PWHL
Could Edwards or Murphy Slide to PWHL San Jose? Janecke, Simms, Eden Excited About Bay Area
DETROIT — Could PWHL San Jose come away from their inaugural Draft with either Laila Edwards or Abbey Murphy?
The winds appear to be blowing in that direction.
While defender Caroline Harvey is still the presumptive No. 1, The Hockey News reported on Tuesday that a number of teams have Tessa Janecke, the top center of this Draft, No. 3 on their lists. The Athletic backed that up with a mock draft on Wednesday morning that predicted that winger Murphy would go No. 2 to the Seattle Torrent and Janecke would go No. 3 to PWHL Las Vegas.
That leaves star winger-defender Edwards potentially heading to PWHL San Jose at No. 4.
We’ll find out today, starting at 2 PM PT.
San Jose Hockey Now did speak with Janecke, and wingers Kristen Simms and Lacey Eden about potentially being PWHL San Jose’s first draft pick yesterday.
“Obviously, that community would be very supportive of women’s sports,” Janecke said of the Bay Area. “It’d be awesome.”
Who will be the first-ever @pwhl_sanjose draft pick?
Complete center Tessa Janecke jokes that all she knows about San Jose is the Sharks.
But seriously, she knows that the Bay Area is a haven for women's sports & would be very excited to come to San Jose! pic.twitter.com/J1wmnx6Yru— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 17, 2026
Everyone is also excited about the weather.
“Miles and miles of beaches” was Eden’s memory of the Bay Area, when the American participated in a Rivalry Series game in San Jose two years ago.
Who will be the first-ever @pwhl_sanjose draft pick?
San Jose and playmaking winger Lacey Eden could be a great fit…she’s a big beach person! pic.twitter.com/YrXnKELogn— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 17, 2026
“One of the first times that I’ve seen a palm tree,” Michigan native and Wisconsin alum Simms laughed. “I think they’re sweet. I love them. I love palm trees.
“Any time I get to see palm trees, they’re like my favorite thing.”
Who will be the first-ever @pwhl_sanjose draft pick?
High-scoring winger Kirsten Simms talks about why she’d be excited to go to San Jose…palm trees!!! pic.twitter.com/b9mlf4lTSq— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 17, 2026
PWHL San Jose is set to have six picks on Wednesday night.
San Jose, it’s our turn 🧡
Here’s when we will make our picks at the 2026 PWHL Draft! The order of the four expansion teams was determined by a randomized draw in the presence of all General Managers.
📰 https://t.co/VXSXIeLSAz pic.twitter.com/o9WBQR3wfa
— PWHL San Jose (@PWHL_SanJose) June 15, 2026
Who will get to go to “Sun” Jose?
See full 2026 PWHL Draft broadcast information here
The Athletic guys do their mock draft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS624s9KRTo
They have Sharks getting Reid and Lin.
They had Gustafsson going at 13. Isles have pick 12. A trade with them could involve Eklund, who’d unite with his brother with the NYI. As you know, because all of you criticized it, I think Gustafsson would be a great add for the Sharks.
Your trade to the Isles only works if the Sharks pick Stenberg (a redundancy imo) which then makes Eky “expendable” as Eky & Stenberg are basically the same thing.
Would the trade be Eky for #12 straight up?
Team is top heavy on forwards as it is. Stenberg gives the Sharks perhaps the best top-6/top 9 in the league — maybe not this season, but soon and for a long time. With or without Eklund. But the bigger need is defense. If the Sharks go Reid, trade for Gustaffson and still have the 20th overall to select a guy like Lin or Piiperinen, that goes a long way towards a defense that wins a lot. GMMG is in the process of painting himself into a corner. He’s overweight on forwards and overweight on smaller players. Stenberg is both… Read more »
If its at 12 overall, I think Eklund would be sufficient. Especially since its the Isles and it unites the brothers in that org.
If its 8 or 9th overall, and the d-man GMMG wants is there, I think it’d require more.
I think you van trade up to 13 from 20. 13 the NYI pick. If winnioeg wants immiedate help, or Florida thats where Eklund can be traded for.1-1 Eklund has a such a good contract i can see FLA givin up a 2nd too. If Verhoeff is there at 8 or 9 you trade Ekkund. Move up from 20 to the Isles to get Gustafsson and yoi habe the number 1D pool in the league gg well.played. NYI doesnt have a 2nd this year so there could be interest moving down also they dont need LD. Like #13 for #20… Read more »
I’m not sure Eklund gets a 9th overall spot. But obviously, that’s up to the specific team in the specific situation. Fair value seems to me about 10th overall. In a redraft in his draft class, that’s about where he’d go. In the case of a team like Florida, if they want him, the Sharks can retain. That makes it a more attractive for a team that will be in the Cup hunt the next few seasons and might want more cap flexibility. Not sure about how useful it is to the other teams who hold picks in that range.… Read more »
Buddy, I hope you bring back up if you ever go buy a used car. You need somebody to hold you back.
Musty has the potential to take Eklund spot + there is at least 1 hole in the top six that can be plugged in later.
Yup.
There’s enough in the pipeline that I think we’re good. Musty, Lund, Halttenen, Bystedt. Hitting on 1 of 4 is highly likely. Reasonable chance on hitting on 2 of 4.
Wetsch, Mutryn, McKinney are additional pipeline.
Top 6 includes Macklin, Smith, Chernyshov and Misa. Find a good complimentary sort (Sherwood, Graf, Wennberg) for each line. Add Stenberg and it gets stupid scary for opponents.
Now if we can get a defense that can stop plays and make outlets passes …
I have heard nice things about Gustafsson. He may be a great addition to the Sharks’ prospect pool. But at the end of the day he is just a prospect, not guaranteed to even make it in the NHL. To give up an actual proven player for a pick outside the top ten is a massive overpay.
Edwards falling to SJ would really be great, and would fill an important need for the team. It would also just be awesome for the young franchise to have a star player to get hyped about. Even if she doesn’t fall though it sounds like Janecke would give them a solid 1-2 punch down the middle with O’neill. With O’neill being more of a shutdown center they’ll probably try to give her the tougher matchups and that would let them shelter Janecke a bit as she gets adjusted. It would be good for O’neill to not be relied upon to… Read more »
Scouching assessment of Stenberg. Its glowing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyGJRUYrAtQ
“A winger’s version of Macklin Celebrini” … glowing
Kesselring for the 20th in exchange for the 27th. Definitely a good deal, imo. Wasn’t a fit in Buffalo but should have his time to shine in SJ
Love the move. Only nice down 7 spots too
Love this trade. Great buy low candidate and great value.
YES! Edwards falls to PWHL San Jose! Great person to build a winning team around. Ideal fit for SJ. Well Done PWHL San Jose!