By: Alexis Caines | Follow me on Twitter/X @alexiscaines_
For the Professional Women’s Hockey League, there’s just one more day remaining in the regular season. From there, it’ll jump right into the playoffs, and with only two rounds, we’ll see Walter raised in no time. It’s time to start taking an early look at the offseason.
The 2026 PWHL Draft Class is filled with talent. Whether your team will pick first or last, you are gaining elite hockey skills. Some of the biggest names from the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics are up for grabs, including the MVP of the tournament, Caroline Harvey. She is the odds-on favorite to go first overall. At this point in the season, Harvey will either become a Seattle Torrent or a Vancouver Goldeneye.
The first overall selection is determined by the “Gold Plan.” Once a team is eliminated from playoff contention, they activate the plan, under which all points accumulated post-elimination determine the draft standings. For example, the Seattle Torrent, who activated their gold plan on April 15th, beat the Minnesota Frost in regulation on Wednesday night, so that’s three points towards their draft order. It simply means that you cannot “tank” for the first pick; instead, you have to keep winning or collecting points to earn the honor.
Since the Boston Fleet are in playoffs, they will not see their gold plan activated this season. The remainder of the draft order remains unknown, as the expansion teams looming on the horizon could change everything.
In the 2025 PWHL Draft, the Fleet selected defender Haley Winn at second overall. This has been proven to be an elite pickup as she’s second in rookie scoring and third in league scoring. She’s proven her importance on the roster, and she leads all skaters in time on ice, averaging 26:50 a game. Just below her is teammate and D-partner Megan Keller at 26:46. In her first season, Winn is looking like the favorite for Rookie of the Year and could be a finalist for Defender of the Year.
In the 2024 PWHL Draft, the Fleet selected winger Hannah Bilka at fourth overall. Though Bilka was lost in the 2025 Expansion Draft, her season in Boston was strong. In 16 games played, she recorded 5-6-11. Though short-lived, it was a good draft selection from the Fleet staff.
So, with an established good track record in PWHL drafts, who will the Fleet select this year? It’s hard to say simply based on not knowing what the next few months entail. The PWHL is looking at a big free-agent class in addition to its draft class. With two to four expansion teams, no one knows what their team will look like come training camp.
One thing the Fleet are up against is the loss of Hannah Brandt, who announced she is retiring at the conclusion of this season. She is currently in school to become a physician’s assistant and will begin her clinicals soon, so while she will be missed, this is a huge accomplishment for Brandt.
Brandt appeared in every single game for Boston last season, and if she appears as expected in the regular season finale, she will have achieved this once more. She’s a strong presence in the Fleet’s bottom six, and her tremendous leadership will be missed. This is one spot the Fleet can look to fill in the offseason.
Something that’s been consistent this Fleet season is their one-goal games; they’ve had 16 this season in 29 games, and they will finish with it totaling more than 50% of their season, regardless of how Saturday’s game ends. The one-for-one trade of Jessie Eldridge and Theresa Schafzahl has worked for both Seattle and Boston. Eldridge has 6-2-8 in 10 games played for the Fleet, including two multi-goal nights. Some offensive help to complement Aerin Frankel’s job would make her life a bit less stressful.
The defensive corps has contributed 55 points this season, but 38 of those have come from Keller and Winn. While it would be ideal for the Fleet to hold on to both, it can’t be overstated just how much uncertainty there is regarding the offseason picture. It should be something the Boston front office guns for. There are plenty of offensive defenders expected to declare.
It’s hard to deny that the Fleet have a promising goaltender rotation. There are not many words yet to be used to describe the excellence that is Aerin Frankel. It should be a priority for her to get protected and retained in the offseason. Abbey Levy, though she has only started three games this season, has strong numbers: a 2.33 GAA and .927 SV%. Finally, rookie Amanda Thiele, who’s one game and one win, secured the Fleet a playoff berth. In that game against the two-time Walter Cup Champions, the Minnesota Frost, she posted a 2.00 GAA and .913 SV%.
The rest of the PWHL season will fly by before we know it. While it may seem a bit early, there’s a lot of logistics going into the postseason. But for now, the Boston Fleet are focused on bringing another championship home to Title Town.
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