DETROIT – Olympic gold medalist Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H.) was chosen first overall by the Vancouver Goldeneyes, marking her as one of nine Americans selected in the first round and the first among 31 U.S. players drafted during the 2026 PWHL Draft on Wednesday.
Harvey becomes the second American in PWHL history to be picked first overall, following Taylor Heise, who was the first selection in 2023.
Following Harvey, Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill.) was taken second by the Seattle Torrent, Tessa Janecke (Orangeville, Ill.) was selected third by PWHL Las Vegas, Laila Edwards (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) was drafted fourth by PWHL San Jose, and Lacey Eden (Annapolis, Md.) was chosen fifth by PWHL Las Vegas. Emma Peschel (Edina, Minn.) was picked seventh overall by the New York Sirens, and the Toronto Sceptres selected Kirsten Simms (Plymouth, Mich.) at eighth. Grace Dwyer (Wynnewood, Pa.) and Vivian Jungles (Edina, Minn.) completed the first round of American selections at tenth (Boston Fleet) and eleventh (Ottawa Charge), respectively.
In the second round, five Americans were chosen, with Sydney Morrow (Darien, Conn.) going 14th overall to Seattle, Sloane Matthews (Wayzata, Minn.) 16th to PWHL San Jose, Jamie Nelson (Andover, Minn.) 20th to the Toronto Sceptres, Casey Borgiel (Port Huron, Mich.) 22nd to PWHL Detroit, and Jordan Ray (Viera, Fla.) at 23rd by the Ottawa Charge.
The initial five selections of the draft and 14 of the first 24 picks were American. Harvey, Murphy, Janecke, Edwards, and Simms recently led Team USA to a gold medal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in February.
Five Americans were chosen in the third and fourth rounds, followed by three in the fifth round and four in the sixth and final round.
To view the complete list of American 2026 PWHL draftees, click HERE.
NOTES: At the PWHL Awards held yesterday, Aerin Frankel (Chappaqua, N.Y./Boston Fleet) received the Billie Jean King MVP and Goaltender of the Year awards, Kelly Pannek (Plymouth, Minn./Minnesota Frost) was honored as Forward of the Year, Megan Keller (Farmington, Mich./Boston Fleet) was recognized as Defender of the Year, and Haley Winn (Rochester, N.Y./Boston Fleet) was named Rookie of the Year … Taylor Heise (Lake City, Minn./Minnesota Frost), Pannek, Keller, and Frankel were selected for the First All-Star Team … Britta Curl-Salemme (Bismarck, N.D./Minnesota Frost) and Winn were included in the Second All-Star Team … Casey O’Brien (Milton, Mass./New York Sirens) and Winn were named to the All-Rookie Team … Harvey was recognized as the 2026 IIHF Female Player of the Year earlier today.
