Caroline Harvey Leads Pwhl Draft Race Ahead of Detroit
Caroline Harvey is projected to go first in the pwhl draft in Detroit on Wednesday, putting the Wisconsin defender at the center of a class that already has five U.S. Olympic teammates in the mix. Vancouver owns the No. 1 pick, but Harvey headlines the Top 10 prospects entering the draft.
Harvey and the No. 1 Pick
John Wroblewski made the clearest case for where Harvey belongs. "The accolades that she’s racked up before she’s even graduated college is unprecedented," he said, and added, "It’s a no-brainer."
That resume is hard to miss. Harvey won a third NCAA title in her senior season at Wisconsin, took college hockey’s MVP honor, then was the Olympic tournament’s MVP while helping the United States win gold at the Milan Cortina Games in February. She had two goals and seven assists in seven Olympic games and tied for the tournament lead with nine points.
Harvey’s Wisconsin Turn
The injury that once slowed her also shaped the player entering this draft. Harvey missed time after a left knee injury early in her sophomore season at Wisconsin, and she was sidelined while rehabbing an injured medial patellofemoral ligament in the fall of 2023.
"It taught me how to have more balance," Harvey said. "I am grateful for it now looking back, and as much as it sucked," she said. "It did teach me a lot about myself that I didn’t know before. And it helped me mature a lot."
That stretch added more than rehab work. Harvey said the recovery pushed her toward yoga, breathing exercises, cooking and thrifting, and the results showed later in her career with consecutive 60-point seasons and a college finish of 54 goals and 201 points in 147 games.
Las Vegas Holds Two Picks
The draft board has real movement behind the top name. Seattle holds the No. 2 pick, the four expansion teams were slotted from pick Nos. 3-6, and Las Vegas has two first-round selections after a sign-and-trade deal that sent Hilary Knight to Detroit.
Las Vegas landed Detroit’s pick at No. 3 and has been awarded the No. 5 selection. The deal becomes official once the PWHL’s trade deadline lifts Tuesday, which leaves the first round with more than one team able to change the top of the board quickly.
For Harvey, the path is simple: she is still the player most likely to hear her name first in Detroit. For the teams behind her, the real pressure starts with how they use the No. 2 slot and the extra first-round capital that Las Vegas has collected.
