Kristyna Kaltounkova #98 of team Czechia smiles during warm ups during Preliminary Round - Group A action against Switzerland at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship at Arena Ceske Budejovice on April 9, 2025 in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia.
photo: © Andrea Cardin/IIHF
Kristyna Kaltounkova was chosen first overall by the New York Sirens in the 2025 PWHL Draft, which was held on Friday in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Kaltounkova and Americans Haley Winn and Casey O’Brien were the consensus top three picks ahead of the draft but it was unclear which one would go first.
“I’m just so excited, so grateful, coming from such a small town in the Czech Republic, it’s such a great honour,” Kaltounkova said immediately after being drafted. “And not just for myself, my family and Colgate, but my whole country.”
In her first senior-level IIHF Women’s World Championship this year on home ice in Ceske Budejovice, 23-year-old Kaltounkova was a force, displaying an exciting combination of offensive ability and physical play that resulted in her being named to the tournament all-star team.
Kaltounkova will join a New York team that finished last in the PWHL last year and lost several players to the expansion draft and free agency, including Alex Carpenter, but does have league co-scoring leader Sarah Fillier.
“Watching who’s on the roster, I’m just really excited to get started,” said Kaltounkova. “It doesn’t matter what role I play. I’m just happy to jump in and help as much as I can, make an impact immediately, hopefully, and be part of the league, surrounded by some of the best players in the world.”
Winn, a defender from Clarkson and two-time World Champion for the USA and O’Brien, a three-time national champion with Wisconsin and the Patty Kezmer Award winner as top NCAA women’s hockey player, went second and third overall to the Boston Fleet and New York, respectively. New York got two of the first three picks thanks to a trade with the Toronto Sceptres that saw Toronto acquire Ella Shelton.
Kaltounkova and Americans Haley Winn and Casey O’Brien were the consensus top three picks ahead of the draft but it was unclear which one would go first.
“I’m just so excited, so grateful, coming from such a small town in the Czech Republic, it’s such a great honour,” Kaltounkova said immediately after being drafted. “And not just for myself, my family and Colgate, but my whole country.”
In her first senior-level IIHF Women’s World Championship this year on home ice in Ceske Budejovice, 23-year-old Kaltounkova was a force, displaying an exciting combination of offensive ability and physical play that resulted in her being named to the tournament all-star team.
Kaltounkova will join a New York team that finished last in the PWHL last year and lost several players to the expansion draft and free agency, including Alex Carpenter, but does have league co-scoring leader Sarah Fillier.
“Watching who’s on the roster, I’m just really excited to get started,” said Kaltounkova. “It doesn’t matter what role I play. I’m just happy to jump in and help as much as I can, make an impact immediately, hopefully, and be part of the league, surrounded by some of the best players in the world.”
Winn, a defender from Clarkson and two-time World Champion for the USA and O’Brien, a three-time national champion with Wisconsin and the Patty Kezmer Award winner as top NCAA women’s hockey player, went second and third overall to the Boston Fleet and New York, respectively. New York got two of the first three picks thanks to a trade with the Toronto Sceptres that saw Toronto acquire Ella Shelton.
The first Canadian chosen was defender Nicole Gosling at number four by the Montreal Victoire. A teammate of Winn at Clarkson, Gosling won a gold medal for Canada at the 2024 Women’s Worlds in Utica, NY.
After six collegiate players were taken, the Vancouver expansion team took Finnish veteran Michelle Karvinen from Swedish club Frolunda with the seventh-overall pick. In her 12th World Championship this year, Karvinen captained Finland to the bronze medal, in the process becoming the team’s all-time scoring leader in the Worlds.
A contemporary and long-time opponent on the international stage of generational players Marie-Philip Poulin of Canada and American Hilary Knight of the USA, Karvinen said that Knight tried to persuade her to join the PWHL when they spoke at this year’s Women’s Words, acknowledging that it’s one of the few big challenges remaining in her career.
“I feel super happy that I’m able to do it because I know a lot of players have been fighting a lot for this league and didn’t get the possibility to play in the league, so I feel very honoured to actually be able to do it,” said Karvinen, who at 35, joked about being a rookie again.
“A few people asked, ‘It’s not a retirement trip, right?’,” she smiled. “I was like, ‘No, this is the best of the best,’ so I’m looking forward to it.”
After six collegiate players were taken, the Vancouver expansion team took Finnish veteran Michelle Karvinen from Swedish club Frolunda with the seventh-overall pick. In her 12th World Championship this year, Karvinen captained Finland to the bronze medal, in the process becoming the team’s all-time scoring leader in the Worlds.
A contemporary and long-time opponent on the international stage of generational players Marie-Philip Poulin of Canada and American Hilary Knight of the USA, Karvinen said that Knight tried to persuade her to join the PWHL when they spoke at this year’s Women’s Words, acknowledging that it’s one of the few big challenges remaining in her career.
“I feel super happy that I’m able to do it because I know a lot of players have been fighting a lot for this league and didn’t get the possibility to play in the league, so I feel very honoured to actually be able to do it,” said Karvinen, who at 35, joked about being a rookie again.
“A few people asked, ‘It’s not a retirement trip, right?’,” she smiled. “I was like, ‘No, this is the best of the best,’ so I’m looking forward to it.”
First Round
1. Kristyna Kaltounkova, F (CZE), New York2. Haley Winn, F (USA), Boston
3. Casey O’Brien (USA), New York (from Toronto)
4. Nicole Gosling (CAN), Montreal
5. Rory Guilday (USA), Ottawa
6. Kendall Cooper, D (CAN), Minnesota
7. Michelle Karvinen, F (FIN), Vancouver
8. Jenna Buglioni, F (CAN), Seattle
Of the 48 players drafted, eight were from outside North America and four were from European clubs.
The second Czech player taken was Natalie Mlynkova of the University of Minnesota, who went 12th overall to Montreal. At 24, Mlynkova is already a veteran of the 2022 Olympics and six World Championships, where she’s earned two bronze medals. She was followed by Anna Shokhina, the first Russian chosen at No. 13 from Dynamo-Neva St. Petersburg of the Russian women’s league, by Ottawa.
Canadian-born defender Nina Jobst-Smith, who has played in five World Championships for Germany, was chosen 19th by Vancouver from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Swedish centre Sara Hjalmarsson, the Linkoping HC captain, was chosen 35th overall by Toronto. At 27, Hjalmarsson has already represented Sweden in two Winter Olympics and six World Championships.
Five goaltenders were chosen in the draft – Kaltounkova’s Colgate teammate Hannah Murphy went 15th to Seattle, Callie Shanahan went 28th to New York and Finnish national team standout Sanni Ahola went 37th to Ottawa. Ahola has backstopped Finland to back-to-back bronze medals. In 2023/24 she was the NCAA’s top women’s goalie and a World Championship all-star.