Ottawa Charge select University of Wisconsin defender with first pick in PWHL Draft

The new Ottawa Charge jersey is seen after a news conference showcasing the new jerseys for the 2024-25 Professional Women’s Hockey League season, in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

The Ottawa Charge added a batch of new players to their squad in the 2026 PWHL Draft on Wednesday night.

With the 11^th overall pick in the draft, the team selected Vivian Jungels, a 22-year-old from Edina, Minneapolis.

Jungels spent four seasons playing in the NCAA for the University of Wisconsin, winning back-to-back Women’s Ice Hockey Championships with the team in her final two years of play.

In her last campaign with the university, Jungels notched 4 goals and 17 in 39 games.

With their second pick, the Charge selected Jordan Ray, a forward from Yale University.

In her final season at Yale, Rayplayed in 36 games and tallied 17 goals, and 32 assists for 49 points.

Ray is the first-ever player born in Florida to be drafted in the PWHL.

The Charge used their third-round pick on Tereza Pištěková, a Czech forward playing in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League.  In her previous season, Pištěková added 6 goals and 19 assists across 34 contests.

Head coach Carla MacLeod will be well acquainted with Pištěková, who played for the Czech team that MacLeod coached at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.

The Ottawa Charge roster has been shaken up in recent weeks by the PWHL expansion process, losing captain Brianne Jenner, assistant captain Emily Clark and forward Peyton Hemp to PWHL Hamilton, and also losing 2025 first-round pick Rory Guilday to PWHL San Jose.

Defender Caroline Harvey, who won gold with the Team U.S.A. in the 2026 Milano Cortina games, went first overall in the draft to the Vancouver Goldeneyes.

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