Second PWHL draft comes to downtown St. Paul in June
The Professional Women's Hockey League announced Friday that its upcoming draft will be June 10 at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, followed by its league awards ceremony June 11 at St. Paul's downtown InterContinental Hotel.
The second draft in league history will be seven rounds, with a total of 42 players chosen by the six teams. New York has the No. 1 pick. The league's last-place team in its inaugural season, New York earned the top choice via the league's "Gold Plan," which awards the No. 1 draft pick to the team that accrued the most points after it was eliminated from playoff contention.
Ottawa, which also missed the playoffs, will choose second. The other four teams will choose based on their place in the regular-season standings, going in reverse order. Minnesota has the No. 3 pick after finishing in fourth place, followed by Boston, Montreal and Toronto.
The draft will follow a traditional format, with each round conducted in the same order. After the season ends, there will be a window for teams to trade picks.
Free tickets for the draft will be available beginning Wednesday, and fans can get details by signing up for the league's newsletter at thepwhl.com. The draft also will be livestreamed on the PWHL's YouTube channel.
The league's year-end award winners will be announced at a luncheon the following day, June 11, at the InterContinental. There are three finalists for the Billie Jean King MVP and several other awards, including top forward, defender, goaltender, rookie and coach. The PWHL also will give a community leadership award.
