Who Are The PWHL's Best Undrafted Players?

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Jun 15, 2025 - 16:30

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Who Are The PWHL's Best Undrafted Players?

The PWHL is filled with talented players. Some were high draft picks, others went later, and some found their way into the league as undrafted free agents.

Over the years, the number of impactful undrafted players will grow as it has in other league. In the NHL, the long list includes players like Sergei Bobrovsky, Mark Giordano, Curtis Joseph, Adam Oates, Borje Salming, Martin St. Louis, Peter Stastny, Ed Belfour, Brian Rafalski, Joe Mullen, Steve Duchesne, Geoff Courtnall, and Dino Ciccarelli, some of whom now find their names in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The PWHL hasn't had the time to build an impressive group like this, but the league has already seen dozens of undrafted players make their professional debut, and some play significant roles in the league.

Of course the league will always have the group of the inaugural 18 players to sign who were not drafted, but they were also never eligible by the time the draft rolled around, kind of like the signing of Wayne Gretzky coming from the old WHA.

Here's a look at some of the best undrafted players through the first two seasons of PWHL history.

Maddie Rooney

There's no denying this, Maddie Rooney is the best undrafted player in PWHL history to date. It's confusing that Rooney wasn't picked in the inaugural 2023 Draft knowing the crop of goaltenders who were picked while Rooney was passed on. She was immediately signed to a two-year deal in Minnesota, and helped her team win back-to-back Walter Cup championships including going 5-0 in 2025 while posting a 1.75 GAA and .932 save percentage. She was the 2018 Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year for USA Hockey and has won both Olympic and World Championship gold medals as a member of Team USA.

Mariah Keopple

The majority of the PWHL's early undrafted players came from previous professional leagues like the PHF or PWHPA, but not Mariah Keopple. She made the Montreal Victoire's roster as a camp invite and worked her way into and up the lineup finding good chemistry with players like Erin Ambrose. Keopple has provided steady and reliable defending for Montreal and looks like she'll have a spot in the PWHL for as long as she wants to play. The Princeton grad has exceeded every expectation and proven that if you play the game the right way, you can have success in this league.

Mikyla Grant-Mentis

One of the more confusing omissions from the inaugural 2023 PWHL Draft, Mikyla Grant-Mentis signed in Ottawa before joining Montreal where she played a top six role in the 2024 playoffs, earning herself another contract in 2025. She was one of the top scoring undrafted players in the PWHL this season, and continues to show she deserved to be picked. It doesn't matter now as many of the players that were selected are already out of the league, while Grant-Mentis remains.

Catherine Dubois

The big power forward didn't make Montreal's roster out of camp in 2023, but found her way in as a reserve, and once she got into the lineup, there was no taking her out. Dubois signed a full contract for year two and was the PWHL's top scoring undrafted player this season.

Amanda Pelkey

Without Amanda Pelkey, it's highly unlikely the Boston Fleet would have been the PWHL's inaugural runner up going all the way to game five of the Walter Cup finals. She played an integral role in Boston's playoff run, and provided clutch offense. She saw her role reduced this year, but Pelkey, a former USA national team member, is a quality pro.

Emma Greco

Signed out of camp as a free agent with PWHL Minnesota, Greco was a physical presence who played solid defensive minutes helping Minnesota win the inaugural Walter Cup. After her first year in the league, Greco was signed as a free agent by the Boston Fleet and continued her hard nosed play in Massachusetts.