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PWHL Minnesota to host new league’s 2024 entry draft

Apr 27, 2024 | 2:41 PM

TORONTO — The Professional Women’s Hockey League will hold its second draft in Minnesota in June, though an exact date and location have yet to be announced.

The six-team PWHL announced Saturday that its Minnesota club will be the host team of a draft of 42 picks over seven rounds.

The first draft was held Sept. 18, 2023 in Toronto nearly three months before the league’s first game on Jan. 1.

Minnesota selected American forward Taylor Heise with the first overall pick in 2023, in which 90 players were chosen over 15 rounds.

PWHL Toronto made defender Jocelyne Larocque its first pick at No. 2. 

The first pick in 2024 will go to the team that earns the most points from games after its elimination from playoff contention. The non-playoff team with the fewest draft order points gets the second pick in the first round. 

Numbers three through six goes to the playoff teams based on inverse order of the regular-season standings.

Subsequent rounds will be conducted in the same order.

“The PWHL draft is one of the most significant events on the league’s calendar as we officially turn the page into our second season and introduce the next wave of professional women’s hockey talent,” league senior vice-president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press