The days are long, it’s hot outside, and kids are out of school… it must be PWHL draft season! The Ice Garden will have plenty of coverage from around the NCAA until draft day on June 17, and if you missed it, Emma started us off strong with a look at Hockey East’s top forward prospects.
Of the 40 ECAC Hockey players to declare for the draft, there are 25 forwards, 11 defenders, three goaltenders and a forward/defender. Today, I’ll dive into my top five forwards and a few other names to know. And stay tuned for the rest of TIG’s PWHL draft coverage, including articles on top defenders, goaltenders and underrated players from around the country.
1. Issy Wunder, Princeton | Toronto, Ont.
2025-2026 stats: 34 games, 27 goals, 16 assists
From the program that brought you 2024 first overall pick Sarah Fillier, comes another high-scoring, easily projectable forward in Wunder. But while Fillier and Wunder both finished their Tiger careers with over 145 career points and a long list of accolades, their play styles couldn’t be more different. Where Fillier’s game relies on a mix of speed, positioning and a great shot, Wunder’s relies heavily on her size and net-front scoring to overpower opposing defenders.
This season, Wunder was the most dangerous close-range scorer in ECAC Hockey. While she has solid speed, she won’t blow past defenders like some of the other players in this article. Instead, Wunder uses her 5-foot-11 frame to gain net-front position and shield the puck from stick checks, a deadly combination that allows her to score even when she has defenders draped on her. Add on an elite set of stick moves and dekes, and it becomes obvious why Wunder is widely considered ECAC Hockey’s best forward prospect.
For an example of her overwhelming strength, check out her overtime game-winner against Brown this season (one of her NCAA-leading eight game-winning goals) where she shoves a defender to the ice mid-rush.
Or if you want to see her fancy stick work, take a look at this pretty goal against Harvard from the ECAC quarterfinals.
Bottom line: Wunder is likely to go in the early rounds of the PWHL draft because of her physical play style and finishing abilities, both of which should translate well to the PWHL.
2. Elyssa Biederman, Colgate | Franklin, Mich.
2025-26 stats: 34 games, 27 goals, 16 assists
Biederman’s 183 points rank third all time in the Colgate record book behind Kristýna Kaltounková and Danielle Serdachny. But if you hadn’t heard of Biederman before this season, it’s probably because she spent her first three seasons with the Raiders sharing the spotlight with the pair of future first-round picks. Still, it’s hard to miss Biederman when she’s out on the ice. The 5-foot-1 21-year-old flies around the offensive zone with the puck on her stick, using a combination of speed and agility to avoid defenders.
Where Wunder is known around the ECAC for her physicality and net-front skill, Biederman is known for her ability to skate circles around defenders, all while keeping her head up to find open teammates. Her biggest question mark as a professional will be how her small stature translates to the more physical PWHL, but Biederman’s shifty skating should allow her to avoid contact when she has the puck on her stick. Plus, her high-energy forechecking style yields plenty of easily convertible turnovers.
Bottom line: As an elite passer and scorer, Biederman’s offensive zone possession game could make her a dangerous player for whichever team is willing to overlook her small size.
3. Jordan Ray, Yale | Viera, Fla.
2025-26 stats: 36 games, 17 goals, 33 assists
It doesn’t matter if there’s open ice or a defender in front of her — nobody enters the offensive zone faster than Jordan Ray. Even on — or maybe because of — a high-scoring Yale offense, Ray stood out because of her skating and passing. But where some players with great speed can only channel it to punish opponents on breakaways, Ray uses her speed to dart to openings in the offensive zone, helping open up shooting lanes for both herself and her teammates. After blowing by a defender with a quick first step, she’s just as likely to flick a cross-ice pass to an open teammate as she is to put the puck on net.
Ray posted 25-plus points all four years at Yale, and her 90 assists are the program’s second-highest all time. She doesn’t quite have the individual offensive zone skillset that Wunder or Biederman have to singlehandedly carry a team, but Ray’s ability to use her speed and offensive instincts to help her teammates somewhat makes up for her comparative shortcomings.
Bottom line: Ray combines A-plus speed and consistent smart decision-making. If she’s paired with high-level finishers, her ability to find openings in defenses could make her one of the steals of the PWHL draft.
4. Alexis Petford, Colgate | Balgonie, Sask.
2025-26 stats: 36 games, 18 goals, 15 assists
After Wunder and Biederman, there’s a drop in projectability among the ECAC forward prospects. While Ray’s elite speed helps separate her from the next tier, Avi Adam, Alexis Petford and Carina DiAntonio all have a strong case for slots four and five on this list. To be honest, I went back and forth for a while before eventually deciding on Petford and Adam.
Petford leads this next group of forwards because — like Ray — she has a skill that stands out every time you watch her play: her shot. When Petford gets the puck in or between the circles, or really anywhere in the offensive zone, she is a threat to score. Her 2025-26 shooting percentage of 17.6 ranked fifth among ECAC players who took at least 20 shots, and no player who had a higher percentage scored more than 12 goals.
Because of Petford’s funky collegiate career — spending two years playing in the NEWHA with Stonehill (where she scored the program’s lone NCAA tournament goal) before transferring to a loaded Colgate team for her junior year — it’s difficult to judge her based on her stats. Instead, watch this pair of third period one-timers against Cornell (and future PWHL goaltender Annelies Bergmann) and form your own opinion (0:55 and 2:37 into the video).
Bottom line: Petford’s shot alone should make her a target in this year’s draft, allowing her to simultaneously contribute and continue to develop in the PWHL.
5. Avi Adam, Cornell | Wolfville, N.S.
2025-26 stats: 33 games, 12 goals, 17 assists
While Wunder, Biederman, Ray and Petford all have a specific part of their games that stands out, Avi Adam is on this list for the opposite reason: she does pretty much everything well. Adam was featured on both the Red’s penalty kill and power play units, took her shot from above average to best on the team during her senior season, and plays the 200-foot, physical defense style that Cornell has become known for in recent seasons.
Adam was the player Cornell turned to this season when they needed individual brilliance at crucial moments. She scored in all three of Cornell’s playoff games, including the overtime game-winner against archrival Colgate.
Bottom line: Adam’s not likely to be a high-scoring forward, but her ability to do the little things right and her overall steady presence on the ice mean she should be ready for serious ice time in year one.
Other Names to Know
Look out for another article this week on underrated players from around the conference where I will dive deeper into a few of these names. But for now, here are some other forwards to keep an eye on and their 2025-26 stats.
- Yale’s Carina DiAntonio (26 goals and 32 assists) — a high level scorer and distributor, likely to be selected near Adam, Ray or Petford
- Brown’s Jade Iginla (17 goals and 16 assists) and India McDadi (11 goals and 17 assists) — a pair of scrappy, hardworking goal scorers who are tough to evaluate due to their team’s struggles
- Yale’s Naomi Boucher (6 goals and 21 assists) and Cornell’s Mckenna Van Gelder (10 goals and 13 assists) — elite from the dot, fifth and sixth in the nation in total faceoff wins this season
- Quinnipiac’s Emerson Jarvis (17 goals and 21 assists)
- Clarkson’s Sena Catterall (17 goals and 16 assists)
- Cornell’s Georgia Schiff (12 goals and 16 assists)
