August 2026 | PWHL Fantasy Analysis – Finland’s Finest Is Coming to Hamilton
There are rookies who arrive in a league hoping to find their footing…and then there are rookies who arrive having already won an Olympic medal, captained a powerhouse NCAA program, and been named the best defender in their home country three times over. Nelli Laitinen belongs firmly in the second category — and PWHL Hamilton, selecting her sixth overall as the franchise’s very first draft pick, knows exactly what it has.
For fantasy managers, the message is equally clear. Add her now.
The Resume Demands Respect
Laitinen’s path to Hamilton is one of the more decorated in the 2026 draft class. The 24-year-old Finn spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota, finishing with 94 points in 145 games, including a career-high 30-point senior season in which she was named All-WCHA Second Team and served as a two-time program captain. Before Minnesota, she dominated the Auroraliiga, Finland’s top women’s league, earning Best Defender honours three times and four All-Star selections while winning three Aurora Borealis Cup championships.
On the international stage, she appeared at two Olympic Winter Games, helping Finland claim bronze at the 2022 Beijing Games, and has collected four medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. She was also an alternate captain for Finland at the 2026 Games in Milan. This is not a prospect still finding herself. She is a proven, two-way defender with elite credentials and a game built for professional hockey.
The Hamilton Opportunity
Laitinen arrives at an expansion franchise that needs her to do exactly what she has done everywhere else…lead. She steps onto a Hamilton blue line that also features 2026 Rookie of the Year nominee Nicole Gosling, giving the expansion squad legitimate defensive credibility from day one. Head coach Cammi Granato, a finalist for the 2026 PWHL Coach of the Year award, ran one of the league’s most improved systems in Boston last season and gives Laitinen an excellent developmental environment to grow into her PWHL role.
A projection of 6 goals and 17 assists in 30 games is well within reach. Her career-high offensive output came in her final NCAA season — 30 points in 33 games — and she has spoken openly about her offensive game continuing to develop. In a featured blue-line role with power-play time on an expansion team built around her, the fantasy upside is real and the floor is sturdy.
The Fantasy Verdict
Laitinen is the rare rookie who arrives with genuine two-way credentials, proven leadership, and a role that puts her in position to produce from day one. She is Hamilton’s first-ever draft pick for a reason. She is the kind of player franchises build around. At the PWHL fantasy draft table, she will be available later than she should be simply because she is a rookie and a defender. Both of those factors make her a value.
The medal collection is real. The ice time is coming. Get her on your roster.
— The Add List +