The inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League draft is set to take place on Sept. 18 and the league has officially revealed how the event will transpire.
Taking place at the CBC headquarters in Toronto, the draft will be live-streamed beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT, complete with live analysis and player interviews for the first four rounds.
The draft will follow a snake format after the first round, wherein each subsequent round will unfold in reverse order. For instance, PWHL Minnesota, which holds the first-overall pick, will then choose last in Round 2.
The order of the first round was chosen by lottery.
While the opening of free agency on Sept. 1 saw signings of big-name national team players such as Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse, the draft opens opportunities for NCAA and U Sports players to join the pro league and 161 additional players that competed last season in the PHF and PWHPA.
Prospects to watch ahead of the draft include Taylor Heise, who won tournament MVP during the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship with Team USA, Sweden's Emma Soderberg and American Jesse Compher.
The complete list of players eligible for the draft was also released on Wednesday.
The full draft order:
Round 1: 1. Minnesota, 2. Toronto, 3. Boston, 4. New York, 5. Ottawa, 6. Montreal.
Round 2: 7. Montreal, 8. Ottawa, 9. New York, 10. Boston, 11. Toronto, 12. Minnesota.
Round 3: 13. Minnesota, 14. Toronto, 15. Boston, 16. New York, 17. Ottawa, 18. Montreal.
Round 4: 19. Montreal, 20. Ottawa, 21. New York, 22. Boston, 23. Toronto, 24. Minnesota.
Round 5: 25. Minnesota, 26. Toronto, 27. Boston, 28. New York, 29. Ottawa, 30. Montreal.
Round 6: 31. Montreal, 32. Ottawa, 33. New York, 34. Boston, 35. Toronto, 36. Minnesota.
Round 7: 37. Minnesota, 38. Toronto, 39. Boston, 40. New York, 41. Ottawa, 42. Montreal.
Round 8: 43. Montreal, 44. Ottawa, 45. New York, 46. Boston, 47. Toronto, 48. Minnesota.
Round 9: 49. Minnesota, 50. Toronto, 51. Boston, 52. New York, 53. Ottawa, 54. Montreal.
Round 10: 55. Montreal, 56. Ottawa, 57. New York, 58. Boston, 59. Toronto, 60. Minnesota.
Round 11: 61. Minnesota, 62. Toronto, 63. Boston, 64. New York, 65. Ottawa, 66. Montreal.
Round 12: 67. Montreal, 68. Ottawa, 69. New York, 70. Boston, 71. Toronto, 72. Minnesota.
Round 13: 73. Minnesota, 74. Toronto, 75. Boston, 76. New York, 77. Ottawa, 78. Montreal.
Round 14: 79. Montreal, 80. Ottawa, 81. New York, 82. Boston, 83. Toronto, 84. Minnesota.
Round 15: 85. Minnesota, 86. Toronto, 87. Boston, 88. New York, 89. Ottawa, 90. Montreal.
At the end of the draft, each team will have 18 players, which include three free agency signings and 15 draft picks.
All undrafted players automatically become free agents following the draft and can sign a standard player agreement with any team.
Training camp rosters, which each must have a minimum of 28 players, will be fleshed out through this second free agency period and via negotiated tryouts.
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