Gosling, O’Brien, Winn named finalists for 2026 PWHL Rookie of the Year
A trio of newcomers made quite the impression in their first year in the PWHL.
On Tuesday, the league announced that Montreal Victoire defender Nicole Gosling, New York Sirens forward Casey O’Brien and Boston Fleet blueliner Haley Winn have been named the finalists for the 2025-26 PWHL Rookie of the Year.
O’Brien entered the league with a lot of expectations. The Wisconsin product was the reigning Patty Kazmaier Award winner and was taken third overall by the Sirens in the 2025 PWHL Draft, with New York trading Ella Shelton to the Toronto Sceptres in order to trade up for the pick. After a slow start, O’Brien found her groove. Starting off with a hat trick in the Takeover Tour game in Dallas, she became one of New York’s top offensive weapons, especially when Kristyna Kaltounkova went down with a season-ending injury in the second half. O’Brien led all rookies with 22 points, finishing second on the team in scoring behind Sarah Fillier.
She looks to become the second straight Siren to win Rookie of the Year, as former No. 1 overall pick Fillier took home the trophy last year.
The Rookie of the Year award isn’t the only piece of hardware Winn is going after this season. She’s also a finalist for Defender of the Year honors, along with teammate Megan Keller. The Clarkson graduate played alongside Keller for the entire year and proved that her play at the collegiate and international game blended into the pro ranks. She led all skaters in average ice time (26:45), finishing third in defensive scoring with five goals and 14 assists for 19 points, tied for second in scoring among rookies.
The player she was tied with for second in first-year scoring was her old Golden Knights teammate, Nicole Gosling. Playing first-pair minutes from the onset, the London, Ont. native was a huge part in the Victoire’s success during the regular season, leading to the team finishing first in the PWHL for the second year in a row. In 30 games, she scored three goals, two of which were game-winners, and 16 assists. Gosling has a plus/minus (+16) that was tied for fourth in the league, while averaging 21:17 of ice time.