2025 PWHL Entry Draft Recap: Vancouver

The 2025 PWHL Entry Draft is over, and PWHL Vancouver welcomed five new draft picks and one new veteran to their organization.

Prior to the draft, we did our own mock draft and broke down what Vancouver should be looking for when it comes to their draft picks.

Now, with the picks in, here’s how it all shook out:

Round 1 (7th): Michelle Karvinen, Forward, Frölunda HC (SDHL)

Karvinen is an interesting choice for the first pick. At 35 years old, Karvinen was the oldest player entering the draft. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, if you could take a player of the same vintage as Knight and Poulin and have them show up right away for your organization, wouldn’t you do it?

Karvinen is fresh off an SDHL championship with Frölunda HC and is a four-time Olympian. That is a level of experience you just can’t get with someone fresh out of college. This season in the SDHL, she was a point-per-game player, and at the World Championships, she surpassed other Finnish greats to become Finland’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament.

We have seen some European players struggle in their first season in the PWHL, whether due to the lack of space or the physicality. But, the SDHL has been allowing bodychecking for the last couple of years, so Karvinen shouldn’t feel too much of that impact.

It’s clear that teams are building for now, rather than later, especially as players with expiring contracts are only signing one or two-year deals. If Vancouver can get the best out of Karvinen in the last few years of her career, then this pick was a great selection.

Round 2: TRADE

In Round 2, Vancouver and Toronto made a move that decimated my mock draft and draft predictions.

Jokes aside, the Sceptres sent Kristen Campbell and their third-round pick (19th overall) to PWHL Vancouver. The return was Vancouver’s second-round pick (16th overall) and third-round pick (23rd overall).

Although she had a rough season last year that included being left off the Rivalry Series roster, Campbell is a very strong goaltender. She won Goaltender of the Year in her first season with the PWHL and has played more games in the league than anyone else. However, it was clear that Toronto was looking to change things up, bringing in Elaine Chuli through free agency.

Overall, I think this is a great trade for PWHL Vancouver, especially if they are looking to win in their first season. While there were some strong goaltenders in the draft, no one in the draft is at the level that Campbell is. Not only does she already have experience in the PWHL, but she has been a starter for a team that made the playoffs in both seasons.

Campbell and Maschmeyer have been teammates on Team Canada for many years, and as a one-two punch, I would be very scared if I were any other team in the league.

We’ll just ignore what’s going to happen when Maschmeyer and Campbell can’t play at their prime anymore.

Round 3 (19th): Nina Jobst-Smith, Defender, University of Minnesota Duluth

While I had Dayle Ross as my defense pick for Vancouver, Jobst-Smith is a similar player at a higher caliber (I didn’t expect her to still be on the board at this point).

Coming from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Jobst-Smith and the Bulldogs reached the NCAA tournament for five straight years with her on the blue line. Like Ross, she is a strong shot blocker, which will help take some work off the goaltenders. On top of that, she tallied 18 points in her final season in the NCAA.

Jobst-Smith also has international experience, which can be a huge help for players in their first season in the PWHL. She dressed for Team Germany at both the World Championships, where she’ll have faced many of the players she’ll play against this season, and in the Olympic qualifiers.

On top of that, Josbt-Smith grew up in North Vancouver, so this is a great full-circle moment.

Round 4 (32nd): Brianna Brooks, Forward, Penn State University

Brooks is a bit of an outlier in this draft. I didn’t see her on any pre-draft prospect lists, and she played in one of the lesser-known conferences, the AHA, for her two years at Penn State.

While at Penn State, Brooks won two straight AHA championships. Before attending Penn State, she played three years at the University of New Hampshire in Hockey East. She ended her collegiate career with 109 points.

Her coach at Penn State called her “Big Game Bri” and said she played her best hockey in the big moments. With four game-winning goals in her last season, that makes a lot of sense.

If her faceoff prowess is still super strong, she could find herself in the lineup this season. I’m interested to see how things will go at training camp.

Round 5 (39th): Madison Samoskevich, Defender, Quinnipiac University

Samoskevich is an interesting player because she’s played both forward and defense in her time at Quinnipiac.

In her first four NCAA seasons, Samoskevich was an offensive defender who could also block shots and finished her third and fourth seasons +18.

For her fifth season, Samoskevich moved up to forward and had her best offensive season, totaling 22 points in 28 games.

As for which role she’ll play in Vancouver, Vancouver GM Cara Gardiner Morey, who coached with Samoskevich’s older sister at Princeton, said, “I think that’s what makes her a great late pick is, maybe you need a forward, she can play that role really well, she’s an excellent centre… she also was a D for three years so I think it’s just a great versatile player.” Though she did say she sees her starting the season as a forward, depending on injuries.

Round 6 (48th): Chanreet Bassi, Forward, University of British Columbia

Vancouver selected the only player from USports in the entire draft class when they chose Chanreet Bassi as their last pick. She is also the first South Asian player ever drafted in the PWHL!

Bassi played her entire university career at UBC, one of the strongest USports programs in the country. She leaves the program as the all-time points leader with 116 points. During her time with the team, the Thunderbirds reached the USports National Championships four straight times.

“She’s someone we think has a chance to like, make the lineup somewhere,” Gardiner Morey said, “We tried to bring in some local players because it’s fun to play in front of your friends and family.”

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think Vancouver comes out of this draft even more ready to make a huge impact on the league next season.

While I am slightly worried about some of these pieces not being long-term, rebuilding pieces like some of the teams, especially New York, focused on, I think with the team they’ve got right now, these are the pieces that they need to have the best shot at winning a championship in their first couple of years.

And while the team takes advantage of these players, they can continue to draft and sign players so that when the big names retire or leave, they’ll have that foundation to build off of.

The league will now go on a signing freeze until July 8, and then we’ll start getting into training camp invites! It’s been an exciting off-season so far for the league’s newest team!