5 Nova Scotia players declare eligibility for PWHL draft

Five Nova Scotia players are on the eligibility list for the Professional Women's Hockey League inaugural draft, scheduled for next week in Toronto.

Nearly 270 players in total have declared their eligibility for the PWHL, which will begin its first season in January with six teams playing a 24-game regular season schedule. 

That long list includes members of the Canadian and U.S. national teams, some European players and players who have played in the two leagues that merged to become the PWHL.

The Nova Scotian contingent includes former Canadian women's Olympic team member Jill Saulnier of Halifax. Saulnier played for Canada in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she scored a goal and an assist in the tournament.

Saulnier did not play in the 2022 Olympics but is attending a national women's team camp with Hockey Canada this week.

There is also Carly Jackson, the 26-year-old goaltender from Amherst who played last season with the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation, the team that won the Isobel Cup.

"I'm pretty eager for the draft and I feel we are all at the point where we are just waiting to see what happens," said Jackson, who played college hockey at the University of Maine. "It's a pretty exciting time in the hockey world and I'm really looking forward to Monday."

Over the last couple of weeks Jackson has been practising with the Amherst Ramblers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. She'll also be helping coach the Mount Allison University women's team before she leaves for the start of her season.

Allie Munroe is another 26-year-old who played in the same league. The defenceman from Yarmouth played two seasons for the Connecticut Whale after playing two seasons of pro hockey in a