It’s been a little over a week since the PWHL’s second-ever draft took place. Things have started to settle down for PWHL Minnesota after the news of Natalie Darwitz’s departure and some of their draft decisions. With the draft over, teams have until June 21st to sign any of their players on one-year contracts, or they become free agents.
While PWHL Minnesota has decisions to make, they also have spaces to fill with a couple of recent retirements. Those spaces can be filled by their recent draftees, but there will still be players without spots. In this article, we’ll take a look at what spots they can fill, where they may have missed in the draft, and who they need to sign. We’ll start with the open spots they can fill right away.
PWHL Minnesota Has Openings
A little over a week after PWHL Minnesota brought home the Walter Cup, forward Brittyn Fleming announced on her Instagram that she was retiring. Then the draft came and went, and on Monday, June 17th, Sophia Kunin also took to social media to announce she was moving on from hockey. Both players are going out on high points in their careers, and they leave big openings on the roster.
Both of these positions were for forwards, so PWHL Minnesota’s recent first-round pick, Claire Thompson, won’t fill those spots as she’s a defenseman. That leaves Curl, Klára Hymlárová, Brooke McQuigge, Dominique Petrie, and Katy Knoll. Any of these players can slide into those spots, but they’ll need to make sure they fit in with their respective linemates.
They’ll likely go for Curl and Hymlárová if they don’t sign any other players before the season starts. They were the two highest forwards picked for PWHL Minnesota in the draft, and it would make sense they’d want to see them in action.
PWHL Minnesota Missed Chances
In the first PWHL draft, PWHL Minnesota had the first overall selection and selected Minnesota native Taylor Heise. They went on to pick six other Minnesota natives for a total of seven, and two of them went on to be star rookies in the PWHL. Aside from the draft, PWHL Minnesota had 12 Minnesotans on it, including one of their goaltenders, Maddie Rooney, who led them to postseason victory.
However, after the departure of Minnesota native Darwitz, PWHL Minnesota head coach Ken Klee and his staff elected not to select any Minnesota natives during this draft. While they aren’t obligated to select any players from any specific place, the draft was held in Minnesota, where they represent that state as a team, and they just won the championship, yet they didn’t select any hometown players. Again, if none of the Minnesota natives fit into their parameters, that’s fine, but it was a little shocking, being Minnesota is the State of Hockey, and there were 11 Minnesotans they could’ve chosen.
They also missed the chance to take Abby Boreen, who played for them all season. She could only play in 10-day increments at the time but showed great potential in those times and stepped up even more in the postseason. She scored goals, threw her body around, and made a difference when it mattered, but they didn’t draft her. They knew exactly what they would get with her but elected to see if they could get her in later rounds rather than snatching her in the second or third. It’ll be interesting to see how she does on a different team and if PWHL Minnesota can get her back at any point.
PWHL Minnesota Free Agents
According to The Rink Live, PWHL Minnesota has 15 free agents, but as of June 18th, that list was down to 11. Two retired, one was traded a while back, and Abby Boreen was drafted by a different team. Of the remaining free agents, Michela Cava, Liz Schepers, and Claire Butorac should be at the top of the list. Those three players, especially Cava, were difference-makers throughout the season and the postseason.
Before she left, Darwitz said in their end-of-season media availability that Cava had earned a contract extension for her postseason performance. She was a crucial part of their top line, and since both Taylor Heise and Kendall Coyne Schofield will be returning, having Cava back can reunite their line and, hopefully, its success.
Related: PWHL Minnesota Left with Decisions to Make After GM Darwitz’s Departure
As for the rest of the free agents, PWHL Minnesota needs to decide who still fits in well with the team and who will need to move on. If they intend to bring in their other draftees, they must make some cuts to prepare for next season.
PWHL Minnesota Has Expectations
Now that PWHL Minnesota has won the first-ever Walter Cup, there will be expectations on their shoulders to defend it next season. The team will be different, and everyone expected it would be due to retirements, trades, etc., but if they can keep as many players as possible, the better chance they have at a repeat.
After all the recent changes, seeing how they handle their free agents and draftees will be interesting. Free agency is just days away, so everyone will soon find out who stays and who goes.
