The Vancouver Goldeneyes will pick first overall in the 2026 PWHL entry draft after winning the Gold Plan through a tiebreaker against the Seattle Torrent.
Vancouver collected five points in two games after their elimination from playoff contention on April 18. A win over the Montréal Victoire gave them three points, while an overtime win against Minnesota gave them five.
The Seattle Torrent entered the Gold Plan on April 14 after a loss to the Vancouver Goldeneyes. This left them with three games to accumulate Gold Plan points. They were able to collect five points across the three games. Two overtime losses — one to the Goldeneyes and one to the Victoire — along with one regulation win over the Frost tied the Torrent with Goldeneyes for Gold Plan points at the end of the regular season.
Breaking the Tie
In the event of a tie breaker, the team with the most regulation wins after elimination wins the Gold Plan. The Torrent and Goldeneyes were tied with one regulation win. The second tie breaker is overtime, and shootout wins after elimination. The Goldeneyes won in overtime over the Frost, sealing the tiebreaker for them with a Torrent overtime loss.
According to the PWHL website, the team that finishes first in the Gold Plan will pick first overall. The Gold Plan finishing order usually determines the rest of the draft order. However, if expansion teams are included, the draft order will be determined at a later date. It’s expected that the league will expand, but no announcement has been made at the time of writing. If no expansion teams join the league in the 2026-27 season, the Torrent will pick second, the New York Sirens will pick third, and the Toronto Sceptres will pick fourth.
This is the first time the Gold Plan has come down to multiple teams. The New York Sirens won the Gold Plan in the previous two seasons as the only team to be eliminated prior to the final game of the season.
A date for the PWHL Entry Draft has not yet been set.