PWHL picks Ottawa to host 3rd draft in June, with Wisconsin's Casey O'Brien among top prospects
The PWHL will hold its third annual entry draft in Ottawa on June 24, the league announced on April 15, with University of Wisconsin's Casey O'Brien anticipated to be one of the top selections following her MVP senior season.
What's yet to be determined is how many teams will be participating in the draft with the six-team league having yet to announce its decision on whether to expand by as many as two franchises.
The draft will take place at Ottawa's newly expanded Hard Rock Hotel and Casino set to open this spring, and serve as the first event held in the facility's theatre.
O'Brien is among the prospects who have already met the May 8 deadline to declare being eligible for the draft.
The 23-year-old from Massachusetts is coming off winning her third national title with the Badgers, and was this season's Patty Kazmaier Award winner. The second-year captain led the nation with 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists), and set a school record with 274 career points (97 goals, 177 assists) in 182 games.
DURHAM, NEW HAMPSHIRE - MARCH 22: Casey O'Brien #26 of the Wisconsin Badgers looks to make a play during the Division I Women's Ice Hockey Championship held at Whittemore Center Arena on March 22, 2024 in Durham, New Hampshire. (Photo by Gil Talbot/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Gil Talbot/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
The draft order has yet to be set with the second-year league's announcement coming during a three-week break coinciding with the women's world championships being held in the Czech Republic.
Each of the six teams have three games remaining following the break, with league-leading Montreal the only one to have already clinched a top-four playoff berth. Toronto sits second and is a regulation win from clinching.
Two points separate the next three teams, with Boston sitting third, Ottawa fourth and defending champion Minnesota fifth. New York sits last, six points out of contention and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for a second straight season.
Other top U.S. prospects declaring themselves as eligible include Clarkson's Haley Winn, currently competing in her third world tournament, and Cornell's Rory Guilday.
Top Canadian draft-eligible prospects include Boston College's Abby Newhook and the Clarkson tandem of Anne Cherkowski and Nicole Gosling, who's sister Julia was selected by Toronto in the first round of last year's draft. Colgate's Hannah Murphy, who is from Kingston, Ontario, is regarded as the top goalie prospect after setting a school record with 15 career shutouts.
Among the top European draft-eligible prospects are two members of the Czech Republic national team: Natalie Mlynkova, who completed her senior season at Minnesota, and Colgate's Kristyna Kaltounkova.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
18 minutes ago
- Fox News
Jordan Love 'excited' to face Aaron Rodgers when Packers meet Steelers, hopes to exchange jerseys
With Aaron Rodgers officially signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he's set for some pretty fun reunions on the 2025 schedule. Not only will he be facing his former New York Jets teammates in a Week 1 battle, but the Steelers will also be hosting the team Rodgers won four league MVP trophies with over his future Hall of Fame career. And Rodgers' Green Bay Packers successor, Jordan Love, can't wait for the "Sunday Night Football" reunion. The Packers and Steelers will square off on Oct. 26 at Acrisure Stadium in the primetime slot, and Love told Channel 3000 during his round of golf at the American Family Insurance Championship on Friday how much he's looking forward to it. "It's going to be fun. It's going to be awesome. I'm excited for it," Love said. "I can't wait to be on different sides, meeting up, and I know we'll talk pregame, things like that. And hopefully we can exchange jerseys after." Love was taken 26th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, which shocked some considering Rodgers was showing no signs of slowing down under center. Well, it seems to light an extra fire in his belly, as Rodgers went on to win back-to-back MVP awards in the 2020 and 2021 seasons while Love learned behind him as his backup. But in 2022, Rodgers saw his final season with the Packers after an 8-9 record, and Green Bay made it clear who was next up. Love took all the lessons he learned from Rodgers and cemented himself as the team's quarterback of the future, going 9-8 with 4,159 yards passing with 32 touchdowns to 11 interceptions in his third NFL season (first as the team's starter). The Packers signed Love to an extension before the 2024 season, and though he dealt with an early injury, he went 9-6 over his 15 games to lead his team to the playoffs as Green Bay went 11-6. While Love is looking to keep stacking up playoff seasons, he was tapped into Rodgers' offseason journey this year, saying he wasn't "too surprised" to see him choose Pittsburgh. "I was excited for him, that he was obviously coming back and going to be playing. There were also some rumors that he might be done, so just knowing he's going to keep playing, that's pretty awesome." Love reiterated what he's said in the past about Rodgers, that he was a good mentor while they were teammates despite Green Bay drafting Rodgers' successor. After all, Rodgers went through it himself when he was drafted as Brett Favre's replacement. "I appreciate definitely the way A-Rod handled being in that situation, and I think a big part of it – which he told me – was he knew how it was for him being in that same position and the things that he went through and the way the situation might've been handled [differently]. I think perspective was: 'I'm trying to go about this a little bit differently,' which I think was awesome," Love explained. "In my time with A-Rod, we had a great relationship. It was awesome being in the same room with him, being able to learn." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Sizzling Kiwi beats Burns in Canadian Open playoff
New Zealander Ryan Fox has won for the second time in five weeks on the PGA Tour with another memorable shot in a playoff to beat Sam Burns in the Canadian Open. Fox won the Myrtle Beach Classic last month by chipping in for birdie to win a three-man playoff. This one on the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on Sunday took a little longer. What turned out to be the winning shot this time on the fourth extra hole might be more memorable. Fox smoked a 3-wood that landed softly just left of the pin and settled seven feet away. Burns pulled his 3-wood some 55 feet left of the flag. He ran his eagle putt eight feet by and missed that one. Fox missed his eagle try before tapping in for birdie. "That shot I hit on 18 ... probably the best shot I've ever hit."@RyanFoxGolfer sealed the deal with this shot on the fourth playoff hole @RBCCanadianOpen. — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 8, 2025 "To be honest, Sam and I had a bit of a pillow fight for three holes," Fox said. "But that shot I hit on 18, that 3-wood, was probably the best shot I've ever hit. It would have been nice to make the putt. But hey, I'll take it." Fox holed a birdie putt from just inside 18 feet on the par-5 18th in regulation for a four-under 66 that allowed him to join Burns at 18-under 262. Burns (62) had finished some two hours earlier with a birdie on the final hole. They played the 18th four more times and there was nothing compelling about the extra holes. Fox finally delivered the goods and now has two wins in just over a month, propelling the 38-year-old from No.75 to 32 in the world and getting him into the US Open next week for being among the top 60. Taiwan's Kevin Yu (66) birdied the last to finish alone in third, one shot out of the playoff. He narrowly missed out on the top 60 to get to Oakmont next week, but joined American duo Cameron Young and Matt McCarty as earning the top three spots for the British Open next month for players not already eligible. Fox already was in the British Open from his victory in the BMW PGA Championship in 2023, the flagship event on the European tour. Fox now has eight wins worldwide — two on the PGA Tour, four on the European tour and two on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Burns was hopeful of ending more than two years without a victory, his last title coming in the final year of the World Golf Championships-Match Play in 2023. Young (65) tied for fourth. He made an incredible par on the 17th. But needing birdie on the par-5 18th to catch Burns, the clubhouse leader at the time, Young flushed a 3-wood into the breeze and into the trees. It took two to get on the green and he made bogey to finish two shots behind. "I thought in the air I was going to have about a 12-footer to win the tournament, and it ended up somewhere I was going to struggle to make par, let alone make a 4. Pretty upset," Young said.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ryan Fox wins Canadian Open with 'best shot I've ever hit' in playoff to beat Sam Burns
CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Ryan Fox of New Zealand won for the second time in five weeks on the PGA Tour with another memorable shot in a playoff, this time a 3-wood to 7 feet on the fourth extra hole Sunday to beat Sam Burns in the RBC Canadian Open. Fox won the Myrtle Beach Classic last month by chipping in for birdie to win a three-man playoff. This one on the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley took a little longer. What turned out to be the winning shot might be more memorable. Fox smoked a 3-wood that landed softly just left of the pin and settled 7 feet away. Burns pulled his 3-wood some 55 feet left of the front right pin. He ran his eagle putt 8 feet by and missed that one. Fox missed his eagle try before tapping in for birdie. 'To be honest, Sam and I had a bit of a pillow fight for three holes,' Fox said. 'But that shot I hit on 18, that 3-wood, was probably the best shot I've ever hit. It would have been nice to make the putt. But hey, I'll take it.' Fox holed a birdie putt from just inside 18 feet on the par-5 18th in regulation for a 4-under 66 that allowed him to join Sam Burns at 18-under 262. Burns had finished some two hours earlier with a birdie on the final hole for a 62. They played the 18th four more times — the PGA Tour moved the pin position from far left to front right after two extra holes — and there was nothing compelling about the extra holes. Burns, regarded as one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, had a birdie putt from just over 5 feet on the first playoff for the win. He left that out to the right. The next time down 18, Fox went for the green and pushed his 3-wood. The collar of rough stopped it from going in the water. He pitched to 12 feet and had that birdie putt for the win, but left it a foot short. Pillow fight, indeed. On the third time playing the 18th in overtime, Burns had a lob wedge that was short and to the right, spinning off the green and nearly into the water. Fox hit his 40 feet out to the right. They both made par. Fox delivered the goods on the final hole and now has two wins in just over a month. The victory moved the 38-year-old Fox from No. 75 to No. 32 in the world, getting him into the U.S. Open next week for being among the top 60 in the world ranking. Kevin Yu birdied the last hole for a 66 to finish alone in third, one shot out of the playoff. He narrowly missed out on the top 60 to get to Oakmont next week. But Yu joined Cameron Young and Matt McCarty as earning the top three spots for the British Open next month for players not already eligible. Fox already was in the British Open from his victory in the BMW PGA Championship in 2023, the flagship event on the European tour. Fox now has eight wins worldwide — two on the PGA Tour, four on the European tour and two on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Burns was hopeful of ending more than two years without a victory, his last title coming in the final year of the World Golf Championships-Match Play in 2023. Young shot a 65 to tie for fourth. He was within range of Burns when Young made an incredible par on the 17th, going from the trees on the right to mangled left on the rough, gouging that out to 15 feet and making the putt. But needing birdie on the par-5 closing hole to catch Burns, the clubhouse leader at the time, Young flushed a 3-wood into the breeze and over the green into the trees, leaving him virtually no shot. It took two to get on the green and he made bogey to finish two shots behind. 'I couldn't have hit two better shots on the last hole. I don't hit 3-wood that far, and it's blowing straight into the wind, and it decided to bounce all the way to the back woods,' Young said. 'I thought in the air I was going to have about a 12-footer to win the tournament, and it ended up somewhere I was going to struggle to make par, let alone make a 4. Pretty upset.' ___
