Historic Draft Class Complete, Turnquist Hops on Board

The Boston Pride completed the signing of their historic 2020 NWHL Draft Class, inking 4th Round Pick Taylor Turnquist to her rookie contract on Wednesday as part of a number of leaguewide signings announced during the league's hour-long NWHL Open Ice Broadcast.

The Blaine, Minnesota native signing in Boston should be seen as a bit of a coup, as the Minnesota Whitecaps have long held a stranglehold on the WCHA and western ECAC regions. Turnquist, 22, is a strong two-way defender, who was forced to take shifts as a second line winger this season due to the litany of injuries suffered by Clarkson, and did so admirably. She is a smooth skating shutdown defender, but offers a bit more offensive ability than the pure shutdown defenders currently on the roster in Paige Capistran, Jenna Rheault, and Lauren Kelly.

This gives the Pride someone with a winning pedigree (she has a National Championship under her belt at Clarkson), leadership ability (wore an "A" as a senior for the Golden Knights), and someone who can take on a second powerplay unit competently. In 158 games at Clarkson, she tallied 8 goals and 32 assists for 40 total points. This is a versatile player that can fit a variety of roles for Boston moving forward. She also is the 6th pick of their NWHL Draft Class to sign their rookie contract this season with the team, marking the first time in league history that a team has signed an entire draft class, as well as the most players signed out of a single draft class in league history.

Stay tuned to Pride Diehards (@PrideDiehards on Twitter) for any additional signings and news out of our favorite women’s professional hockey team.