Analyzing Potential International Draft Targets for the 2021 NWHL Draft
With the Isobel Cup safely back in Boston’s hands, we now turn our eyes to the offseason. However, this year presents a significantly more complex situation as it pertains to league growth. For one, there are multiple reports that the league plans to expand once again, with at least one franchise being added in Montreal, and further rumors of a second addition as well. Lisa Haley was just hired to replace the outgoing Michelle Picard as the NWHL’s Senior VP of Hockey Operations, and she dropped the news that the league plans to hold the annual Entry Draft at some point in June. But with the NCAA allowing an extra year of eligibility for all players this year, it’s no longer as simple as selecting out of a pool of all college seniors. Many of the higher profile players have already stated their intention to take advantage of their COVID-19 exception year. Elizabeth Gigueré (Clarkson) has reportedly entered the transfer portal. Daryl Watts and Brette Pettet plan to return to Wisconsin. Emma Maltais and Liz Schepers have indicated their intentions to return to Ohio State. Aerin Frankel and Skylar Fontaine plan to return to Northeastern. This also doesn’t take into consideration that next year sees us begin the Olympic centralization cycle, which means several players may take the year off anyways to be centralized for their national programs. Jesse Compher (BU), Frankel, Fontaine, Britta Curl (Wisconsin), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota), and Natalie Buchbinder (Wisconsin) should all be in the mix for the United States. Gigueré and Watts should be involved with Hockey Canada. Laura Kluge (Ohio State) and Sandra Abstreiter (Providence) are in the mix for the Germans. Antonia Matzka (Holy Cross) is a lock for the Austrians. Darya Teryoshkina (Maine) should be in the mix for the Russians. Dominika Laskova (Merrimack) and Anna Ziková (Maine) should be at least on the fringes of the Czech squad. And the Hungarian squad is already counting on Dartmouth’s Lotti Odnoga. Those are just the seniors - underclassmen also have access to the extra year of eligibility, but there are significantly more of them that should be in the mix for their respective national programs.
Those players include:
Sarah Fillier - Canada (Princeton)
Chloé Aurard - France (Northeastern)
Cayla Barnes - USA (Boston College)
Kelly Browne - USA (Boston College)
Hannah Bilka - USA (Boston College)
Kiara Zanon - USA (Penn State)
Liga Miljone - Latvia (Maine)
Nadia Mattivi - Italy (Boston University)
Su Yeon Eom - Korea (St. Lawrence)
Grace Lee - Korea (Yale)
Alina Müller - Switzerland (Northeastern)
Rahel Enzler - Switzerland (Maine)
Andrea Brändli - Switzerland (Ohio State)
Linn Thomsen - Denmark (LIU)
Amalie Andersen - Denmark (Maine)
Lilli Friis-Hansen - Denmark (RPI)
Thea Jørgensen - Norway (Lindenwood)
Ena Nystrøm - Norway (Mercyhurst)
Millie Sirum - Norway (Holy Cross)
Lunasa Sano - Japan (Harvard)
Riena Jahnke - Japan (RPI)
Sena Takenaka - Japan (Lindenwood)
MeiLan Haberl - Austria (Yale)
Theresa Schafzahl - Austria (Vermont)
Anja Trummer - Austria (Yale)
Sini Karjalainen - Finland (Vermont)
Eve Savander - Finland (Ohio State)
Sara Säkkinen - Finland (Ohio State)
Ida Kuoppala - Finland (Maine)
Linnea Melotindos - Finland (St. Cloud State)
Jenniina Nylund - Finland (St. Cloud State)
Sanni Ahola - Finland (St. Cloud State)
Jenna Silvonen - Finland (Mercyhurst)
Paula Bergström - Sweden (LIU)
Sara Hjalmarsson - Sweden (Providence)
Celine Tedenby - Sweden (Maine)
Matilda af Bjur - Sweden (LIU)
Ida Press - Sweden (Maine)
Jessica Adolfsson - Sweden (Penn State)
Emma Söderberg - Sweden (Minnesota-Duluth)
Blanka Škodová - Czech Republic (Vermont)
Magdalena Erbenová - Czech Republic (RPI)
Barbora Hrůšová - Czech Republic (LIU)
Adéla Škrdlová - Czech Republic (St. Cloud State)
Kristýna Pátková - Czech Republic (Vermont)
Klára Hymlarová - Czech Republic (St. Cloud State)
Noemi Neubauerová - Czech Republic (Colgate)
Kristýna Kaltounková - Czech Republic (Colgate)
Natálie Mlýnková - Czech Republic (Vermont)
This is an aggressively long list. The likelihood that every single player on it is centralized is slim. But it shows the extent to which we could see some disruption in rosters across the NCAA, and by extension, the NWHL. So, I thought I’d take a look at some alternative avenues for player acquisition. I reached out to the league for clarification on the eligibility requirements for the draft, but they declined to comment on them at this time. Therefore, I built my own requirements using prior knowledge and standards. So, I looked at international players aged 22 or 23 - players who you’d expect to be graduating college this year if they were to enroll as an 18 year old. I remember when the Riveters signed then 20 year-old Tatiana Shatalova there was some discussion about the age minimum that the league had originally put in place for players, as they initially stated players needed to complete their college education to be eligible for the league. Hence my 22/23 year-old cutoff. I also excluded players who met the age requirements that spent time playing in North America already. This means players such as Michaela Pejzlová, who spent 4 years at Clarkson prior to signing in the Finnish Naisten Liiga this season, were not eligible for this shortlist.
EWHL
D Nadja Granitz – DEC Salzburg Eagles (7/4/11, 15 GP)
Wien, Austria
Birthdate: July 12, 1998
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 132 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Erwin Scheriau
F Malika Aldabergenova – Aisulu Almaty (7/6/13, 15 GP)
Kazakhstan
Birthdate: May 5, 1998
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 161 lbs.
Shoots: Left
NurPhoto
RW Tatiana Korenkova – SKP Bratislava (6/8/14, 14 GP)
Poprad, Slovakia
Birthdate: October 14, 1998
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 146 lbs.
Shoots: Left
NurPhoto
F Sara Confidenti – KMH Budapest (10/5/15, 15 GP)
Maribor, Slovenia
Birthdate: February 26, 1998
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 150 lbs.
Shoots: Right
Slovenian National Team
LW Kinga Jókai Szilágyi – EHV Sabres Wien (8/10/18, 16 GP)
Hungary
Birthdate: August 19, 1997
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 128 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Prokerala
Czech Extraliga
D Karolina Kosinová – HC Pribram (0/4/4, 3 GP)
Brno, Czech Republic
Birthdate: May 21, 1998
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 148 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Timo Savela
F Barbora Patočková – HC Pribram (8/4/12, 3 GP)
Policka, Czech Republic
Birthdate: September 23, 1998
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 123 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Timo Savela
Russian ZhHL:
F Polina Bolgareva – Dynamo-Neva St. Petersburg (12/11/23, 28 GP)
Moskva, Russia
Birthdate: February 6, 1999
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 141 lbs.
Shoots: Right
Sergei Litvak
F Landysh Falyakhova – SKIF Nizhny Novgorod (11/13/24, 28 GP)
Dva polya Artash, Russia
Birthdate: August 31, 1998
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 119 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Peter Kovalev
F Yekaterina Likhachyova – SKIF Nizhny Novgorod (16/9/25, 28 GP)
Kirovo-Chepetsk, Russia
Birthdate: August 24, 1998
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 141 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Jean Catuffe
F Fanuza Kadirova – Dynamo-Neva St. Petersburg (20/11/31, 28 GP)
Kukmor, Russia
Birthdate: April 6, 1998
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 137 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Ilya Smirnov
D Nina Pirogova – Tornado Dmitrov (14/20/34, 28 GP)
Stupino, Russia
Birthdate: January 26, 1999
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 143 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Jamie Squire
RW Anna Shokhina – Tornado Dmitrov (26/27/53, 28 GP)
Novosinkovo, Russia
Birthdate: June 23, 1997
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 148 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Maddie Meyer
SWHL A:
D Cassandra Rensch - Neuchâtel Hockey Academy Dames (5/5/10, 17 GP)
Lausanne, Switzerland
Birthdate: May 9, 1997
Height: 5’2”
Weight: 126 lbs.
Shoots: Right
Mauricette Schnider
Frauen-Bundesliga:
G Emma Schweiger – ECDC Memmingen (12-5-0, 1.57, .926, 1 SO, 18 GP)
Füssen, Germany
Birthdate: May 26, 1998
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 176 lbs.
Alwin Zwibel
G Dominique Quint – ERC Ingolstadt (8-3-0, 1.35, .930, 4 SO, 11 GP)
Göttingen, Germany
Birthdate: April 15, 1997
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 159 lbs.
ERC Ingolstadt
D Carina Strobel – ECDC Memmingen (3/18/21, 24 GP)
Landsberg am Lech, Germany
Birthdate: September 11, 1997
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 121 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Timo Savela
F Emily Anna Nix - Eisbären Juniors Berlin (11/11/22, 24 GP)
Hamburg, Germany
Birthdate: January 12, 1998
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 165 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Timo Savela
F Franziska Feldmeier – ESC Planegg (10/15/25, 24 GP)
München, Germany
Birthdate: February 5, 1999
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 141 lbs.
Shoots: Right
Matt Roberts
Naisten Liiga:
G Tiia Pajarinen – Kiekko-Espoo (1.94, .910, 4 SO, 4 GP)
Polvijärvi, Finland
Birthdate: April 17, 1998
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 143 lbs.
Timo Savela
G Anni Keisala – Ilves (2.07, .942, 2 SO, 22 GP)
Lohja, Finland
Birthdate: April 5, 1997
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 165 lbs.
Timo Savela
LW Ida Karjalainen – Kärpät (10/11/21, 17 GP)
Oulu, Finland
Birthdate: April 11, 1997
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 137 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Timo Savela
LW Tinja-Mariia Haukijärvi – Kiekko-Espoo (18/10/28, 26 GP)
Järvenpää, Finland
Birthdate: September 8, 1997
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 150 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Timo Savela
F Clara Rozier – HIFK (12/18/30, 27 GP)
France
Birthdate: August 28, 1997
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 121 lbs.
Shoots: Right
Philippe Crouzet
SDHL:
G Alba Gonzalo – HV71 (10-10-0, 2.15, .914, 3 SO, 22 GP)
Barcelona, Spain
Birthdate: April 21, 1997
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 150 lbs.
G Lina van Noort – HV71 (15-1-0, 1.38, .924, 6 SO, 17 GP)
Vagnsunda, Sweden
Birthdate: June 23, 1998
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 143 lbs.
Mats Bekkevold
LW/RW Sanni Hakala – HV71 (8/10/18, 23 GP)
Jyväskylä, Finland
Birthdate: October 31, 1997
Height: 5’1”
Weight: 117 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Jani Maukonen
D Ronja Savolainen – Luleå HF (11/19/30, 33 GP)
Helsinki, Finland
Birthdate: November 29, 1997
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 159 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Gregory Shamus
D Kayleigh Hamers – SDE HF (7/19/26, 36 GP)
Tilburg, Netherlands
Birthdate: June 10, 1997
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 143 lbs.
Shoots: Left
Mats Bekkevold
This list is by no means meant to be a complete group. It is highly unlikely any of these players choose to uproot their lives and move to North America at all. There’s also the strong possibility that some of these players are unavailable due to centralization as well. I fully expect Finland’s Ronja Savolainen to be on the Finnish National Team, and Sanni Hakala should join her. France likely will call on the services of Clara Rozier. Emma Schweiger, Dominique Quint, Emily Anna Nix, and, Carina Strobel should all be in the mix for the German squad. Cassandra Rensch might crack the Swiss roster. Nadja Granitz should be on the Austria squad. I can almost guarantee Anna Shokhina will be on the Russian roster, and Nina Pirogova and Fanuza Kadirova may also find themselves in Beijing. Jókai Szilágyi is probably a lock for the Hungarians. Barbora Patočková and Karolina Kosinová should both be on the Czech roster. So take all of this with a grain of salt. But I think every single one of these players would bring a tremendous amount of value to an NWHL roster, and are absolutely worth the gamble - provided they are eligibile to be selected that is.
All data and biographical information mined from EliteProspects.com
