After a record-smashing year that saw a Canadian team clinch the Walter Cup for the first time, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is drafting a fresh roster of rookies ahead of its fourth season.
The talent pool includes 236 eligible players who have declared for the draft, and 121 – more than half – are Canadian.
With 12 teams now in the league, and each team choosing six rookies, these newcomers will all be vying for one of 72 spots.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes hold the first overall pick. While there has been plenty of movement of players among existing teams, it is now time for the newcomers to be slotted in.
The draft list features some names Canadians may recognize such as three-time Team Canada Olympic gold medallist-turned Vancouver police officer Meghan Agosta, or former Team Canada and Team Italia defender Laura Fortino.
However, there are many more women whose names could soon be stitched on the back of a PWHL jersey.
So, who are some of the other Canadian women hoping to get their big break? CTV News caught up with six players from across the country ahead of Wednesday night’s draft in Detroit.
Hailey MacLeod (Abbotsford, B.C.)
British Columbia’s Haley MacLeod is back practising her goaltending daily in Delta, B.C., after finishing her season with Ohio State University.
She has been playing hockey since age five and transitioned to goalie when she was eight.
“I wasn’t really keen on being a goal scorer or anything like that. I love the defensive aspect of the game, and like making reads on different players,” she said. “I do love the pressure of being a goalie. … You play a very different position, and have a very different role from everyone else, but you still have the same goals.”
MacLeod said she would love to emulate the kind of goaltending displayed by Montreal Victoire goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens, if she gets drafted.
“These are people that I’ve been looking up to since I was young. Getting the opportunity to potentially be teammates with them and learn from them will be amazing,” she said.
Erica Rieder (Regina, Sask.)
From Saskatchewan, Erica Rieder is an experienced defender with five seasons in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL) under her belt. Before heading abroad to continue her career, she captained the University of Manitoba Bisons.
“We ended up winning nationals in my fourth year. So, yeah, very successful all around,” she said.
Falling in love with the sport at a young age, Rieder said while there’s been so much talk about how the league has allowed young girls to dream about playing professionally, even at age 29 she considers herself one of them.
“It’s hard as female athletes, and we fought for a long time to have this opportunity, and so you know the sellout crowds that [the PWHL] has had, and just like the response online and everything has been meant so much,” she said.
“And so even for us new draftees that are coming in, it’s just super exciting … super excited to see what happens.”
Mya Vaslet (Stittsville, Ont.)
Forward Mya Vaslet is back in Stittsville, Ont. for the summer, after wrapping up a five-year NCAA playing career at Pennsylvania State University.
She says being on the list of potential draft picks for a league she and her close-knit collegiate teammates used to gather to watch – especially after coming back from a season-ending injury her senior year – gives her a sense of accomplishment.
Gearing up to go to Detroit – one of the leagues most recent expansion cities – for Wednesday’s draft with her family, Vaslet has her outfit set for the big night and a plan to just take it all in once she gets there.
“It’s a big moment, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event,” she said.
While she would take any chance to continue playing hockey, Vaslet is hoping that her hometown Ottawa Charge recruits her.
“I am hoping Ottawa calls me. It’d be nice to kind of live at home for a bit, and my grandparents can come and watch me, because they’ve always watched me growing up and playing, so that would be cool.”
Michelle Pasiechnyk (Ottawa, Ont.)
Goaltender Michelle Pasiechnyk has been playing hockey since she was three years old.
“As soon as I could walk, I was skating,” she said. “I actually started out as a defenceman and begged and begged my parents to become a goalie. It only worked when I turned 11, finally got my first pair [of goalie pads], and then it’s been history ever since.”
Pasiechnyk was named goaltender of the year her senior year at Clarkson University in New York. After taking a year off, she returned to play for Boston University for one season. Now, she and 120 other women are across the country are hoping to get the chance to enter the PWHL.
“It would be a dream come true,” she said. “To help grow the game for future generations. All the young girls looking up to us, so it just be great to do it for them.”
As for her draft-night plans? A watch party at home with her closest friends and family in comfortable clothing.
Jessymaude Drapeau (Rivière-du-Loup, Que.)
While her valedictorian speech plays at her Concorida University graduation, Jessymaude Drapeau will be at the draft in Detroit, hoping her name gets called so she can walk across that stage.
“It’s amazing, it’s something that I never really dreamed about,” she said. “I think I’ve been someone who worked really hard my whole life without knowing what would happen next, and I feel like I have an opportunity to see my hard work getting paid off.”
The 25-year-old Quebecer and fifth-year forward was named U Sports women’s hockey player of the year, after wrapping a 24-game season with 39 points.
“I feel pretty fortunate to have had that chance to play in big moments and to have won many championships here,” Drapeau said. “I think for myself, I wanted to stay present, I wanted to end on a good note, but also good for the next chapter, so yeah, it was a good year.”
Even with her full schedule, Drapeau coaches younger girls in hopes they will have more female role models in the sport than she had growing up. She notes she can see the excitement around the PWHL through their eyes.
“Every weekend I ask the girls, ‘Did you watch the games? Who’s your favourite player?’ And they all have their big eyes with stars, and it’s just amazing to see that,” she said.
Emilie Lavoie (Beloeil, Que.)
Emilie Lavoie started playing hockey alongside the boys in her small Quebec hometown, but moving to Montreal in 2015 is where her hockey career started taking off.
Now, she is heading into the PWHL draft as one of the most decorated prospects with the hope that all her hard work will pay off.
“Obviously, I would love to be drafted wherever this has to be,” she said. “I think I had a great season last season to like bring my odds a little higher, but then in the end I don’t have the decision in my hands.”
As of last week, she was still deciding whether she would attend her Concordia convocation – also happening on June 17 – or make the trip to Motor City.
Like the other women CTV News spoke with, Lavoie noted that it was only three years ago when the PWHL was formed that players could truly start to realistically eye a professional career past university.
“There are great players in Canada, great players in the U.S. as well. I think we have a great class in the end,” she said.
