At the end of the very first draft of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (LPHF), we can say that Canadian hockey stole the show.

In total, more than half of the players selected in Toronto48 out of 90 (53.5%) come from the land of the maple leaf.

These hockey players represent eight members of Hockey Canada, and 43 have worn Canada’s colors in international competition as part of the national women’s program. These include 9 Olympic gold medalists, 13 Women’s World Championship gold medalists and 9 U18 Women’s World Championship gold medalists.

Ten other Canadians, all Olympic gold medalists, are among the players who signed agreements during the first free agent recruiting period and were therefore not included in the draft-eligible pool. These include Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin, 2022 Olympic MVP Brianne Jenner and standout goalkeeper Ann-Renée Desbiens.

Selected second overall by Toronto, veteran defender Jocelyne Larocque was the first Canadian to hear her name called. Two more players patrolling the blue line followed suit in the first round, namely Ella Shelton (4th). ^e of New York) and Erin Ambrose (6 ^e
from Montreal).

The first 🇨🇦 are off the board #PWHLDraft2023! Here are the first 🇨🇦 players selected in the 2023 LPHF Draft! 🍁 Jocelyne Larocque (2-GOAL) 🍁 @ella_shelton11 (4-NY) 🍁 @ambrose_13 (6-MTL) pic.twitter.com/dFm0NUV2Q6

– Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) September 18, 2023

At least two Canadians were drafted in each of the 15 rounds, including a maximum of five players in the second round. The Toronto team picked the most Canadians with 13 of 25, followed by New York (11), Montreal (9), Boston (7), Ottawa (6) and Minnesota (2).

THE

National U18 Women’s Championship will be presented in November for the first time since 2019, and the players who have taken part in the tournament in the past were in the spotlight during the repechage: 42 drafted Canadian women had represented their province or region in an edition of the event.

DEVELOPED CANADIAN PLAYERS – BY MEMBER

Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (28) – Lexie Adzija, Erin Ambrose, Victoria Bach, Jaime Bourbonnais, Zoe Boyd, Emma Buckles, Michela Cava, Mellissa Channell, Elaine Chuli, Claire Dalton, Kristin Della Rovere, Jessica DiGirolamo, Jessie Eldridge, Loren Gabel , Brittany Howard, Sophie Jaques, Rebecca Leslie, Amanda Leveille, Emma Maltais, Kennedy Marchment, Kristin O’Neill, Jamie Lee Rattray, Ella Shelton, Natalie Spooner, Alexa Vasko, Kayla Vespa, Daryl Watts, Emma Woods

Hockey Quebec (7) – Ann-Sophie Bettez, Gabrielle David, Jade Downie-Landry, Élizabeth Giguère, Alexandra Labelle, Maude Poulin-Labelle, Audrey-Anne Veillette

Hockey Manitoba (5) – Ashton Bell, Kristen Campbell, Jocelyne Larocque, Corinne Schroeder, Kati Tabin

Hockey British Columbia (2) – Olivia Knowles, Hannah Miller

Hockey Nova Scotia (2) – Allie Munroe, Jill Saulnier

Hockey Saskatchewan (2) – Brooke Hobson, Sophie Shirley

Hockey Alberta (1) – Jess Healey

REGISTERED CANADIAN PLAYERS – FROM INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Women’s National Team (19) – Erin Ambrose, Victoria Bach, Ashton Bell, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Jaime Bourbonnais, Kristen Campbell, Jessie Eldridge, Loren Gabel, Élizabeth Giguère, Brittany Howard, Jocelyne Larocque, Rebecca Leslie, Emma Maltais, Kristin O “Neill, Jamie Lee Rattray, Jill Saulnier, Ella Shelton, Sophie Shirley, Natalie Spooner

National Women’s Development Team (41) – Lexie Adzija, Erin Ambrose, Victoria Bach, Ashton Bell, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Jaime Bourbonnais, Zoe Boyd, Emma Buckles, Kristen Campbell, Elaine Chuli, Maggie Connors, Claire Dalton, Gabrielle David, Kristin Della Rovere , Jade Downie-Landry, Jessica DiGirolamo, Jessie Eldridge, Loren Gabel, Jess Healey, Brooke Hobson, Brittany Howard, Sophie Jaques, Olivia Knowles, Alexandra Labelle, Jocelyne Larocque, Rebecca Leslie, Amanda Leveille, Emma Maltais, Hannah Miller, Allie Munroe , Kristin O’Neill, Jamie Lee Rattray, Jill Saulnier, Corinne Schroeder, Ella Shelton, Sophie Shirley, Natalie Spooner, Kati Tabin, Alexa Vasko, Audrey-Anne Veillette, Daryl Watts

Women’s U18 National Team (31) – Lexie Adzija, Erin Ambrose, Victoria Bach, Ashton Bell, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Jaime Bourbonnais, Zoe Boyd, Emma Buckles, Kristen Campbell, Elaine Chuli, Maggie Connors, Claire Dalton, Gabrielle David, Kristin Della Rovere, Jade Downie-Landry, Jessica DiGirolamo, Jessie Eldridge, Loren Gabel, Jess Healey, Brooke Hobson, Brittany Howard, Sophie Jaques, Olivia Knowles, Alexandra Labelle, Jocelyne Larocque, Rebecca Leslie, Amanda Leveille, Emma Maltais, Hannah Miller , Allie Munroe, Kristin O’Neill, Jamie Lee Rattray, Jill Saulnier, Corinne Schroeder, Ella Shelton, Sophie Shirley, Natalie Spooner, Kati Tabin, Alexa Vasko, Audrey-Anne Veillette, Daryl Watts