Two players at each position to watch for in the 2025 PWHL Draft

Today, we’re taking a look at six names from the NCAA that I think could be steals for the now eight franchises in the league. From some high quality skaters to some talented scorers, we’ve got some names to keep an eye on. Let’s get into it. 

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Six names to keep an eye on

For the purposes of today’s exercise, I’ve included two forwards, two defenders and two goaltenders that all played in Division I this past season. Some of these players are fairly high on certain draft boards, while some are further down and could be taken as a “flier” so to speak in the later rounds of the draft. 

Regardless, all of these players should get some attention from the eight teams in the league come draft night. At least in my opinion. 

Jada Habisch, F, UConn

In the last few years, UConn has climbed its way to the top of Hockey East — and a large part of that was because of Habisch. A top goal scorer in the conference, the UConn offense in 2023-24 ran through the forward, and in 2024-25 she was another key contributor for the Huskies. 

Across five seasons, Habisch scored 64 goals and 99 total points. The goal scoring is the best part of har game, as evidenced by her consistently topping the team in total goals during her time in Connecticut. Five of her 16 goals this past season came on the power play (and let me tell you, the UConn PP was rough until about February), and she had two while shorthanded as well. She can advance the puck up the ice and can drive play when needed. A team would be better off having her in their lineup, especially if they’re looking for a jump in offense in their bottom-six. 

Vanessa Upson, F, Mercyhurst

Upson, similarly to a lot of the players on my top-five forwards list, is a solid center that can score, yes, but is also a play driver for her line when needed. In 148 games with Mercyhurst in the AHA, the center produced 147 points, with the majority of those (82) being assists. Her ability to play the puck is evident, and it’s helped Mercyhurst to a lot of success in the last few years, especially this past season when she served as captain. 

She’s also a solid faceoff winner, finishing this season with 444 total wins in the dot — good for eighth-most across the NCAA. Her winning percentage in the dot has only gotten better as the years progressed, something that speaks to her developmental ability for teams looking to build out for the future. There’s a lot to like about her game, and I think that has her somewhat high on certain draft boards. 

Brooke Becker, D, Providence

While Becker isn’t the flashiest defender, she’s able to shut down play and uses that to her advantage often. She’s also consistent, which is something that could be a big draw in her favor. Over five seasons the defender put up a combined 76 points, with 10 goals between her last two years. Three of her goals in 2024-25 came on the power play, a unit she helped lead during her graduate year to a decent amount of success. 

Another positive for Becker is her ability to get in the way of pucks, a facet of her game that has developed over her time with the Friars. In five seasons she had a combined 141 blocks, highlighted by 45 this past season alone. A player who can drive possession and win battles to gain it as well, Becker is one to keep an eye on for teams that are looking to bolster their blue line (Minnesota, I’m looking at you guys). 

Olivia Muhn, D, Yale

Similarly to Becker, Muhn is another solid defensive player with some offensive upside, although the offensive part of her game is not as much of a focus as her defensive skills. In 133 career games with the Bulldogs, Muhn had 35 assists and 40 total points while playing a shutdown role. After a rough junior season, this past year Muhn bounced back with 14 points and a +13 rating. And no, I don’t love +/- as a statistic, but considering how Yale struggled to outscore its opponents at points this season and last season, Muhn’s numbers are noteworthy here. Even more noteworthy was her +29 rating in 2022-23.

The defender also finished with the most blocked shots on the team with 45 this season, and had a combined 125 over four seasons. While not a big shooter herself, Muhn is able to negate the shooting weapons of other teams with a lot of success, something that helps her stand out amongst the defenders in the 2025 draft. She’s trustworthy and consistent — teams will know what they’re getting out of her and, if they play her to her strengths, she can perform well for any squad. 

Kaley Doyle, G, Quinnipiac

During three seasons with Brown, Doyle was a solid netminder with a career .926 save percentage across 74 appearances. She had six shutouts in her time in Providence, and made a combined 2,047 saves. 

Then, this past season, she moved over to Quinnipiac for her grad year, where her SV% jumped to a .945 with eight shutouts and 622 stops. She finished third in the nation with those eight shutouts, and was incredibly dominant overall in ECAC play. While the Bobcats were struggling to score later in the year, Doyle kept them in a lot of close games, which I think speaks highly to her ability to succeed. In a draft that doesn’t have the same amount of goaltending talent as the previous two years, Doyle has a strong case to be one of the more underrated options for PWHL teams. 

Tindra Holm, G, Minnesota-Duluth

Holm is probably the most out-there name on this list, mainly because of her lack of play time this past season and where she spent the three years before that. However, in her limited starts with the Bulldogs she produced — ending the year with a .932 SV% in nine starts. She gave up a total of 12 goals in her appearances with four shutouts, and six of those goals came courtesy of Wisconsin. 

Who, you know, are pretty lethal. 

Before her time as the backup in Duluth, Holm was one of the top netminders in the NCAA while playing for Long Island University. A national goaltender of the year semifinalist twice, she was one of the best parts of the Sharks, and helped them to a lot of success in NEWHA during her time. She may not face the most amount of shots and isn’t one of the top netminders available in this draft, but I’d be interested to see if someone looks to her as someone that could develop into a backup or third string role moving forward. 

The 2025 PWHL Draft is set to take place on Tuesday, June 24, in Ottawa, Ontario.

Around the hockey world 

2024-25 PWHL season recap: New York Sirens — The Ice Garden 

I know we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the upcoming draft, but the season didn’t end all that long ago! Sierra Mainard from TIG broke down how the year went for the Sirens and, while it wasn’t perfect, there were still some important moments for the squad from NY. 

Top six NCAA defenders in the 2025 PWHL Draft — The Ice Garden

I mentioned some of the steals in the draft out of the NCAA above, but Giselle earlier this week highlighted her top-six names at the defensive positions that could make noise in the early rounds. If you’re looking for some forwards, we’ve got that too — and goalies are on their way shortly.

Brainstorming PWHL expansion team branding — Vancouver — The Victory Press 

In a roundtable discussion, the group at TVP went through their thoughts on what the colors and potential mascot could/should be for the new team in Van. They’ve also got a piece on Seattle too, so be sure to check out both. 

PWHL Expansion Mock Draft — The Athletic

Shayna Goldman and Hailey Salvian are playing general manager, while taking a look at what both Vancouver and Seattle could do in the expansion draft early next week. Check out their predictions, and then check back to see how many they got right after the draft on Monday. 

A two-for-one special! — USCHO

Post in the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance announced late last week that they’ve hired Men’s Hockey Alum Brandon Brown to serve as Interim Head Coach of their Women’s program following the departure of Pat Bingham following the season. For more on the hiring, USCHO does a nice round up here. But that’s not all! Vermont has added a new face to their bench, with DIII Wisconsin Eau-Claire head coach Erik Strand making the jump to join Jim Plumer’s group as an assistant. USCHO also featured Strand and his journey here. There’s also a lot of other pieces rounding up the coaching changes across the Division III level — so be sure to check those out alongside these ones above.