Seattle Torrent select Abbey Murphy with No. 2 pick in PWHL Draft
Abbey Murphy of the United States celebrate scoring during the ice hockey women's play-offs semifinal between the United States and Sweden at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Sun Fei / Xinhua / Getty Images)
The Seattle Torrent drafted University of Minnesota standout forward Abbey Murphy with the No. 2 overall pick in the PWHL Draft on Wednesday night.
Murphy, 24, finished her college career for the Gophers as the leading goalscorer in program history and ranks second in all-time points. Murphy had 261 points on 143 goals and 118 assists during her five years at Minnesota.
"I think the most exciting thing is the crowd over there," Murphy told the PWHL Draft broadcast about being selected by Seattle. "They get a big fanbase and that's something that's really exciting to me. Everyone likes my feistiness, so I'm excited."
Murphy had 66 points on 40 goals and 26 assists in just 31 games played for Minnesota last season.
The backstory:
Murphy has also been a member of the last two U.S. Women's Olympics teams, earning a gold medal this year in Milan, Italy, and a silver medal four years ago in Beijing, China. Murphy had two goals and five assists in seven games in Italy for the U.S. and was on the ice when Megan Keller scored the winning goal against Canada in the gold medal game.
Murphy had one of the greatest highlights in all of hockey last year during a game with rival Minnesota State-Mankato in January. Murphy's juggling possession through a defender led to a goal for Bella Fanale that was seen all over hockey social media.
With Seattle's second-round pick, the Torrent selected one of Murphy's college teammates at Minnesota, defender Sydney Morrow.
Morrow played the last two seasons for Minnesota after prior stops at Colgate and Ohio State. Morrow appeared in 81 games over the last two years, scoring 19 goals and 49 assists for the Gophers, with eight goals and 30 assists last season in 39 games.
Morrow's brother, Scott, is currently a member of the New York Rangers in the NHL. Scott has appeared in 45 career NHL games – 29 with New York and 16 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Torrent re-sign three players
Prior to the start of the draft on Wednesday, the Torrent re-signed a trio of players from last year's team: defenders Aneta Tejralová and Emily Brown and forward Theresa Schafzahl.
All three players reached two-year deals to remain with the Torrent. The signings came during an exclusive window for existing teams to re-sign free agents from last year's rosters during the PWHL expansion process.
Tejralová, 30, was the first selection Seattle made in last year's expansion draft with the No. 2 overall pick. A native of Prague, Czechia, Tejralová appeared in 23 games for the Torrent last season, scoring eight points on two goals and six assists. Tejralová was the captain of the Czechian Olympics Team in February in Milan, Italy.
Brown, 27, appeared in all 30 games for the Torrent last season after joining the team through the expansion draft. Brown was an alternate captain during her first season in Seattle and scored four points – all assists – last season.
"Seattle's just blown away every expectation and truly set a new precedent for hockey and fans and the culture here, and it's just been, just been an awesome experience in the most unexpectedly best way," defender Emily Brown said in April, firmly expressing her hopes of staying in Seattle.
Schafzahl, 26, was acquired by the Torrent midseason in a trade with the Boston Fleet for forward Jessie Eldridge. In 11 games played for the Torrent, the Austrian native racked up 10 points with two goals and seven assists.
With the three re-signings, the Torrent now have 11 players under contract for the upcoming season: forwards Alex Carpenter, Julia Gosling, Danielle Serdachny, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Lexie Adzija, Jenna Buglioni, and Schafzahl, defenders Anna Wilgren, Brown and Tejralová, and goaltender Hannah Murphy.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Seattle Torrent and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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