Inaugural PWHL Draft : Who, When, and How to Watch

On September 18, 2023, the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) draft will take place at the CBC headquarters in downtown Toronto. Starting at 1pm et, 90 names will be called solidifying each one’s place in history as the PWHL’s first draft class.

Where To Watch

Viewers in Canada will be able to watch the full Draft live on the free CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, radio-canada.ca/sports, and the Radio-Canada info app.

For International viewers outside of Canada, the draft can be streamed on CBC Sports’ and Radio-Canada’s YouTube pages.

CBC Sports’ Andi Petrillo will host the first four rounds of the draft’s livestream. While, The Athletic sports journalist Hailey Salvian and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Shannon Szabados will be providing analysis of the draft picks. Anastasia Bucsis of CBC Sports will be conducting stage-side player interviews.

Purple Carpet Walk

There will be a purple carpet walk prior to the draft from approximately 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. ET. Fans are invited to greet players and VIPs who will be walking the purple carpet.

To participate, fans are encouraged to check in with event staff at the CBC entrance (250 Front Street West, Toronto) at or before 12 p.m. ET on Sept. 18. Please note that capacity is limited, and access to the draft event itself will be for credentialed personnel only.

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How The Draft Works

The inaugural draft will consist of 15 rounds and follow a “snake format”. Once the first round is completed, the following rounds will be conducted with teams selecting in the reverse order of the previous round.

Minnesota won the draft lottery on September 1^st and will have the first overall pick. As a heads up, no draft picks are allowed to be traded until the completion of the 2023-24 season.

Below is the draft order for all 15 rounds:

Round 1:
1. Minnesota, 2. Toronto, 3. Boston, 4. New York, 5. Ottawa, 6. Montreal.

Round 2:
7. Montreal, 8. Ottawa, 9. New York, 10. Boston, 11. Toronto, 12. Minnesota.

Round 3:
13. Minnesota, 14. Toronto, 15. Boston, 16. New York, 17. Ottawa, 18. Montreal.

Round 4:
19. Montreal, 20. Ottawa, 21. New York, 22. Boston, 23. Toronto, 24. Minnesota.

Round 5:
25. Minnesota, 26. Toronto, 27. Boston, 28. New York, 29. Ottawa, 30. Montreal.

Round 6:
31. Montreal, 32. Ottawa, 33. New York, 34. Boston, 35. Toronto, 36. Minnesota.

Round 7:
37. Minnesota, 38. Toronto, 39. Boston, 40. New York, 41. Ottawa, 42. Montreal.

Round 8:
43. Montreal, 44. Ottawa, 45. New York, 46. Boston, 47. Toronto, 48. Minnesota.

Round 9:
49. Minnesota, 50. Toronto, 51. Boston, 52. New York, 53. Ottawa, 54. Montreal.

Round 10:
55. Montreal, 56. Ottawa, 57. New York, 58. Boston, 59. Toronto, 60. Minnesota.

Round 11:
61. Minnesota, 62. Toronto, 63. Boston, 64. New York, 65. Ottawa, 66. Montreal.

Round 12:
67. Montreal, 68. Ottawa, 69. New York, 70. Boston, 71. Toronto, 72. Minnesota.

Round 13:
73. Minnesota, 74. Toronto, 75. Boston, 76. New York, 77. Ottawa, 78. Montreal.

Round 14:
79. Montreal, 80. Ottawa, 81. New York, 82. Boston, 83. Toronto, 84. Minnesota.

Round 15:
85. Minnesota, 86. Toronto, 87. Boston, 88. New York, 89. Ottawa, 90. Montreal.

Draft Eligibility List

Interested players had until September 3^rd to declare for the inaugural PWHL draft. On September 13^th, the PWHL announced the names of 268 eligible players who declared for the draft before the deadline. “Declaring for the draft was the first step for players to become part of this historic PWHL season and the depth of talent in our player pool is evident with stars from various collegiate, professional, and international programs,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. “All six PWHL teams are going to be able to select many of the best players in the world that will make for an exciting draft and inaugural season.”

The position breakdown for the draft pool is as such: 146 forwards, 78 defenders, and 44 goaltenders. During the 2022-23 season, 88% of players on the draft list played across the world in a variety of leagues like the PHF (998, PWHPA (63), NCAA and U SPORTS (49), SDHL (13), and SWHL (1).

A little under 20 countries will have representation at the draft this year.

The youngest player to declare for the draft is 16-year-old Lilly Legault of the Peterborough Ice Kats U18 AA team.

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