After a disappointing finish in which they failed to make the playoffs, and then lost captain Hilary Knight to expansion and saw coach Courtney Kessel leave to take over the Princeton women’s program, the Boston Fleet selected Clarkson defender Haley Winn with the second overall pick in the PWHL draft held Tuesday night in Ottawa.
Winn, 21, was the ECAC Player and Defender of the Year last season.
“I’m pumped, it’s everyone’s dream to play in this league and I’m pumped to go to Boston,” said Winn, who is from Rochester, N.Y. “It’s incredible. I can’t put it into words when your name is called.
“It’s a super competitive league, super cool to see how it’s grown with the pace of play and physicality.”
Colgate forward Kristyna Kaltounkova was selected first overall by the New York Sirens.
Winn, 21, led Clarkson in scoring last season with 14 goals and 32 assists in 38 games.
The Patty Kazmaier Award finalist as college hockey’s MVP was a first-team All-American and finished her four-year career with 37 goals and 131 points in 151 games.
She represented Team USA at her third straight Women’s Worlds in April, winning a second gold medal while playing with future Fleet teammate Megan Keller.
“She’s incredible,” said Winn. “She’s already taught me so much on and off the ice.”
Winn is eager to put her skills to use for the Fleet.
“I’m just excited to get started and focus on my role,” she said. “Use my skills and contribute offensively as much as I can. Just bring love and passion for the game.”
Minutes after taking Kaltounkova, Sirens general manager Pascal Daoust completed a trade with the Toronto Sceptres to acquire the No. 3 pick and choose Wisconsin center Casey O’Brien of Milton, the Patty Kazmaier Award winner last season.
“Watching who’s on the roster, I’m just really excited to get started,” said Kaltounkova, who is from the Czech Republic and became the first European-born player selected No. 1 in the PWHL draft. “I’m happy to jump in and help out as much as I can and make an impact immediately.”
Kaltounkova is reunited with Sirens coach Greg Fargo, who coached her at Colgate.
The 23-year-old was a Kazmaier Award finalist following a 48-point season (26 goals, 22 assists). And she left Colgate after five seasons as the school’s career-leading scorer with 111 goals and second with 223 points.
O’Brien, who won three national championships with Wisconsin, led the country in scoring last season with 26 goals and 88 points in 41 games, setting a program single-season record. She finished her career as Wisconsin’s all-time leading scorer with 97 goals and 274 points in 182 games, a record previously held by Knight.
The Fleet selected forward Ella Huber from Minnesota with their second-round pick (10th overall).
Huber, a team captain, had a career-high 48 points (15 goals, 33 assists) in 2024-25, which was second on the team and 12th in the country. Her 33 assists tied for fifth in the country.
The Fleet took Minnesota Duluth forward Olivia Mobley in the third round, Ohio State defender Riley Brengman in the fourth round, Boston College forward Abby Newhook in the fifth round, and Ohio State goalie Amanda Thiele in the sixth and final round.
Mobley played three seasons for Quinnipiac before transferring to Ohio State and helping the Buckeyes win the 2023-24 national championship. She then transferred to Minnesota Duluth, finishing fourth on the team in scoring with 19 goals and 8 assists last season.
Brengman played on Ohio State’s national championship teams in 2022 and 2024 and on this past season’s team which lost to Wisconsin in the final.
Newhook had 55 goals and 58 assists in 142 games over her four-year career with the Eagles.
Thiele was 20-7-2 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .887 save percentage for the Buckeyes.
Montreal selected Northeastern forward Skylar Irving in the third round (20th overall) and Boston University defender Tamara Giaquinto in the sixth round. New York picked Boston University goalie Callie Shanahan with the fourth pick in the fourth round.