From the SDHL to the PWHL: How Timing Led Petra Nieminen & Andrea Brändli to North America
For the first non-NCAA players taken in the PWHL Draft, it was all about timing.
When the Professional Women’s Hockey League held prospect media availability earlier this week at Little Caesars Arena, Petra Nieminen and Andrea Brändli were paired together in the makeshift interview pods.
It made a ton of sense, not only are Nieminen and Brändli both coming over from the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL), but also as 27 and 29 year olds, respectively, they were two of the older players to have declared for the draft with most players in their early 20s.
“That’s been one of the things we were talking about,” Brändli said. “There’s been some slang and things we’ve had to ask about.”
Nieminen was drafted 12th on Wednesday, the last pick of the first round, by the Montreal Victoire, and will join the reigning Walter Cup Champions. Brändli was taken No. 15, by PWHL Detroit, and is expected to be the No. 1 goalie for the expansion franchise this coming season.
They were the first non NCAA players taken in the draft, followed closely by Elisa Holopainen, who was taken No. 19 by the New York Sirens.
So as Europeans that were already playing professionally in Sweden, how and when do you make the decision to declare for the PWHL Draft and make the move to North America?
“For me it was about timing it around the Olympics,” Nieminen said, who had 369 points in 264 career SDHL games. “I kind of thought about (the PWHL) a couple seasons ago, but wanted to be able to focus on what I could control, playing for the same team in the couple years before the Olympics.”
Brändli had a similar thought about the Olympics and there was also a pragmatic approach as a goalie. Even with a strong NCAA career at Ohio State and Boston University, Brändli didn’t see much of an opportunity for playing time in the PWHL back during the 2023-24 season when it only had six teams.
When the league expanded to eight this past season the number of starting goalie spots opened up, but were largely reserved for current PWHL backups. So when PWHL expansion became evident this season, jumping from eight to 12 teams, and on the heels of a pretty impressive Olympics for Switzerland, Brändli made the decision to declare for the PWHL draft.
“You kind of have to be realistic as a goalie, that no matter what happens, you really can’t prove yourself unless you get to play,” Brändli said. “So you kind of prove yourself, you show there and (in international play) against USA and Canada when you get the chance.”
Brändli also represented the first pick in PWHL Detroit history after the team had traded the No. 3 pick to PWHL Las Vegas for Hilary Knight. It was the loudest pick of the evening at Fox Theater, there were chants before and after by an impressive crowd here, and for Brändli it was special to have the pick announced by Manon Rhéaume, the Detroit PWHL GM who notably became the first women to play in an NHL preseason game.