The Vancouver Goldeneyes will make the first pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft at Detroit's Fox Theatre on June 17 after the Professional Women's Hockey League announced its full Draft Order of Selection on Monday.
The draft begins at 5 p.m. ET and will run six rounds, with 72 players selected. The PWHL said the order will remain the same in every round, giving the league's newest and returning teams a fixed structure for draft night.
Vancouver Opens Six-Round PWHL Order
Vancouver earned the first overall pick after finishing first in the PWHL's Gold Plan standings during the regular season. The Seattle Torrent hold the second pick after finishing last in the regular-season standings.
The next four selections belong to expansion teams. PWHL Detroit pick third, followed by PWHL San Jose, PWHL Las Vegas and PWHL Hamilton, with that expansion order determined by a randomized draw in the presence of all general managers.
After the expansion block, the order moves to the established teams. The New York Sirens pick seventh, followed by the Toronto Sceptres, Minnesota Frost, Boston Fleet, Ottawa Charge and Montreal Victoire.
Expansion Teams Fill The Middle Of Round One
The structure gives the PWHL's four expansion clubs a central place in the first round without moving them ahead of Vancouver or Seattle. It also gives every team the same slot in each of the six rounds, which keeps the league's roster-building sequence easy to track.
The PWHL said the post-expansion portion of the order follows inverse order for non-playoff teams based on final regular-season standings, then inverse playoff results for the four teams that qualified for the postseason.
That matters because this is not only a draft-night schedule. It is the league's next roster mechanism after a busy expansion period that has already pushed players, coaches and front offices into place before the 2026-27 season.
Draft Set For Fox Theatre In Detroit
Fans in Detroit can attend selections live at Fox Theatre, with the league also scheduling a Draft Fan Zone on Columbia Street from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET before the event.
The first two rounds will be available in the United States on Scripps Sports platforms and in Canada on TSN2. The PWHL said complete coverage of every round will also stream on TSN+ in Canada and on the league's YouTube channel worldwide.
The full order now gives Vancouver the opening decision, Seattle the next chance to shape its roster, and the four expansion teams a defined run of picks before the established clubs begin their own draft-night work.