PWHL Draft results: Minnesota takes Heise with top pick

Each of the PWHL's six franchises already signed three players in free agency, but teams had a chance to fill out the rest of their rosters with the league's inaugural draft Monday.

Round 1

1. Minnesota - F Taylor Heise 🇺🇸

Free agent signings: F Kendall Coyne Schofield 🇺🇸, F Kelly Pannek 🇺🇸, D Lee Stecklein 🇺🇸

Minnesota made the obvious choice to kick off the selection process. A local product, Heise will be a marketable star in Minnesota. Not only does she hail from Lake City, Minnesota, but she also starred for the Golden Gophers in the NCAA, finishing second in the nation with 65 points in 38 games while serving as team captain in 2022-23. At just 23 years old, she's a player Minnesota can build around for years.

"I think the international play and playing with Team USA has kinda gotten me ready for just about anything," Heise told theScore's Kyle Cushman. "What I'm excited for is now, instead of playing with certain people, you're gonna be playing against anyone and everyone with a certain team and its gonna like rotate. It’s gonna be something that I can’t even describe right now, but I just know that it’s gonna be awesome and we’re gonna make some waves this year."

2. Toronto - D Jocelyne Larocque 🇨🇦

Free agent signings: F Sarah Nurse 🇨🇦, F Blayre Turnbull 🇨🇦, D Renata Fast 🇨🇦

Larocque has been a staple on the Canadian national team for over a decade, winning two Olympic gold medals and three World Championship gold medals in her international career. While not dynamic offensively, she's one of the top shutdown defenders in the game. Despite being 35, Larocque told theScore she doesn't see herself "retiring any time soon, especially with the creation of this league."

3. Boston - F Alina Muller 🇨🇭

Free agent signings: F Hilary Knight 🇺🇸, D Megan Keller 🇺🇸, G Aerin Frankel 🇺🇸

Muller is arguably the best and most promising European player in women's hockey. The 25-year-old center is coming off an excellent campaign at Northeastern University in which she led the team and finished fourth in the NCAA with 60 points in 38 games. Muller also helped lead Switzerland to a bronze medal at the 2014 Olympics at just 15 years old.

"I was excited when I signed with Boston in the PHF. I was looking forward to it, of course, but creating a league with the best players, just one unified league, was always the dream," Muller told theScore. "We all knew it was gonna happen one day, now it came quicker than expected. That’s all we wanted, and being a part of it, I take it every day."

4. New York - D Ella Shelton 🇨🇦

Free agent signings: F Alex Carpenter 🇺🇸, F Abby Roque 🇺🇸, D Micah Zandee-Hart 🇨🇦

Shelton already has quite the resume despite being just 25 years old. The two-way defender has won an Olympic gold medal, and two World Championship gold medals with Canada, plus two NCAA championships during her time at Clarkson University.

5. Ottawa - D Savannah Harmon 🇺🇸

Free agent signings: F Emily Clark 🇨🇦, F Brianne Jenner 🇨🇦, G Emerance Maschmeyer 🇨🇦

Harmon gives Ottawa a rock-solid blue-liner to build around after failing to address the position in free agency. The 27-year-old stands at just 5-foot-3, but it hasn't stopped her from being an effective player. She was part of the United States' gold-medal victory at the 2023 World Championship and was a part of two NCAA titles at Clarkson.

6. Montreal - D Erin Ambrose 🇨🇦

Free agent signings: F Marie-Philip Poulin 🇨🇦, F Laura Stacey 🇨🇦, G Ann-Renee Desbiens 🇨🇦

Ambrose, 29, gives Montreal a No. 1 right-shooting defenseman who can quarterback a top power-play unit. The Keswick, Ontario, product was a key part of Canada's Olympic triumph in 2022, leading all blue-liners with four goals and finishing second at her position with nine points in the tournament.

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15