Could Ottawa Charge trade up in PWHL draft that GM expects to get 'six terrific players'?
If the Ottawa Charge had first pick in Tuesday's Professional Women's Hockey League draft, the decision would probably come down to University of Wisconsin centre Casey O'Brien and Clarkson University defender Haley Winn.
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With the New York Sirens choosing first, does coach Greg Fargo urge them to take Kristyna Kaltounkova, who played four seasons for him at Colgate?
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Since consensus No. 1 pick Abbey Murphy opted out to put off a pro career to finish her collegiate playing days at the University of Minnesota, O'Brien, Winn and Kaltounkova could very well be the first names called when the league holds its third draft at Ottawa's Hard Rock Live inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
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And it's also quite likely Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld, the PWHL's most active trader, has inquired about moving up from fifth in the draft order to fill a glaring hole by taking O'Brien, who scored an NCAA-leading 88 points in 41 games last season to win the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top female player in the United States, or Winn, the best defender in the class of '25 who could answer Ottawa's need on a depleted blue line and, with 14 goals and 46 points in 38 games for the Golden Knights in 2024-25, for a power play quarterback.
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As it stands, Hirshfeld will have to broaden his scope at No. 5.
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'We're looking at all options,' he told reporters attending a media availability Monday at TD Place. 'To be honest, we have a lot of spots to fill just because expansion really thinned us out. So I think we're looking at defenders and forwards. I can tell you we're not looking at a goalie.'
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Star puck-stopper Gwyneth Philips might be relieved to be reminded that the blue line has been a priority for the Charge on draft day.
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In 2023, Ottawa's first three picks were defenders, and, last season, Hirshfeld focused on the position with three of seven picks.
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After losing four defenders in the off-season — Ashton Bell and Aneta Tejralova through the expansion draft and Zoe Boyd and Jincy Roese to free agency — the Charge signed two in the last few days: Norway's Emma Bergesen and Brooke Hobson, who spent the past two seasons with the Sirens.
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'Emma was someone we looked at in last year's draft,' said Hirshfeld. 'We felt like she had a little more maturity in her game, and I think (last) year in Sweden, playing consistent minutes and the top line pairing was really good for her. When we look at this year's draft, I don't think it's quite as deep as last year's, and we have a third-round value on Emma for this year's draft, so the opportunity to sign her ahead of time really gives us another extra third-round pick.
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