NWHL Draft Review: Boston Pride

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The first ever NWHL Draft took place on Saturday, and the Boston Pride had possession of the third overall pick. Boston went on to select players from Northeastern, Harvard, Boston College, and Clarkson University.

Here’s a breakdown of the Pride’s 5 Draft selection for 2015.

3. Kendall Coyne, Northeastern

With the Pride’s first pick, and third overall in the draft, Boston selected forward Kendall Coyne of Northeastern University. The 5′-2″ hometown girl tallied 45 points in 31 games as a freshman, posting an impressive 1.45 points per game. She upped those stats in her sophomore year, when she tallied an outstanding 68 points in 34 games (37 goals, 31 assists). In her junior year, Coyne put up 52 points in 31 games.

Coyne has also seen quite a bit of international action, representing Team USA on several occasions. In 2009, the then-16-year-old scored the overtime gold-medal-winning goal for the United States at the U-19 IIHF championships. She then went on to participate in the Four Nations Cup with the United States, where she tallied a goal in the gold-medal game. Following the Four Nations Cup, Coyne had tallied a total of 36 career points in 27 games with the United States national team.

She also participated in the 2011 IIHF Women’s World Championship, and led the United States in points in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where she scored 2 goals, and tallied four assists.

7. Emerance Maschmeyer, Harvard

With the seventh overall pick in the Draft, Boston selected the first goaltender. Emerance Maschmeyer, a 5′-6″ tendy from Bruderheim, Alberta, was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team as a freshman, and was the first goalie to win Ivy League Player of the year since 1995. As a sophomore, Maschmeyer became just the tenth player from Harvard to earn All-American Status, when she was selected to the All-American Second Team. She was also named ECAC Goaltender of the Year, and was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is given to the best player in the league. She was  also elected to the First-Team ECAC, and was the runner-up for ECAC player of the year.

In her junior year, Maschmeyer was named the All-Ivy League First Team, and demonstrated some phenomenal goaltending en route to the ECAC Championship, after which she was elected to the All-Tournament team. Maschmeyer was expected to be the first-selected goalie in the draft, so seeing her go 7th is no surprise.

11. Lexi Bender, Boston College

Don’t let the name fool you… Lexi Bender is capable of doing damage. As the eleventh overall pick, Bender will make a strong defender for the Boston Pride.

Bender tallied 16 points as a freshman, but really stood out with a +34 rating for the Eagles. She was also a Hockey East All-Rookie Team honoree. In her sophomore season, Bender played in all 37 games for BC, and tallied 17 points. She went on to be named to Hockey East’s Second All-Star Team.

Bender broke out as a junior, when she recorded six goals and twenty-three assists for the Eagles, participating in all 39 games. She averaged .74 points per game, and shone with an outstanding +60 rating. She tallied at least a point in 18 games, 10 of which were multi-point games for the 5′-8″ junior. She also recorded her first-career hat-trick in the season-opener against Syracuse.

15. Miye D’Oench, Harvard

D’Oench tallied 13 points for the Crimson as a freshman, but broke out in her sophomore season, when she put up 39 points in 34 games. She also tallied a career-high +26 rating as a sophomore.

In her junior year, Miye scored 19 goals, and tallied 14 assists in 35 games, and earned a +22 rating. The New York, NY Native has put up a total of 85 points in her three seasons with the Crimson.

19. Shannon MacAuley, Clarkson University

The Boston Pride made a strong final selection in the NWHL Draft by choosing Clarkson forward Shannon MacAuley. As a freshman, MacAuley tallied 16 points in 38 games for the Golden Knights.

She broke out in her sophomore year, when she was a huge part of Clarkson’s trek to a National Championship, including her game-winning, unassisted breakaway goal to give Clarkson a 5-4 lead in the championship game. She tallied 24 points in 29 games for the Golden Knights, and earned a +16 rating.

Shannon was named captain for her junior year, and helped lead Clarkson to the #1 seed with 33 points in 38 games. She was named an ECAC’s Third-Team All-League All Star, and was a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award nominee.

That does it for the Boston Pride’s 2015 Draft. Be sure to check out how the other teams did as well!