Previous ranking: #10.
2026-27 team: Boston Fleet
Haley Winn had a 2025-26 season to remember, catapulting her into the top three of our rankings. It all started when the 23-year-old Rochester, NY native was drafted second overall by the Boston Fleet in the 2025 PWHL Entry Draft.
“Haley is a complete player,” Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer said in a press conference immediately following the 2025 draft. “ … It’s great for Megan Keller, gonna be able to take a load off of her a little bit. [Winn] can do absolutely everything and anything you need. When we think about who’s gonna score goals for us? Haley Winn can be an answer. Who’s gonna defend against Poulin? Haley Winn’s the answer. Who’s gonna run our power play? Haley Winn’s the answer. So, she’s someone who can do so much for us. She’s just such a smart hockey player, makes such good decisions and plays at the highest level and knows how to compete at this level.”
Marmer then reinforced her belief in Winn when she inked her to a three-year contract in August 2025. Naturally, that meant Winn came into the PWHL with sky-high expectations. She took it in stride, though, and quickly looked at home. Her seamless transition set the stage for her arguably exceeding those lofty expectations.
As Marmer said, Winn is an outstanding skater and two-way defender who can and does play in all situations. That earned her a lot of hardware in the PWHL alone this season. In her rookie season, Winn led all skaters in time on ice (802:42, 26:45 ATOI), narrowly ahead of teammate and frequent defense partner Megan Keller. Her 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) were tied for second in rookie scoring and for first among rookie defenders. They also tied for third in scoring among all defenders, behind only Keller and Vancouver’s Sophie Jaques. All of this led to her winning the 2025 PWHL Rookie of the Year award, and she was a finalist for Defender of the Year. Winn also earned a spot on the All-Rookie and second All-Star teams.
However, Winn’s excellence also extended beyond the PWHL this season. She went to her first Olympics with Team USA after representing them at the previous three world championships. There, Winn contributed one goal and three assists while finishing fourth in team TOI (133:52, 19:07 ATOI) en route to a gold medal. She will undoubtedly be back with them at this year’s world championships in November.
All told, Winn has already proven herself one of the best defenders in the world. At just 23 years old, she should only get better from here, and the Fleet evidently agree. For starters, Boston used one of their three initial protections on Winn during the expansion process. That meant they exposed and ultimately lost their star forward and alternate captain, Alina Müller. In addition, Winn inked a one-year contract extension on her birthday, July 14, this year — adding to the two years already remaining on her original contract and keeping her in Boston through the 2028-29 season.
Winn will again play heavy minutes in all situations for Boston this season, and there’s no doubt she’ll handle them just as well at both ends of the ice. It’ll be a tall task to sneak ahead of either of the next two players in our rankings, but look for Winn to be right back here again next year following a stellar sophomore season, potentially with more hardware.
