PWHL Draft Makes Its Mark in Detroit

Detroit added another chapter to its growing women’s hockey history this summer as the city hosted the 2026 PWHL Draft at the Fox Theatre.

The event brought prospects, fans and hockey figures from across the league to downtown Detroit as all 12 PWHL teams made their selections. A total of 72 players were selected over six rounds, marking the first PWHL Draft held in the Motor City.

For PWHL Detroit, the night was especially important. The expansion team made six selections, adding four forwards, a defender and a goaltender to a roster that was beginning to take shape ahead of its inaugural season. Andrea Brändli became Detroit’s first-ever draft pick when she was selected 15th overall in the second round.

But the draft was about more than simply adding players. It was another sign of Detroit’s place in the future of women’s hockey.

Detroit had already established itself as one of the PWHL’s strongest markets before being awarded an expansion team, hosting four neutral-site games and drawing a record 15,938 fans to Little Caesars Arena in March. Now, with PWHL Detroit set to begin play in the 2026-27 season, the city got to welcome the next generation of professional women’s hockey players to Hockeytown.

The draft was a pretty fitting way to kick off a new era of professional women’s hockey in Detroit.