When PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford stepped to the podium to announce the first selection of the 2026 PWHL Draft in Detroit on Wednesday, it was hardly a surprise to hear the name she called.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes took Team USA star defender and former Wisconsin standout Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H.) with the first pick. She became the first defender to be selected first overall.
It is the highest a New England native has been drafted since the inaugural PWHL Draft in 2023. Former Wisconsin teammate Casey O'Brien (Milton, Mass.) went third overall to the New York Sirens in 2025.
Harvey — already one of the best players in the world and widely viewed as a generational prospect with her world-class speed, skating and playmaking from the blue line — is coming off a magical gold-medal run with Team USA at the Olympics and a dominant senior season with the Badgers.
"It's been a special year, just all the experiences with the U.S. team and Wisconsin," Harvey told Rob Pizzo on the PWHL's broadcast. "Just so grateful for all my coaches, teammates and family. It really takes a village, and I'm just feeling really blessed right now."
She joins a Vancouver roster that went 9-3-4-14 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in its inaugural season. She'll form a premier 1-2 punch on the back-end with defender Sophie Jacques, who won the Patty Kazmaier Award with Ohio State in 2023. Jacques was a First Team PWHL All-Star as well as a finalist for PWHL Defender of the Year for the second straight season after leading all blue-liners in goals.
The Goldeneyes also feature recent collegiate stars such as Tereza Vanišová (Maine), Jenn Gardiner (Ohio State), Ashton Bell (Minnesota-Duluth) and Izzy Daniel (Cornell), who won the Patty Kaz in 2024, as well as Team Canada star forward Sarah Nurse (Wisconsin) and goalie Emerence Maschmeyer (Harvard).
OUR GOLDEN GIRL 🤩
With the 1st overall pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft, we’ve selected defender KK Harvey! pic.twitter.com/NgNBePmcxB
— Vancouver Goldeneyes (@PWHL__Vancouver) June 17, 2026
As a senior, Harvey became the fifth New England native and third defender ever to win the Patty Kaz as the NCAA’s top player, posting a career-high 64 points (18 goals) from the blue line. She finished third in the nation in scoring and second in assists, and her 64 points were the most ever in a single season by a Wisconsin defender. She also won WCHA Player of the Year for 2025-26 and took home her third straight WCHA Defender of the Year.
All of it was en route to a third national title with the Badgers, in which she assisted the go-ahead goal in the third period of the final against Ohio State. Harvey and Wisconsin also won it all in 2023 and 2025.
“Those individual awards are truly a reflection of our team success and the coaches and the team behind the team that goes into winning those championships and medals,” Harvey told New England Hockey Journal in May. “It’s all a team effort [including] the people that helped me along the way.”
The 5-foot-8, left-shot blue-liner finished her collegiate career with 201 points in 150 games. She's the only Badger defender to eclipse 200 points, and her 147 assists are second in program history only to O'Brien's 177. She also co-captained the Badgers as a junior and senior.
“I hope people remember me as a person and captain and the positivity I bring,” Harvey said of her legacy at Wisconsin. “Of course, the success on the ice as a team is important, and what we’ve done here is amazing, but I hope people remember my presence and being.”
At the Olympics, Harvey posted nine points (seven assists) in seven games, earning tournament MVP as the United States took down Canada for the gold medal. She was also named the IIHF Female Player of the Year on Wednesday.
“The Olympic gold was so sweet,” Harvey said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunities and being a part of it all.”
It was her second Olympic medal in as many tries after she and the U.S. took silver in Beijing in 2022.
She didn't miss a beat upon returning to campus after the gold-medal run in Milan, either. Harvey put up 10 points over the Badgers' final seven games en route to the title.
“I realized and learned about myself, how mentally strong I am in being able to flip the mindset in a snap of your fingers because you don’t have time to think of stuff,” Harvey said of the chaotic stretch. “You have to be present where your feet are and whatever team you’re on.”
Harvey has also represented the U.S. in the last five IIHF World Championships, winning gold in 2023 and 2025 while taking silver in 2021, 2022 and 2024. She also won gold in the 2020 Under-18 Worlds and silver in 2019.
The 23-year-old played her prep hockey with the Bishop Kearney Selects from 2016-2020 and North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) in 2020-21.
