Frost bolster defense with Quinnipiac’s Cooper in PWHL draft

This year’s PWHL draft was said to be loaded with top-tier defenders, which was good news for the Frost, who were hit hard along the blue line with a pair of key losses due to expansion.

By the time the Frost were on the clock with the sixth pick on Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Ottawa, three defenders already had been selected, But they still were able to add a highly touted player in Quinnipiac captain Kendall Cooper.

A right-handed shot, Cooper has been added in hopes of filing the void created with the loss of Sophie Jaques, who signed a free-agent deal with Vancouver. Last week, the Frost signed defender Sidney Morin to a two-year free-agent contract, easing the loss of Claire Thompson.

The 30-year-old Morin, a native of Minnetonka, played the last two seasons for Boston.

The Frost used their second-round pick to select St. Lawrence forward Abby Hustler, a 2024 Patty Kazmaier finalist. They added one of Hustler’s St. Lawrence teammates in the third round, selecting versatile forward Anna Segedi.

The Frost added UConn defender Ava Rinker in the fourth round. They selected Mercyhurst center Vanessa Upson in the fifth round and used their final pick on Providence defender Brooke Becker.

The 23-year-old Cooper, an Ontario native, played for Canada’s Under 18 team in the World Championships. At Quinnipiac, she collected 116 points in 158 career games for the Bobcats. Both Thompson and Jaques were utilized on the power play, and Cooper has shown the ability to contribute there as well.

“I’m going to play any role they need me to play,” Cooper said shortly after being selected. “I try to pride myself on consistency, someone who can be reliable to do the right thing out there.”

The 22-year-old Hustler led St. Lawrence in scoring in three of her four seasons with the Saints. She led her team in scoring this season with 19 goals and 20 assists.

Gophers center Ella Huber went to Boston in the second round as the 10th-overall pick. Montreal selected her teammate, Natalie Mlynkova, two picks later.

“It’s a crazy day because you don’t know where you’re going to be picked or when,” Huber said. “So the no-control thing is pretty crazy, so just having peace with that.”

The New York Sirens had the first overall pick and selected Kristyna Kaltounkova, a high-scoring forward out of Colgate. The Boston Fleet took Clarkson defenseman Haley Winn with the second pick.

New York then traded defender Ella Shelton to the Toronto Sceptres for the third pick and selected Wisconsin forward Casey O’Brien. Defenseman Nicole Gosling went to the Montreal Victoire with the fourth pick.

Chanhassen’s Rory Guilday, a defender from Cornell, was taken by the Ottawa Charge. Vancouver used its first pick to take Finnish forward Michelle Karvinen. Seattle closed out the first round by selecting Ohio State forward Jenna Buglioni.

Briefly

Edina’s Lily Delianedis, who played collegiately at Cornell, was selected by Seattle in the third round. … Gophers forward Peyton Hemp was selected by Ottawa in the fourth round. …Minnetonka’s Hanna Baskin, who played at Minnesota Duluth, was selected by Toronto in the sixth round.