Minnesota Frost Load Up Each Position at 2026 PWHL Entry Draft

The 2026 PWHL Entry Draft took place in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday night, June 17, and all 12 teams made their selections over six rounds. 72 players were selected out of 235 players, and Caroline Harvey went first overall to the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The Minnesota Frost’s picks were 9th, 21st, 33rd, 45th, 57th, and 69th, and they made some solid picks. 

They had quite a few voids in their lineup after the expansion process started, and they looked to fill those holes with the draft. They covered all of their bases with three forwards, two defenders, and a goaltender. In this article, we’ll take a look at each pick and see how they’ll help the Frost with their quest for a third Walter Cup, starting with the first two rounds. 

Frost’s Top Needs Addressed

The Frost didn’t have the first or second overall pick, but they still picked in the top ten with the ninth overall selection, and they used it on defender Sara Swiderski from The Ohio State University, where she spent the last two seasons of her college career, while the first two were at Clarkson University. She hails from Canada, and she’ll be looking to use her defensive talents on the Frost’s blue line. 

Her final season at The Ohio State was quite impressive; she played in 33 games, scored eight goals, and assisted on 19 others for 27 points. The Frost lost some offensive-minded defenders, but hopefully, they gained one back in drafting Swiderski. 

“Yeah, I think there’s a lot to be excited about. I mean I got here less than 24 hours ago, but from the minute I got here like the setup they have is absolutely incredible, even meeting the staff and messaging with some of the other girls, having Kelly (Pannek) at the draft, like their culture is just incredible so I’m really excited to be a part of that and bring whatever I can to it,” said Swiderski to the media in her first availability as a member of the Frost when asked about what she’s the most excited for. 

In the second round, the Frost moved to forwards, and with their 21st overall selection, they chose Vivii Vainikka. They went overseas for their second round as Vainikka is from Espoo, Finland. However, she’ll be joining the Frost after playing for Brynäs IF in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL).

She can score goals and assist on them, as she played in 36 games and had 11 goals plus 29 assists for 40 points. One of the Frost’s struggles in the postseason was outsourcing their opponent, and now that they’ve added Vainikka, they’ll have some more scoring power up front that they need and someone who could play with Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle.

Frost Address Depth Needs

While their top two picks will get the most attention, the players they picked in the third and fourth rounds are quite talented as well. First up was Minnesota native Madelyn Christian, a forward from Penn State University. She was there for four seasons and was an associate captain in her final season when she played in 39 games and tallied 35 points, 19 of which were goals. 

As stated above, the Frost needed more goals in the postseason, and although they had players who could score them, they struggled to do so. Having more players who can score goals at different times will be very valuable, especially if it takes some of the pressure off the main scorers. 

While they added scorers, they didn’t forget about their defense either, as their pick in the fourth round was a defender in Tova Henderson. Another player with a connection to Minnesota, but this was through college hockey, as she played for the University of Minnesota Duluth. Although the Frost added a defender, she’s got an offensive side as well. They clearly knew they needed more scoring, even on the defensive side, but hopefully she’s just as good at defending as she is at putting up points. 

Frost’s Final Decisions

The last two players were both defensive and offensive as they added a goaltender in the fifth round, and a forward was their final pick. After Nicole Hensley signed with PWHL Las Vegas, the Frost knew they had to find another goaltender to help Maddie Rooney. That’s why they picked Daria Gredzen a goaltender from Novosibirsk, Russia who was playing for Biryusa Krasnoyarsk. 

Last season, she played in 30 games and had a solid save percentage of .928 and a decent goals against average of 2.22. With Hensley off to a new team, Rooney will have the starting gig, but Gredzen could be a good backup if they don’t sign a third goaltender. There was one more pick after Gredzen, and the Frost went back to the offense. 

For their sixth round, final pick of the draft, they went with forward Lara Beecher, from Buffalo, New York. She spent the first three seasons of her college career at the University of Vermont, where she put up okay numbers, but when she made the jump to Clarkson University for her final season, she set career highs across the board. 

In that final season, she played in 35 games and scored 12 goals, plus assisted on 13 others for 25 points. She’s a player who’ll likely end up on the third or fourth line, but can add some points to a team that again needs all the points they can get from everyone in their lineup. 

The Frost clearly wanted to add in every position they could with young, up-and-coming talent, and they did just that. They also went after players who can put up points in every position but the goaltender. It’ll be interesting to see how these players fit into the Frost going forward, but hopefully they can help them secure another Walter Cup. 

Stats courtesy of Eliteprospects.com