PWHL Vancouver strikes deal with 2025 1st-round pick Michelle Karvinen

The Professional Women's Hockey League's new team in Vancouver has signed four-time Olympian Michelle Karvinen.

Vancouver selected the 35-year-old forward in the first round of June's PWHL entry draft, choosing her seventh overall.

Karvinen previously played at the University of North Dakota, and in Finland's Auroraliiga, Switzerland's SWHL and Russia's ZhHL.

She hails from Rodovre, Denmark, but plays internationally for Finland, and has won three Olympic bronze medals with the team.

Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey says in a news release Karvinen is a proven winner and a hockey veteran with a wealth of experience.

PWHL Vancouver will kick off its inaugural season on Nov. 21 when it hosts fellow expansion side PWHL Seattle.

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