Lou Orlando
The New York Sirens have endured a difficult 2026 offseason. The club saw six players depart through the PWHL’s revised expansion process, tied for the most in the League. Starting goalie Kayle Osborne and rookie forwards Anne Cherkowski and Maddi Wheeler were among the departures, threatening to fracture an exciting young core that took shape last season.
But the offseason had one more devastating twist in store for New York. The PWHL finalized its 2026 draft order Monday, just 48 hours before the draft begins Wednesday at 5 p.m. EST. The Sirens are slated to pick seventh.
New York finished second-to-last with 36 points (9-3-3-15) in 2025-26 and was one of three teams to trigger the PWHL’s Gold Plan system, which takes effect once a team is mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. The Sirens lost their lone Gold Plan game in regulation and entered the offseason in limbo, awaiting word on the selection order. They weren’t alone.
In fact, the Vancouver Goldeneyes were the only team that entered the offseason with precise knowledge of where they stood in the 2026 PWHL Draft. Vancouver racked up five points (1-1-0-0) after elimination, earning the No. 1 overall pick — and the right to draft University of Wisconsin star Caroline Harvey.
The rest of the League was looped in Monday. The Seattle Torrent were awarded the No. 2 overall pick after finishing last in the regular-season standings, the PWHL announced in its release. The two remaining non-playoff teams weren’t nearly as lucky.
The League’s four new expansion teams received the next four draft slots, taking picks three through six. The Sirens and fifth-place Toronto Sceptres followed at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, with the four playoff teams bringing up the rear.
That order will remain intact for all six rounds. Barring a trade, New York will pick in the back half of every round.
It’s a harsh outcome for two teams that missed the playoffs and suffered significant losses in expansion. It also marks a sharp departure from the 2025 PWHL Entry Draft, when all six existing teams picked ahead of the League’s newest clubs, Seattle and Vancouver.
Needless to say, the implications are massive.
The Sirens can put to rest any dreams of drafting Abbey Murphy or Laila Edwards — two budding superstars with star power to spare. They also might miss out on the draft’s top tier of forwards altogether.
Murphy is widely considered the top forward in the draft, but she’s far from the only impact player at her position likely to come off the board in the first round. Tessa Janecke, Kirsten Simms, and Lacey Eden are exciting prospects with top-line potential, and it wouldn’t be surprising if all three are gone by the time New York is on the clock. For a team that just lost four impact forwards to expansion, that would be a difficult pill to swallow.
It also complicates New York’s pursuit of top goalie prospect Andrea Brändli. The Sirens have a glaring need in net after losing Osborne to PWHL Hamilton, but they aren’t the only ones. PWHL Detroit remains without a goalie through five phases of expansion and will almost certainly target one in the draft. New York should still have a shot at Brändli after Detroit traded its first-round pick (No. 3 overall) to PWHL Las Vegas for Hilary Knight, but Detroit will have the inside track in every subsequent round with a four-pick edge on New York.
Are the Sirens willing to make Brändli the highest-drafted goalie in PWHL history and forego an opportunity to land an impact skater? That’s a question they’ll have to grapple with.
The goalie question: How badly do Sirens need Andrea Brändli?
For New York, drafting a goalie looks less like a question and more like an inevitability.
Unfortunately, this year’s draft class isn’t laden with prospects who can step into a starting role immediately. Brändli is the clear top choice, boasting an extensive track record of success in both the NCAA and SDHL. Arguably her finest work, though, came in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Swiss goalie helped her nation claim bronze in Milan-Cortina, earning Best Goaltender honors with a 1.94 goals-against average (GAA) and .953 save percentage across four games. She was nothing short of dominant in tournament play, stopping 116 of 119 shots in three games against Finland, Canada, and Sweden.
If any goalie from this year’s draft class is ready to take on starting duties in the PWHL, it’s Brändli. That doesn’t mean the Sirens should be locked into taking her at No. 7 overall, though. Typically, goalies are harder to evaluate and more prone to year-to-year performance swings. The great ones tend to buck that trend, but it’s still a risky use of a first-round pick.
Not to mention, Brändli turned 29 on June 5. That should give her an edge over the rest of the class when it comes to immediate impact, but it also raises questions about how long her window will last. Goalie is New York’s most pressing need right now, but if general manager Pascal Daoust is thinking long-term, a younger skater in the first round could prove the more valuable play. Then again, it’s unlikely Brändli will still be on the board when the Sirens pick in the second round. Passing on her at No. 7 could leave New York without a starting-caliber goalie in 2026-27.
That’s not to say there aren’t other prospects to consider. 2025-26 national Goaltender of the Year Tia Chan jumps out as the next-best option. She might not be as pro-ready as Brändli, but the 23-year-old posted a 1.51 GAA and .945 save percentage across an impressive five-year career at UConn. There’s a decent chance she’ll be available at No. 19 overall if New York still needs a goalie in the second round.
Ohio State starter Hailey MacLeod and Russian native Darya Gredzen — both 22 years old — could work their way into the conversation as well, though Brändli and Chan seem to be the consensus top two. It’s worth noting that if New York doesn’t net a quality goaltender in the 2026 draft, the 2027 draft class is expected to feature three highly touted goalie prospects in Eve Gascon, Ava McNaughton, and Annelies Bergmann.
Could Sirens trade down in first round?
It’s not out of the question that one of the top four forwards — likely Eden — could slide to the Sirens at No. 7 overall. But if not, New York might be better served trading down to add draft capital.
The back half of the first round offers real value on defense, a perk that likely benefits other teams more than the Sirens. Whether it’s Emma Peschel, Sydney Morrow, Nelli Laitinen, or Sara Swiderksi, the No. 7 pick could leave a team with its choice of any defender not named Harvey or Edwards.
New York should aggressively target forwards after losing a sizeable portion of its middle six in expansion. There’s less urgency on the blue line. The Sirens protected Maja Nylen Persson, Micah Zandee-Hart, and Jaime Bourbonnais in Phase 3, and can still retain Nicole Vallario, Lauren Bernard, and Dayle Ross in Phase 5. If there isn’t a needle-moving forward available, Daoust should have the flexibility to shop that pick. And given the potential talent on the board, it could be a mighty valuable trade chip.
The Minnesota Frost (No. 9 overall), Boston (No. 10 overall), and Montreal Victoire (No. 12 overall) are all teams likely to seek blue-line reinforcements in the wake of expansion. One could be willing to swap first-round picks and include an additional mid-round selection in exchange for the chance to hand-pick a promising rookie defender.
That would give the Sirens another chip to play with while still keeping them in position to land Brändli — or another preferred option — later in the first round, ahead of Detroit.
Colgate connections
It’s no secret New York has targeted Colgate University players in the PWHL Draft since hiring former Raiders head coach Greg Fargo ahead of the 2024-25 season. The Sirens selected Osborne and defender Allyson Simpson in 2024, and used their 2025 No. 1 overall pick on star forward Kristyna Kaltounkova.
Should that trend continue in 2026, there are a few names worth monitoring.
It would be somewhat surprising to see the Sirens target a blue-liner in the first round. But if they do, Morrow is one to watch. The two-time All-WCHA defender spent two seasons at Colgate under Fargo before transferring to the University of Minnesota after his move to the PWHL. She had her best NCAA season under Fargo, posting a career-high 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) with a plus-48 rating. A right-shot defender doesn’t fill a glaring need for the Sirens, but Morrow’s offensive profile is appealing, and Bourbonnais has proved she can play capably on her off-hand side.
Among current Colgate players, 5-foot-1 forward Elyssa Biederman stands as the top prospect in the 2026 PWHL draft. She outscored Kaltounkova in 2024-25 and led the Raiders once again in 2025-26. The 21-year-old produced at a high level under Fargo and sustained that success when Fargo’s top assistant, Stefan Decosse, took the reins. Most mock drafts have Biederman going early in the second round; she’ll be an absolute steal if she falls to New York at No. 19 overall.
Colgate defender Casey Borgiel didn’t overlap with Fargo, instead transferring in from the College of Holy Cross ahead of the 2024-25 season. Still, she put up two solid seasons under Decosse and profiles as a late second-rounder or early third-rounder. She’s a very solid right-shot defender who the Sirens could take interest in if she’s available at the right time.
Rounding out the group of former Raiders are forwards Alexis Petford, Neena Brick, and Sara Stewart. Brick and Stewart both played under Fargo and should have some value as potential bottom-six additions. Petford transferred to Colgate ahead of the 2024-25 season after a pair of 20-goal campaigns at Stonehill College. Her rocket shot gives the 5-foot-5 forward some intriguing offensive upside, particularly as a potential power-play weapon. If Daoust is looking for another draft-day gem in the mid-to-late rounds — a la Wheeler — Petford could be in the mix
Other potential draft-day fits
There are a few other names New York might consider in the first three rounds that are worth going over quickly.
If the Sirens have their heart set on taking a forward in the first round, and Janecke, Simms, and Eden are all off the board, Princeton University’s Issy Wunder would seem the most obvious choice. The 22-year-old shared the ice with Sarah Fillier for two seasons and immediately took over as the Tigers’ leading scorer following Fillier’s departure. She’s a true goal-scorer with a strong 5-foot-11 frame, and New York could certainly benefit from some more secondary goal-scoring, especially after Taylor Girard signed with Detroit.
Pivoting to another prospect with connections to a prominent Sirens forward, Wisconsin defender Vivian Jungels profiles as an ideal fit for New York’s blue line. The Sirens could use a left-shot defender in the top four behind Zandee-Hart, and the 22-year-old fits the mold with a strong defense-first game. Daoust drafted three of Jungels’ former teammates — Casey O’Brien, Makenna Webster, and Wheeler — in 2025. That’s partly because Wisconsin produces a bevy of PWHL-ready talent, but perhaps New York will go back to the well again in 2026. There’s no guarantee she’ll still be available at No. 19 overall, but she’ll be hard to pass up if the three-time NCAA champion is still on the board.
Yale’s Jordan Ray and Northeastern’s Lilly Shannon are two other potential targets in the second and third rounds. Daoust has drafted a Yale forward in back-to-back seasons with Elle Hartje (2024) and Anna Bargman (2025). Ray was a reliable point producer in the NCAA and has experience playing both center and wing. The 5-foot-10 Shannon, meanwhile, fits the gritty identity New York is trying to establish and could fill a netfront role in place of Girard.
