By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
She was a standout with the Bishop Kearney Selects program, has been a star at Clarkson University and owns two gold medals from the IIHF Women’s World Championship.
Haley Winn now will have a chance to shine at the professional level.
Winn, the youngster defender in a family of defensemen from Webster, was selected second overall by the Boston Fleet in Tuesday night’s Professional Women’s Hockey League draft.
Winn, 21, led Clarkson in scoring during the past season with 14 goals, 32 assists and 46 points in 38 NCAA games. She ranked eighth in the nation in assists.
She now will enter the PWHL, which is expanding to eight teams for the 2025-26 season.
“I’m pumped, obviously,” she said moments after her named was announced at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Ottawa. “It’s everyone’s dream to play in this league and to do this as a career.”
Winn was a consensus top three pick, along with forward Kristyna Kaltounkova (Colgate University) and forward Casey O’Brien (University of Wisconsin).
The New York Sirens used the first overall selection to draft Kaltounkova, a native of Czechia who starred at Colgate. The Sirens needed firepower more than help on the blue line.
Boston, however, has a need for defensive depth and selected Winn, who is expected to make an immediate impact. She has been praised for her two-way game and was a stalwart for Team USA during a run to the gold medal at the World Championship in April in Czechia.
She also won gold with Team USA in 2023 and silver in 2024. She is expected to represent the U.S. at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
The PWHL uses a tiered system for contacts with draft picks. Last year, first-round selections earned $50,000. The salary cap for each team for the 2025-26 season will be $1.34 million.
The youngest of four hockey-playing children of Janet and Mike Winn, Haley grew up playing against brothers Casey, Ryan and Tommy on their backyard rink in Webster.
All four were very good on the ice. Casey, the oldest, played at SUNY Brockport, Ryan played at Bowdoin College and Tommy just completed his senior season at SUNY Geneseo. Only Haley played Division I hockey, however.
Ryan, who owns a creative video production company in Nashville, posted on Instagram early this month a video clip with the words “One minute your (sic) playing on the backyard rink with your sister … the next she has 2 Gold medals and you’re filming a video to tell her story as she enters the PWHL.”
There will now be many more stories to film and tell as her pro career gets underway.
Fairport’s Zanon chosen in second round
Forward Kiara Zanon, who grew up in Fairport and won an NCAA championship in 2024 with Ohio State, was chosen with the eighth and final pick of the second round by the Toronto Sceptres.
Like Winn a product of Kearney’s Selects Academy, Zanon produced 12-20-32 in 40 games for the Buckeyes this past season. She began her collegiate career at Penn State before transferring to Ohio State for the 2023-24 season.
Leave a Reply