PWHL San Jose Drafts Lily Shannon, Mckenna Van Gelder, Reichen Kirchmair

PWHL San Jose finished their first-ever draft by selected forwards Lily Shannon and Mckenna Van Gelder and Reichen Kirchmair.

At No. 40, Troy Ryan selected one of the best stories in the draft, Lily Shannon. 5-foot-10 Shannon was born with moderate hearing loss and wears hearing aids. The 5-foot-11 forward was offered a walk-on redshirt spot with Northeastern University after high school. She blossomed into a captain who scored 19 goals and 43 points in 39 games in her senior year

The Hockey News rated Shannon 18th in the class, and fourth among centers. “As Northeastern’s captain, she’s showing a more versatile game, including offensively,” Ian Kennedy wrote. “Shannon is a name who has continued to climb the rankings this season, and she looks more and more like a player who can make an impact professionally.”

Shannon brought a lot of personality to her post-Draft media availability, joking that she was happy to get picked because she had to pee and couldn’t leave her seat.

She also promised to bring a Walter Cup to PWHL San Jose.

At No. 52, Ryan opted for another 5-foot-7 center, Mckenna Van Gelder.

Van Gelder posted 10 goals and 23 points for Cornell University this past season.

“Van Gelder won 61% of her draws this season, making her a viable option as a fourth-line pivot,” Kyle Cushman projected.

Van Gelder played with PWHL San Jose defender Rory Guilday at Cornell: “I love Rory…she’s just like a ray of sunshine in the locker room, and then she’s just this absolute beast on the ice.”

At No. 64, Ryan chose 5-foot-8 winger Reichen Kirchmair.

Kirchmair potted 14 goals and 25 points in 35 games with Providence College.

“The Oakville native is a shot threat,” Cushman said.

Kirchmair is familiar with a couple of her new teammates: “Lily Shannon’s a great player, I played against her all four of my years, super-talented, and Tia Chan, obviously playing against UConn. Anytime we played them, we knew we had to be creative and find ways to score.”