The 2026-27 PWHL season is going to look very different.
With the league expanding from eight teams to 12, there are more players, more fantasy opportunities and a much larger group of young players entering the league. The 2026 PWHL Draft added 72 players, including several prospects who could immediately become fantasy-relevant. That makes preseason rankings particularly interesting.
At this point, we’re combining 2025-26 production, career track record, projected role, opportunity, offseason movement and rookie upside to create our first version of the 2026-27 PWHL Fantasy Top 100. These rankings will change.
Training camps don’t open until November 18, and that’s when we’ll start getting much better information on line combinations, power-play units, defensive pairings and goaltending situations.
For now, this is our early look at the 100 players we want on our fantasy radar.
Tier 1 — Fantasy Elite
1. Kelly Pannek — F — Minnesota Frost
2. Taylor Heise — F — Minnesota Frost
3. Marie-Philip Poulin — F — Montréal Victoire
4. Brianne Jenner — F — Hamilton
5. Aerin Frankel — G — Boston Fleet
6. Laura Stacey — F — Montréal Victoire
7. Sarah Fillier — F — New York Sirens
8. Britta Curl-Salemme — F — Detroit
9. Kendall Coyne Schofield — F — Minnesota Frost
10. Daryl Watts — F — Detroit
11. Alex Carpenter — F — Seattle
12. Rebecca Leslie — F — Ottawa Charge
Kelly Pannek enters the season as the defending scoring leader after producing 33 points in 30 games in 2025-26. Taylor Heise finished second with 30 points, while Pannek also led the league in goals. The PWHL’s 2025-26 First All-Star Team included Pannek, Heise, Brianne Jenner, Megan Keller, Sophie Jaques and Aerin Frankel.
Tier 2 — High-End Core
13. Megan Keller — D — Boston Fleet
14. Julia Gosling — F — Seattle
15. Hannah Miller — F — Vancouver Goldeneyes
16. Sarah Nurse — F — Vancouver Goldeneyes
17. Jessie Eldridge — F — Montréal Victoire
18. Alina Müller — F — Hamilton
19. Grace Zumwinkle — F — Minnesota Frost
20. Casey O’Brien — F — New York Sirens
21. Kristýna Kaltounková — F — New York Sirens
22. Abby Roque — F — Montréal Victoire
23. Ann-Renée Desbiens — G — Montréal Victoire
24. Sophie Jaques — D — Vancouver Goldeneyes
25. Renata Fast — D — Toronto Sceptres
Casey O’Brien and Kristýna Kaltounková both made the 2025-26 All-Rookie Team, while Megan Keller and Sophie Jaques were named to the First All-Star Team.
Tier 3 — Strong Fantasy Starters
26. Nicole Gosling — D — Hamilton
27. Haley Winn — D — Boston Fleet
28. Ella Shelton — D — Toronto Sceptres
29. Erin Ambrose — D — Las Vegas
30. Gabbie Hughes — F — Ottawa Charge
31. Hannah Bilka — F — Detroit
32. Jesse Compher — F — Detroit
33. Emma Maltais — F — Montréal Victoire
34. Tereza Vanišová — F — Vancouver Goldeneyes
35. Gwyneth Philips — G — Ottawa Charge
36. Natalie Spooner — F — Toronto Sceptres
37. Claire Thompson — D — Vancouver Goldeneyes
38. Kendall Cooper — D — Minnesota Frost
39. Maja Nylén-Persson — D — New York Sirens
40. Micah Zandee-Hart — D — New York Sirens
Nicole Gosling and Haley Winn both had 19-point rookie seasons and were named to the 2025-26 All-Rookie Team. Their offensive upside makes both players particularly interesting from the blue line.
Tier 4 — Breakout & Upside Targets
41. Caroline Harvey — D — Vancouver Goldeneyes
42. Cayla Barnes — D — Detroit
43. Lee Stecklein — D — Minnesota Frost
44. Emily Clark — F — Hamilton
45. Michelle Karvinen — F — Montréal Victoire
46. Hayley Scamurra — F — Las Vegas
47. Katerina Mrázová — F — Ottawa Charge
48. Susanna Tapani — F — Boston Fleet
49. Abby Newhook — F — Boston Fleet
50. Fanuza Kadirova — F — Ottawa Charge
51. Viivi Vainikka — F — Minnesota Frost
52. Taylor Girard — F — Detroit
53. Akane Shiga — F — Detroit
54. Natálie Mlýnková — F — San Jose
55. Kristin O’Neill — F — San Jose
56. Maddi Wheeler — F — San Jose
57. Sloane Matthews — F — San Jose
58. Tessa Janecke — F — Las Vegas
59. Lacey Eden — F — Las Vegas
60. Abbey Murphy — F — Seattle
Caroline Harvey — The Big Rookie Wild Card
Harvey deserves special attention even though she’s a rookie. Vancouver selected her first overall in the 2026 PWHL Draft after she finished her Wisconsin career with 201 points in 147 games. She won the Patty Kazmaier Award, three NCAA championships and Olympic gold with Team USA, where she was also named tournament MVP. She became the first defender ever selected first overall in a PWHL Entry Draft.
The Add List Take: Harvey is one of the rookies we’re most interested in watching during training camp. Her offensive résumé is exceptional for a defender, and Vancouver has every reason to give its first overall pick a major role. If she earns first-unit power-play duties, her fantasy value could climb quickly.
Tier 5 — Rookies With Real Fantasy Potential
61. Laila Edwards — D — San Jose
62. Nelli Laitinen — D — Hamilton
63. Kirsten Simms — F — Toronto Sceptres
64. Emma Peschel — D — New York Sirens
65. Sydney Morrow — D — Seattle
66. Josefin Bouveng — F — Las Vegas
67. Issy Wunder — F — Las Vegas
68. Jordan Ray — F — Ottawa Charge
69. Elisa Holopainen — F — New York Sirens
70. Jade Iginla — F — Hamilton
71. Vivian Jungels — D — Ottawa Charge
72. Elyssa Biederman — F — Hamilton
73. Kyla Josifovic — F — Detroit
74. Grace Dwyer — D — Boston Fleet
75. Sara Swiderski — D — Minnesota Frost
The rookie class is one of the most interesting parts of these early rankings. Harvey went first overall, Abbey Murphy second, Tessa Janecke third, Laila Edwards fourth, Lacey Eden fifth and Nelli Laitinen sixth. Kirsten Simms went eighth overall, while Petra Nieminen was the 12th pick.
Laila Edwards is particularly intriguing after signing a three-year contract with San Jose. She finished her Wisconsin career with 199 points in 151 games and had 45 points in 28 games during her final collegiate season.
Tier 6 — Goaltenders & Fantasy Depth
76. Andrea Brändli — G — Detroit
77. Corinne Schroeder — G — San Jose
78. Emerance Maschmeyer — G — Vancouver Goldeneyes
79. Maddie Rooney — G — Minnesota Frost
80. Kayle Osborne — G — Hamilton
81. Nicole Hensley — G — Las Vegas
82. Tia Chan — G — San Jose
83. Katelyn DeSa — G — Vancouver Goldeneyes
84. Raygan Kirk — G — Toronto Sceptres
85. Hannah Murphy — G — Seattle
86. Hailey MacLeod — G — Montréal Victoire
87. Grace Campbell — G — Toronto Sceptres
88. Abby Levy — G — San Jose
89. Izzy Daniel — F — Vancouver Goldeneyes
90. Mannon McMahon — F — Vancouver Goldeneyes
Goaltending remains one of the biggest question marks in these early rankings. Expansion has created several new situations, including Andrea Brändli in Detroit and Tia Chan in San Jose, while Vancouver added Katelyn DeSa to a group that includes established goaltenders Emerance Maschmeyer and Kristen Campbell.
Tier 7 — Deep-League Targets
91. Jenn Gardiner — F — Vancouver Goldeneyes
92. Abby Boreen — F — Las Vegas
93. Emma Gentry — F — Toronto Sceptres
94. Kiara Zanon — F — Toronto Sceptres
95. Jamie Nelson — F — Toronto Sceptres
96. Peyton Hemp — F — Hamilton
97. Mckenna Van Gelder — F — San Jose
98. Lily Shannon — F — San Jose
99. Carina DiAntonio — F — New York Sirens
100. Thea Johansson — F — Vancouver Goldeneyes
The Add List Early-Season Fantasy Outlook
These rankings are a starting point, not the finished product.
That’s especially important in the PWHL this season because we’re dealing with four expansion teams, a 72-player draft class and a number of young players who could immediately move into important roles.
The biggest names to watch during training camp will be the rookies and young players who can force their way onto top lines and power-play units.
Caroline Harvey, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, Laila Edwards, Lacey Eden, Nelli Laitinen and Kirsten Simms are obvious names to watch, but there are plenty of players outside the first round who could emerge as fantasy options once we see how coaches deploy their new rosters, and that’s why these rankings will evolve.
Once training camps open on November 18, we’ll have much better information on line combinations, power-play units, defensive pairings and goaltending battles. Every piece of that information will help us tighten the rankings and identify the players whose fantasy stock is moving. For now, this is The Add List’s first look at the 2026-27 PWHL fantasy landscape. The expansion has created more opportunity than we’ve ever had in the league.
Now it’s our job to find it.
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