Team Canada star Sarah Fillier taken 1st overall by New York in 2024 PWHL draft

Sarah Fillier is an Olympic gold medallist, a three-time world champion and now, a PWHL first-overall pick.

New York GM Pascal Daoust selected the 24-year-old forward with the first pick at the draft in St. Paul, Minn. on Monday night, adding a player who has found a way to score at every level she's played. The league's seven-round draft is streaming live on the PWHL's YouTube channel.

Ottawa holds the second overall pick, followed by Minnesota, Boston, Montreal and Toronto. That order will repeat through all seven rounds.

The pick keeps Fillier close to where she went to school at Princeton University in New Jersey. PWHL New York played its games in arenas in three states last year, including New Jersey's Prudential Center.

Fillier finished her career at Princeton with 194 points, including 93 goals, in 120 games. Along the way, she was a three-time top-10 Patty Kazmaier finalist for the best female player in college hockey. In her final season, she led the NCAA in goals per game (1.03).

The PWHL's scouts describe her as "a generational player with change of pace skating that makes her difficult to defend. Her game sense makes her a threat to create scoring in a variety of ways and will upgrade a team's power play immediately." 

On the international stage, Fillier made her Canadian senior national team debut in 2018 and has become one of the faces of the team. She was named MVP of the 2023 world championship after registering 11 points in seven games.

Team Canada GM Gina Kingsbury, who is also PWHL Toronto's GM, described Fillier as a "dynamic" offensive player and a "true competitor" who plays a 200-foot game.

"She's a winner," Kingsbury said. "She wants to score. She wants the pressure. She wants to be the best