NWHL conducts inaugural All-Star Game draft
The NWHL conducted its inaugural All-Star Game draft on Thursday.
The 24 selections were made by All-Star Game captains Hilary Knight of the Boston Pride and Emily Pfalzer of the Buffalo Beauts, and included two players from the New York Riveters, five from the Connecticut Whale, six from the Beauts and 11 from the Pride.
Starting on Friday, fans have the opportunity to vote on NWHL.co to fill the two remaining spots on each roster.
NWHL All-Star weekend will be held from Jan. 23–24 at the HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y. The game, on Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. ET, will include two 20 minute periods of four-on-four, with the winning team receiving 20% of the ticket sales profits to be split equally among its members.
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The weekend will also feature skills competitions involving shooting accuracy, fast skating, trick shots and agility obstacle course events.
The NWHL, originally formed in March, is the first-ever American women’s professional hockey league to pay its players.
Prior to the existence of the NWHL, the only professional option for elite women’s hockey players in North America was the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, which did not compensate its players. The NWHL is paying its players an average salary of $15,000 in its inaugural season.
See the full list, in order of selection, of Thursday’s All-Star Game picks below:
- Kacey Bellamy (Knight)
- Brianna Decker (Pfalzer)
- Kelli Stack (Knight)
- Meghan Duggan (Pfalzer)
- Kaleigh Fratkin (Knight)
- Kelley Steadman (Pfalzer)
- Janine Weber (Knight)
- Nana Fujimoto (Pfalzer)
- Jaimie Leonoff (Knight)
- Megan Bozek (Pfalzer)
- Alyssa Gagliardi (Knight)
- Gigi Marvin (Pfalzer)
- Jordan Smelker (Knight)
- Blake Bolden (Pfalzer)
- Brianne McLaughlin (Knight)
- Brittany Ott (Pfalzer)
- Shelby Bram (Knight)
- Shiann Darkangelo (Pfalzer)
- Amanda Pelkey (Knight)
- Emily Field (Pfalzer)
- Jordan Brickner (Knight)
- Zoe Hickel (Pfalzer)
