Detroit selects goaltender with No. 15 pick
PWHL Detroit has a goaltender now.
Detroit selected Swiss star Andrea Brändli with the No. 15 pick in the second round.
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Brändli was named top goaltender at the Olympics while backstopping Switzerland to a bronze medal.
Detroit’s second pick, 22nd overall, was Port Huron’s Casey Borgiel, a defenseman from Colgate.
When asked how long it took to drive to Detroit, Borgiel said just over an hour.
“People in Detroit drive pretty fast,” she said, laughing.
Plymouth’s Kirsten Simms taken eighth overall
It didn’t take long for Plymouth’s Kirsten Simms to be drafted at the Professional Women’s Hockey League Draft at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
Simms was selected eighth overall by the Toronto Sceptres.
“I’m super excited,” Simms said. “Toronto bleeds hockey and I’m excited to play in front of them.”
Vancouver opened the draft by selecting Caroline Harvey, followed by Seattle taking forward Abbey Murphy from the University of Minnesota, and Las Vegas selected forward Tessa Janecke from Penn State.
Olympian Caroline Harvey selected No. 1 overall
Defenseman Caroline Harvey was the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Vancouver Goldeneyes at Wednesday’s PWHL Draft at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
Named MVP with the women’s gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, she tied for the tournament lead in scoring with nine goals and seven assists and a tournament-best, plus-14 rating.
When she crossed the stage, Harvey gave a heartfelt “thank you” to representatives of the Goldeneyes.
“You have no idea until you’re officially here, and this draft class is just so deep and so many phenomenal players,” Harvey said. “Anyone can get picked at any time, and I’m just honored to hear my name called in general. It’s just like a surreal feeling.”
“It’s been a special year. I’m just cherishing the moment with family and friends.”
Murphy applauds Seattle for supporting women’s sports
Abbey Murphy has never been to Seattle, but she knows one thing about the city that drafted her second overall Wednesday: It’s a strong city for women’s sports.
“I’ve heard so many good things, such a welcoming city where women’s sports is prioritized,” said Murphy, a defenseman out of the University of Minnesota. “You don’t get that a lot of places, and I’ve had a lot of people text me in the last couple hours, hoping for this to happen.”
In Seattle, Murphy will reunite with U.S. National Team teammate Alex Carpenter.
“She leads with her actions, which I think is super neat,” Murphy said. “I gotta hopefully get a couple smiles out of her here moving forward.”
Janecke stitches memories of career into her jacket
Tessa Janecke wanted to put her hockey journey on display as she took its biggest step yet getting drafted to the PWHL. So, she stitched the memories of her career into the jacket she wore as Las Vegas drafted her third overall.
The jacket features photos of her parents, her brothers and friends. She displayed her experiences at the Olympics with Team USA. But her favorite was a photo of her senior class at Penn State.
“We all went through a lot together,” Janecke said. “And I think for us to all stay, and no one transfer out, spoke to what Penn State is all about, and just to believe our team had each other. So that was very special.”
That third overall pick originally belonged to PWHL Detroit, but was traded for Hilary Knight.
Buckeyes’ Peschel wants Michigan rivalry on ice
Emma Peschel may be an Ohio State Buckeye, but she was happy to be drafted in Michigan, seventh overall by the New York Sirens.
And even if the defender has other allegiances, she’s on board with the ongoing movement for the University of Michigan to add a team.
“It’d be awesome,” Peschel said. “I think everyone sees the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. All of the M’s are crossed off across campus when that (football) game comes around, and we all know it’s the biggest one of the year, regardless — it’s bigger than the national championship sometimes.
“So, I think to be able to have that rivalry, obviously we have a pretty hot one with Wisconsin, but to add Michigan to that would be so fun.”
Live blog coverage at detroitnews.com
Welcome to The Detroit News’ live coverage of the PWHL Draft at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.
Reporter Connor Earegood and intern Alauna Marable will provide updates and analysis of the Detroit draft picks and photographer Katy Kildee will have photos and video from the six-round draft.
PWHL Detroit traded their first-round draft pick on Tuesday to acquire five-time Olympian HIlary Knight.
Here are the picks Detroit does have after acquiring Boston’s second-round pick (22nd overall) and third-round pick (34th overall) in exchange for forward Ella Huber, and Detroit’s third-round pick (27th overall).
First round draft picks
Detroit’s draft picks
No. 15 (Second round): Andrea Brandli, G, Switzerland
No. 22 (second round): Casey Borgiel, D, Colgate
No. 34 (third round)
No. 39 (fourth round)
No. 51 (fifth round)
No. 63 (sixth round)
How to watch the PWHL Draft
What: 2026 Professional Women’s Hockey League Draft
When: 5 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Fox Theatre, Detroit
Draft format: Event will consist of six rounds with all 12 PWHL teams selecting from a pool of 235 eligible players
First pick: Vancouver Goldeneyes hold the first overall pick. Detroit traded the third-overall pick to Las Vegas in exchange for Hilary Knight.
Tickets: Limited number of tickets remain, starting at $22
TV/radio: WMYD (TV 20). Livestreamed on PWHL website
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: PWHL Draft tracker: Detroit picks Swiss goalie Brändli, Port Huron’s Borgiel
Reporting by The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
