Top PWHL prospects in the Olympics

The first round of women’s hockey at the Olympics started last Tuesday, and plenty of young talent has been on display on the ice.

With Canada opting to roster only current PWHL players, all eyes have been on the undrafted players from the United States, Japan, and the European teams in the pools.

Still, plenty of European players are unsure about the benefits of joining the young league when they could play professional hockey at home for years. This makes the prospect pool even more limited, with mostly Americans and international players who chose to play in the NCAA.

Caroline Harvey - USA/University of Wisconsin

Harvey highlights a strong young core for the United States as the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 PWHL draft.

The 23-year-old already has two best defenseman accolades from the 2023 and 2025 World Championships. This will be her second Olympics after she made the 2022 Beijing roster at just 19 years old.

Harvey has been ready for the PWHL for years, and whichever team gets her will get a fully developed defender who has already been primed to lead the United States women’s national team for the foreseeable future.

Laila Edwards - USA/University of Wisconsin

In 2024, when Edwards was named the tournament MVP at the world championships, becoming the youngest player to ever do so at 20, it became clear that she was here to stay.

Since then, she has led the University of Wisconsin hockey team alongside Team USA teammate Caroline Harvey to a third consecutive national championship game.

Standing at 6-foot-1, Edwards plays an aggressive style and uses her size to her advantage. As the PWHL becomes more physical, teams will want a player like Edwards.

Edwards is projected to go second in the 2026 draft as the top forward.

Abbey Murphy - USA/University of Minnesota

Very rarely do women’s hockey highlights go viral, but Murphy had a clip that made the rounds. The move that could only be described as a puck dribble through the legs of her opponent into a one-handed dish to her teammate that resulted in a goal was described as the greatest assist of all time by longtime ESPN hockey commentator John Buccigross.

Murphy will enter her second Olympic Games after being one of two teenagers chosen to go to Beijing alongside Caroline Harvey. She is projected to be selected third in the draft.

Nelli Laitinen - Finland/University of Minnesota

Laitinen has been playing for the Finnish senior national team for seven years and will be competing in her second Olympics after helping her team to a bronze medal in 2022.

The defenseman has played for the University of Minnesota over the past several years and intends to declare for the PWHL draft upon graduation.

Laitinen’s two-way defense style and years of experience at the highest level of women’s hockey make her an incredibly attractive prospect to teams looking to stabilize their defense.

Laitinen will also be part of the growing group of European players opting into the PWHL instead of European leagues.

Viivi Vainikka - Finland/Brynäs IF

Vainikka is one of the few young European players who seem headed to the PWHL next season after not playing collegiate hockey. She has years of experience with the Finnish senior national team and has played professional hockey since she was 14.

Vainikka is valued for her playmaking ability and has been compared to Mitch Marner, a high honor for the young Finnish left winger.

This will be her second Olympics as Finland looks to disrupt the long-standing back-and-forth of silver and gold between the United States and Canada.

Vainikka is not as high on most draft boards because of her lack of NCAA experience, but she is still expected to be a first-round pick.

Josefin Bouveng - Sweden/University of Minnesota

Like most talented international hockey players who have caught the eye of PWHL scouts, Bouveng will be playing in her second Olympics.

The Swedish center intended to play for Princeton. Still, after the pandemic disrupted those plans, she returned home and played professional hockey for a year before joining the University of Minnesota hockey team.

Bouveng thrives when she has control of the game with her elite puck control; she doesn’t need to use physicality and instead opts to slow the pace of the game down.

Her professional and NCAA experience will be assets to whichever PWHL team she ends up on following the 2026 draft.

Andrea Brändli - Switzerland/MoDo Hockey

At 28, Brändli is hardly going to be a rookie entering the PWHL. The Swiss goaltender played in the United States for Ohio State from 2018 to 2022, then transferred to Boston University for her final year of collegiate eligibility.

Since then, she has played for four years in Europe, waiting to see how the PWHL's debut unfolded. Now that the league has established itself more, Brändli intends to declare for the draft following the Olympics.

With her skill and experience, she is expected to be a top target for teams that have struggled in goal.

Gwen Evans is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email gme5218@psu.edu.