The New York Sirens have selected Colgate University forward Kristýna Kaltounková with the first pick in the 2025 PWHL draft on Tuesday, adding a power forward with a penchant for scoring goals.
Kaltounková is the first European player drafted first overall into the PWHL, and the highest drafted player from the Czech Republic.
“What a great honour representing not just myself, but my country and my teammates,” Kaltounková told reporters after the historic pick.
Earlier this year, Kaltounková became the first player from the Czech Republic to become a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in college hockey this season at Colgate, where she produced 48 points in 37 games.
She is Colgate’s all-time leading goal scorer, potting 111 goals over five seasons.
In her world championship debut this past spring, Kaltounková tied fellow draft-eligible forward, Natálie Mlýnková, for the team lead in points (six in seven games).
WATCH | Sirens tab Kaltounková with top pick:
Czech Republic born forward Kristýna Kaltounková selected first overall in the PWHL draft in Ottawa by the New York Sirens.
The Sirens could slot Kaltounková on its first line alongside Sarah Fillier, giving the team two bonafide shooting threats, and filling a hole left by the departure of Alex Carpenter during the expansion process.
The five-foot-nine forward should also be able to help make space for Fillier’s skill on the ice.
Kaltounková is New York’s second first-overall pick in three PWHL seasons, after GM Pascal Daoust picked Fillier in 2024.
New York made another big splash in the first round, moving top defender Ella Shelton to Toronto in exchange for the Sceptres’ first and fourth-round picks.
The Sirens added University of Wisconsin forward Casey O’Brien with the acquired first-round pick.
A centre with high-end vision, O’Brien will add more skill to New York’s forward group.
O’Brien won the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Award as the best player in college hockey, after posting 88 points in just 41 games. Along the way, the American passed Hilary Knight as the all-time leader in career points at Wisconsin (274).
“She’s the kind of player you can build a team around,” said Gordie Stafford, who coached O’Brien in prep school at Shattuck-St. Mary’s.
To put her time in college in perspective, only seven players in NCAA women’s hockey history have amassed more career points, and no one has had a more prolific offensive season since Carpenter put up 88 points with Boston College in 2016.
O’Brien captained the Wisconsin Badgers to a national championship this past season, her third title in five seasons.
“Her vision while skating is really, really good,” O’Brien’s longtime skills coach, Paul Vincent, told CBC Sports. “She has great lateral mobility, the ability to cut and turn on a dime. And she’s fast.”
First round draft picks:
- New York Sirens: Kristýna Kaltounková, forward, Colgate University
- Boston Fleet: Haley Winn, defender, Clarkson University
- New York Sirens (acquired from Toronto via trade): Casey O’Brien, forward, University of Wisconsin
- Montreal Victoire: Nicole Gosling, defender, Clarkson University
- Ottawa Charge: Rory Guilday, defender, Cornell University
- Minnesota Frost: Kendall Cooper, defender, Quinnipiac University
- PWHL Vancouver: Michelle Karvin, forward, Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL)
- PWHL Seattle: Jenna Buglioni, forward, Ohio State University
Defenders go off the board early
Four defenders were selected in the first round. Just about every team, other than the Sirens, needed to add a top-four defender, and there was a clear divide between the top handful of defence prospects and the rest of the field at the position.
Winn was the second-highest scoring defender in the NCAA last year. Only Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey bettered Winn’s 46 points.
She is a two-time world champion with Team USA, and should be a big piece of the American blue line at the Olympics next year.
Clarkson head coach Matt Desrosiers described Winn as “the full package.”
“[She’s] a pretty dynamic defenseman that’s really good on the offensive side but equally as strong on the defensive side,” Desrosiers told CBC Sports before the draft.
Winn’s defensive partner at Clarkson, Nicole Gosling, became the first Canadian taken in the draft when the Montreal Victoire selected her with the fourth pick.
The 23-year-old from London, Ont. is an intelligent two-way defender, similar to Erin Ambrose. She’ll help make up for the loss of Cayla Barnes on the Victoire’s blue line.
Gosling became a world champion with the Canadian team in 2024, and will now get to play alongside several national team players in Montreal as she works to make the Olympic team.
The Ottawa Charge picked Cornell University defender Rory Guilday with the fifth pick. The Charge love defenders who have a bit of snarl to their game, and Guilday will fit right in with defenders like Jocelyne Larocque and Ronja Savolainen.
Quinnipiac University defender Kendall Cooper became the fourth and final defender taken in the first round, going sixth to the reigning champions, the Minnesota Frost.
Finnish veteran becomes first Vancouver draft pick
With the team’s first draft pick in history, PWHL Vancouver opted for experience in Finnish forward Michelle Karvinen.
The 35-year-old has done just about everything in a lengthy career, playing in several leagues across Europe and earning her first Olympic medal, a bronze, with Finland in 2010.
Seattle rounded out the first round by picking forward Jenna Buglioni out of Ohio State University.
Trade market active on draft night
As GMs made picks over six rounds, PWHL special advisor and women’s hockey legend Cassie Campbell-Pascall occasionally appeared on the stage to announce a trade.
In addition to adding Shelton, one of the best young defenders in the world, the Toronto Sceptres sent goaltender Kristen Campbell to Vancouver.
Campbell struggled during the playoffs, and will have a fresh start in Vancouver, where Emerance Maschmeyer will be the starter. It’s a clear sign that the Sceptres plan to run with a tandem of Elaine Chuli and Raygan Kirk next season.
The Montreal Victoire also added forward Abby Roque from New York in exchange for defensive centre Kristin O’Neill.
Combined with players like Shiann Darkangelo and Hayley Scamurra, who joined the team in free agency last week, the Victoire now look deeper on forward, particularly down the middle.