The Vancouver Goldeneyes have won the first pick in the 2026 Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League Draft, securing the right to draft generational defender Caroline Harvey.<\/p>\n
Instead of a lottery system like the one the NHL uses, the PWHL determines its draft order using the \u201cGold Plan.\u201d Adopted in the league\u2019s first season, the alternative system sees teams ranked based on how many points they accumulate after being eliminated from the playoffs.<\/p>\n
The Seattle Torrent got a head start as the first team eliminated from PWHL playoff contention on April 14, but the team still had to win its way to the No. 1 pick, as the Vancouver Goldeneyes were also eliminated just a few days later.<\/p>\n
With a 4-3 overtime win Saturday, the PWHL\u2019s final day of the regular season, Vancouver won the Gold Plan after collecting 5 draft-order points. Seattle, which lost to the Montreal Victoire 2-1 in a shootout late Saturday night, finished second with 5 points; Vancouver won the tiebreaker with more regulation wins after elimination. The New York Sirens and Toronto Sceptres were third and fourth.<\/p>\n
The Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Ottawa Charge and Montreal clinched spots in the PWHL Walter Cup Playoffs, which begin Thursday at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass. Montreal clinched the No. 1 seed in the league standings and will now have a 24-hour window to select its semifinal opponent, choosing between the third- or fourth-place teams. The selection will be unveiled Sunday, followed by full playoff schedules, according to the PWHL.<\/p>\n
The league\u2019s full entry draft order \u2014 between non-playoff teams and potential expansion franchises \u2014 is still to be determined, but the league has confirmed the winner of the Gold Plan will earn the No. 1 pick.<\/p>\n
Vancouver now has a chance to add a transformational player to its roster after an inaugural season of struggles. Harvey, 23, is the No. 1 prospect in The Athletic\u2019s PWHL prospect ranking and is already a bona fide star in the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
This season alone, Harvey won an Olympic gold medal, the Olympic MVP, the Patty Kazmaier Award \u2014 given to the top player in women\u2019s college hockey \u2014 and her third NCAA championship. As a senior at the University of Wisconsin, Harvey led all defenders in the nation with an absurd 64 points in 33 games; her 1.94 points per game finished second in the nation behind only Abbey Murphy, a forward. Harvey also co-led the 2026 Olympic women\u2019s hockey tournament in scoring with 9 points in five games, the most ever scored at the Olympics by an American defender.<\/p>\n
Harvey is a dynamic offensive defender with deceptive puck skills and playmaking ability, but it\u2019s her skating that really sets her apart.<\/p>\n