Goldeneyes clinch first overall pick in 2026 PWHL Draft

The Vancouver Goldeneyes are on the clock.

Thanks to a huge overtime win over the Minnesota Frost and the Seattle Torrent losing to the Montreal Victoire on Saturday, the Goldeneyes clinched the No. 1 pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft.

It certainly wasn’t the way one of the league’s two expansion teams wanted to wrap up their inaugural campaign, but winning the top pick in the draft is a solid consolation prize for Vancouver. The Goldeneyes, who leapfrogged the New York Sirens to finish sixth in the standings, have a solid group of players under contract through next season. While pending expansion might change the roster outlook, Vancouver is hoping to have the likes of Emerance Maschmeyer, Tereza Vanisova, Hannah Miller, Sophie Jaques and captain Ashton Bell lead the team in the right direction next year.

For the Torrent, it’s a heartbreaking way to end their season. Not only did they finish last in the overall standings, setting a league record for most losses in a single season, but they couldn’t even earn enough draft-order points, even though they had a little head start on Vancouver.

There are a number of players for the Goldeneyes to choose from in the upcoming draft, especially coming out of the collegiate ranks. Wisconsin defender and reigning Patty Kazmaier Award winner Caroline Harvey is coming off a dynamite senior season, capped off with another NCAA Championship. She and fellow Badgers Laila Edwards and Lacey Eden are just a couple of others from Madison who are expected to hear their names called in the first round this summer. University of Minnesota standout Abbey Murphy is expected to be a high pick, as she’s the one true contender to challenge Harvey for the top spot on draft boards.

The Gold Plan was introduced by the PWHL prior to its inaugural season. What it means is, once a team is mathematically unable to qualify for the postseason, it can start earning points in a separate standings – Gold Plan points (or draft-order points). The point system is the same as the rest of the teams, but now the eliminated squad is trying to earn as many points as possible, with the team that gets the most draft points being granted the first overall pick in that year’s PWHL Draft. The Sirens have “won” the No. 1 pick in each of the first two seasons, leading to the team selecting Sarah Fillier and Kristyna Kaltounkova in consecutive years.