University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Five Gophers Selected in 2026 PWHL Draft
6/17/2026 10:14:00 PM | Women's Hockey
DETROIT, Mich. – Five University of Minnesota women's hockey alumnae were selected during the 2026 PWHL Draft on Wednesday evening. Abbey Murphy, Nelli Laitinen, Sydney Morrow, Jamie Nelson and Josefin Bouveng were among 72 players selected during the six-round draft.
Murphy was selected by the Seattle Torrent with the second overall pick. The forward from Evergreen Park, Ill., capped her 2025-26 season as a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, WCHA Forward of the Year, CCM/AHCA First Team All-American and All-WCHA First Team selection. She was also named a team captain and became an Olympic gold medalist with Team USA in Milan, Italy.
Murphy recorded a career-high 66 points with 40 goals and 26 assists, leading the nation in points per game and goals per game. She became Minnesota's all-time goals leader (143) on Feb. 28 against St. Cloud State and finished her career second all-time in program history with 261 points. Murphy also tied the program record for most points in a single game with seven at Sacred Heart on Jan. 3 and scored a career-high four goals at Bemidji State on Jan. 17.
Laitinen was selected by PWHL Hamilton with the sixth overall pick, becoming the first draft pick in franchise history for PWHL Hamilton (Round 1, Pick 6). The defender from Lohja, Finland, earned CCM/AHCA Second Team All-America and All-WCHA Second Team honors while being named a top-three finalist for WCHA Defender of the Year. She also served as a team captain.
Laitinen posted a career-high 30 points, including 10 goals, which tied for fourth nationally among defenders. She recorded her first career hat trick and a career-high five points at Sacred Heart on Jan. 3. Laitinen also skated in her second Olympic Games for Team Finland in Milan, Italy, and moved into seventh all-time at Minnesota in points by a defender.
Morrow was selected by the Seattle Torrent with the 14th overall pick in the second round, joining fellow Gopher Abbey Murphy in Seattle (Round 2, Pick 2). The defender from Darien, Conn., earned CCM/AHCA Second Team All-America and All-WCHA Second Team honors while also being named a top-three finalist for WCHA Defender of the Year.
Morrow appeared in all 39 games for the Gophers and ranked third nationally among defenders with 38 points. She also placed second among defenders with 30 assists. Morrow recorded her 100th career point on Jan. 23 against St. Cloud State, tallied a career-high four assists in that game and finished the season with 10 multi-point performances.
Nelson was selected by the Toronto Sceptres with the 20th overall pick in the second round (Round 2, Pick 8). The forward from Andover, Minn., recorded a career-best 42 points with 11 goals and 31 assists during the 2025-26 season.
Nelson ranked sixth nationally with 31 assists and was named WCHA Forward of the Month in December. She recorded her first career hat trick, scored her 50th career goal and tallied a career-high five points against St. Cloud State on Jan. 23. Nelson also posted a career-high four assists at Sacred Heart on Jan. 3 and scored the game-winning goal in Minnesota's WCHA First Round series-clinching win over St. Cloud State.
Bouveng was selected by PWHL Las Vegas with the 29th overall pick (Round 3, Pick 5). The forward from Vassunda, Sweden, recorded a team second-best 43 points with 15 goals and 28 assists during the 2025-26 season.
Bouveng ranked fifth nationally with 0.90 assists per game and seventh in the WCHA with 1.39 points per game. She tallied her 100th career point on Sept. 26 against Boston College and recorded a season-high four points with one goal and three assists at Sacred Heart on Jan. 3. Bouveng also skated in her second Olympic Games for Team Sweden in Milan, Italy, and recorded a 25-game point streak from Sept. 26 to Jan. 24.