2025 PWHL Expansion Mock Draft
After an explosion of transactions during the exclusive signing window, the PWHL’s newest franchises in Vancouver and Seattle are set to fill up their rosters a little more on Monday night in the league’s first-ever expansion draft.
From established veterans to young stars, our experts Hunter Crowther and Tyler Kuehl give their thoughts on which teams will pick what players to fit their needs.
With each team having signed five players over the past week, both Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey and Seattle GM Meghan Turner will be permitted to pick up to seven players in a snake-like draft.
Since we don’t know which team will pick first on Monday’s draft (8:30 p.m. ET), Kuehl, representing Seattle, was awarded the first overall pick, while Hunter, selecting for Vancouver, goes second.
Let’s begin:
1. Seattle (Jocelyne Larocque, D, Ottawa Charge)
Tyler: Here’s Tyler already making the wrong move.
Here’s why I think Seattle should add another blueliner first. With her level of experience, it would be difficult not to want to pick her up right away. Yes, Vancouver already has Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson, but you know they’d love a Canadian mainstay on their blue line. Also, imagine a pair of Larocque and Cayla Barnes…yes, please.
2. Vancouver (Emma Maltais, F, Toronto Sceptres)
Hunter: A perfect compliment to Sarah Nurse in Vancouver, Emma Maltais will have a chance to flourish with a fresh start and a new team. One of the league’s most physical and scrappiest players, the 5-foot-3 forward is among the league’s best at separating players from the puck. Her 2024-25 campaign saw her take a step back offensively, but new surroundings and a new system might be what sparks production for the Ohio State alumnus.
3. Seattle (Jamie Lee Rattray, F, Boston Fleet)
Tyler: I’m not sure what happened to Rattray’s game in the second half of the season, but I know she wasn’t producing at the level she wanted. It even cost her a spot on the Canadian National Team. Regardless, I think moving west to join teammate Hilary Knight will keep some familiarity, but having a new home could give her a chance to find that scoring touch.
4. Vancouver (Grace Zumwinkle, F, Minnesota Frost)
Hunter: Grace Zumwinkle ended her first professional season with a Walter Cup, the Rookie of the Year award and all the potential in the world. She followed that with another Walter Cup, but injuries caused her to take a step back offensively, as it felt like she could never find her game. Still, it felt like there were glimpses of Zumwinkle trying to make something happen or being just a half-second early or late. Perhaps a full offseason of recovery could fix that.
Unprotected by the Frost, Vancouver could draft a player with a championship pedigree and the combination of talent and motivation to be one of the league’s best.
5. Seattle (Jessie Eldridge, F, New York Sirens)
Tyler: This is a great chance for Eldridge to prove that she can be a downright threat without Alex Carpenter and Sarah Fillier. The former Colgate star has the finishing ability that Seattle can use in year one. Even if you pair her up with a star like Knight or maybe build her game up with another former Raider in Danielle Serdachny, Eldridge can be a big-time player.
6. Vancouver (Brooke McQuigge, F, Minnesota Frost)
Hunter: McQuigge’s eight goals were tied for fourth on Minnesota and she finished second on the team in hits, as her physical game and her ability to clog up the danger area in the opponent’s zone allows for teammates to generate scoring chances. Her style of play will create space for herself, and Vancouver will be lucky to watch her rack up the offense in the years to come.
7. Seattle (Maureen Murphy, F, Montreal Victoire)
Tyler: I refuse to label Murphy a bust, but she had a historically bad sophomore slump, scoring a measly six points during the regular season. I know she wasn’t helping her cause to move higher up the lineup, but an opportunity with a new team with a unique energy could reignite that spark that led to her briefly finding her name on the U.S. National Team roster.
8. Vancouver (Julia Gosling, F, Toronto Sceptres)
Hunter: What’s unique about Gosling is that it felt like Sceptres’ head coach, Troy Ryan, didn’t trust her on the ice, playing her less than 13 minutes a game for large chunks of the season. It was even more confusing when you consider she played for him on the Canadian National Team before he selected her in the first round of the 2024 PWHL Draft.
Despite the lack of ice time and production, Gosling showed flashes of being a top-tier power forward in the league, and given the opportunity with Vancouver, she could really thrive in 2025-26.
9. Seattle (Savannah Harmon, D, Toronto Sceptres)
Tyler: Harmon is an all-star…simple as that. Unfortunately, that trade from Ottawa to Toronto derailed any momentum she had after an outstanding rookie season. She couldn’t find her groove under Troy Ryan and really proved how shallow the Sceptres’ depth was. Similar to Murphy, having the chance to play with new teammates in a new market might do the trick in getting her back on track to becoming one of the PWHL’s top defenders.
10. Vancouver (Anna Wilgren, D, Montreal Victoire)
Hunter: Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie gave Wilgren more and more ice time as the season progressed, and her ability to make a smart first pass and clear the zone when there’s a scramble makes her valuable for a Vancouver team with a top-heavy defensive corps in Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques. On nights when you want to spread out your blueline, Wilgren can create room for the more offensively inclined defenders.
11. Seattle (Kristen Campbell, G, Toronto Sceptres)
Tyler: I originally was going to pick Corinne Schroeder…but it seems like Meghan Turner and I are on the same wavelength.
That said, I feel like this is the perfect spot to pick a goaltender, and why not take the 2024 Goaltender of the Year? Yes, her numbers overall might not have been as strong as they were during the inaugural season. However, the way she can be a top-tier goaltender when her game would give Seattle a standout tandem.
12. Vancouver (Nicole Hensley, G, Minnesota Frost)
Hunter: Vancouver may have already signed Emerance Maschmeyer, but how often do you get a chance to acquire a two-time Olympian who has won two league championships? I know the 2024-25 version of Hensley isn’t the same as years prior, but she had some strong performances in the second half of the season, including the last game of the regular season, to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
If Hensley can get to the level she was at the end of her first PWHL season, Vancouver fans will enjoy arguably the league’s best duo in the crease.
13. Seattle (Jamie Bourbonnais, D, New York Sirens)
Tyler: A defender that might surprise some for making it this far, it would be a huge miss if neither Seattle nor Vancouver picked up the CWNT star. She brings stability to the back end, which is needed for an expansion team to be a legitimate threat right away. Also, adding someone with that (international) winning pedigree will be crucial for a team that will definitely be getting some young players for year one.
14. Vancouver (Emily Brown, D, Boston Fleet)
Hunter: Vancouver already has the best defensive pairing in the league, so for my second and third-pair defenders who play under 20 minutes a night, give me a relentless body checker like Emily Brown. She won’t bring much in terms of offense, but defensively, Brown had just four games in 2024-25 where she was a minus on the scoresheet and was one of the more relied-on blueliners in Boston. Bring that stability to Vancouver’s backend and now we’re cooking.
Here are the players already signed by both teams:
SEATTLE
Cayla Barnes, D
Alex Carpenter, F
Hilary Knight, F
Corinne Schroeder, G
Danielle Serdachny, F
VANCOUVER
Jenn Gardiner, F
Sophie Jaques, D
Emerance Maschmeyer, G
Sarah Nurse, F
Claire Thompson, D