Rattray, Jill Saulnier, Corinne Schroeder, Ella Shelton, Sophie Shirley, Natalie Spooner, Kati Tabin, Alexa Vasko, Audrey-Anne Veillette, Daryl Watts
National Women’s Under-18 Team (31) – Lexie Adzija, Erin Ambrose, Victoria Bach, Ashton Bell, Jaime Bourbonnais, Zoe Boyd, Emma Buckles, Kristen Campbell, Mellissa Channell, Elaine Chuli, Maggie Connors, Claire Dalton, Gabrielle David, Élizabeth Giguère, Jess Healey, Brooke Hobson, Sophie Jaques, Olivia Knowles, Alexandra Labelle, Rebecca Leslie, Emma Maltais, Hannah Miller, Kristin O’Neill, Jamie Lee Rattray, Jill Saulnier, Corinne Schroeder, Sophie Shirley, Natalie Spooner, Alexa Vasko, Audrey-Anne Veillette, Daryl Watts