DETROIT (WXYZ) — Fans from across the country packed Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit on Wednesday for the 2026 PWHL Draft, celebrating the league's expansion into Hockeytown.
The Professional Women's Hockey League, which is entering its fourth year, has doubled from six to 12 teams. Detroit is one of the league's newest cities.
Watch Brett Kast's video report below:
Mike Chau and Trish Golden, superfans of the New York Sirens — one of the league's original six franchises — made the trip from New York City specifically for the event.
"When I found out the draft was in Detroit, I had to make the trip out here," Chau said.
Mary Smith, a Detroit women's hockey fan and soon-to-be season ticket holder, grew up playing hockey in metro Detroit. She said the draft's arrival in her city moved her emotionally.
"I might have shed a few tears," Smith said. “Seeing in my almost 40-year-old age, a professional team just accelerate is really exciting.”
Related video: PWHL Detroit GM Manon Rhéaume speaks at awards ceremony in Detroit
Smith said she is most excited about what the league means for young girls playing the sport today.
"The fact they have an opportunity to go pro, I want to cry just thinking about it," Smith said.
Related story: Here's who PWHL Detroit selected in the 2026 draft
Outside the theater, young fans Ella Benson, Emma Van Royen and Mikaela Van Royen, who traveled from South Bend, Indiana, collected autographs from draft picks, including Olympic gold medalist Laila Edwards.
"It just shows that there's something for girls to have to keep wanting to play and prove girls can do anything boys can do," Emma said.
Inside Fox Theatre, Ellie Muscedere and Naomi Tink wore youth jerseys honoring their former teammates — Laila Edwards and Casey Borgiel — who were among the players being drafted.
"We got a lot of friends that are supposed to get drafted and are from the Detroit area that we grew up playing with, so it's a big deal for us to support our friends," Muscedere said.
Edwards was selected third overall. Borgiel, who is from Port Huron, was picked in the second round by Detroit.
"I'm almost crying watching them get picked. It's so cool to see their hard work paying off," Tink said.
Golden said the moment carries significance beyond the sport itself.
"Woman athletes don't ever get to just be athletes, they don't get to just show up, do good with their talents and go home and get this big paycheck. They have to be their own advocates, own promoter and they're always advocating for the next generation," Golden said.
Related video: Olympic gold medalist Megan Keller partners with NHL Foundation on $100K girls hockey grant
After the draft, the next question for Detroit's new franchise is what the team's name will be.
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