Thursday, June 18, 2026

Vancouver Tabs Wisconsin’s Harvey First Overall in PWHL Draft

10 or More College Hockey Alums Taken in All Six Rounds

Vancouver Tabs Wisconsin’s Harvey First Overall in PWHL Draft
Vancouver selected Carolina Harvey first overall (Photo: Wisconsin Athletics).

Wisconsin defender Caroline Harvey, the 2026 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recipient, was selected first overall by the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Wednesday at the 2026 PWHL Draft in Detroit. Vancouver’s selection of Harvey was the first of 11 consecutive NCAA Division I alumnae taken to begin the draft.

In all, 63 of the 72 players selected during the six-round draft came from NCAA Division I hockey, including 10 or more picks in each of the six rounds. Harvey going first overall capped an incredible 2025-26 season for the Salem, N.H., native, who also won a national championship with the Badgers and an Olympic gold medal with the United States.

Earlier in the day, Harvey was named 2025-26 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Female Player of the Year.

Four of Harvey’s Wisconsin teammates were also selected in the first round: defender Laila Edwards (4th overall, PWHL San Jose), forward Lacey Eden (5th, PWHL Las Vegas), forward Kirsten Simms (8th, Toronto Sceptres), and defender Vivian Jungels (11th, Ottawa Charge).

Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy (Seattle Torrent) and Penn State forward Tessa Janecke (PWHL Las Vegas) went second and third overall, respectively.

Twenty-four of the 45 NCAA Division I schools had at least one former player drafted, led by Ohio State (eight), Penn State (seven) and Cornell (six). Clarkson, Colgate, Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin each had five alumnae selected, while Boston University, Northeastern and Yale had four each.

Also of note:

  • Las Vegas drafted a league-high eight NCAA alumnae, followed by Detroit, Hamilton, San Jose and Toronto with six each.
  • Expansion franchises Las Vegas, San Jose and Detroit all used their first-ever draft picks on former NCAA stars, taking Janecke, Edwards and Andrea Brändli (Boston University/Ohio State), respectively. Brändli, the first goaltender taken in the draft, went 15th overall in the second round.
  • The positional breakdown of NCAA players drafted included 35 forwards, 21 defenders, six goalies and one defender/forward.

For a complete list of NCAA alumnae selected in the 2026 PWHL Draft, visit CollegeHockeyInc.com.