Is Torrent Draftee Grace Elliott the PWHL’s Most Interesting Rookie?

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A star for UBC in the U Sports division in Canada, Grace Elliott will look to make an early impact as a fourth round pick for the Seattle Torrent. [/caption]

While top five pick Abbey Murphy will draw most of the attention heading towards her first PWHL season, Seattle Torrent fourth round draft pick Grace Elliott has the upside to be “one of the most unique players in women's hockey.”

That’s according to women’s hockey scout and The Score contributor Kyle Cushman. Elliott was one of two U Sports (Canadian college) players drafted in the 2026 PWHL Draft. She was the 2024-25 Broderick Award winner as the top women’s U Sports player. Last season, she put up a league-leading 24 goals and was third with 37 points in 28 games.

But dominating a lower-level of hockey isn’t worthy of a fourth round pick. The other 2026 draftee from U Sports was taken with the last pick in the draft, and it was by her hometown team. Elliott’s selection comes with a bigger expectation.

“I don't want to frame it as ‘the upside stops with her height,’ because I think that's a disservice to the player, but she wouldn't have the upside that she has if not for her height,” Cushman explained to the Emerald City Spectrum.

At 6-2, Elliott would become the tallest player in PWHL history. She dominated U Sports the last two seasons and set University of British Columbia women’s hockey records. But at that size, against lesser competition, is it going to translate?

“She's such a dominant player,” UBC head coach Graham Thomas said. “To find a player of that size, that has the hands, the hockey IQ, the compete, the physicality, the skating ability. It doesn't matter where you played and who you played against, it'll translate. She's gonna do very well. I'm very convinced on it.”

On the wings next season, the Torrent will have Olympians Julia Gosling and Murphy, and more professionally experienced players like Theresa Schafzahl, Emma Nuutinen, Lexie Adzija, and more. It’ll be tough for Elliott to crack that lineup initially, and she likely won’t earn her rookie contract unless she shows well at Torrent training camp in the fall.

“When I was talking to some of the scouts or GMs about her, [I said] ‘you can put her in any role,’” Thomas shared. “You can put her in a third line role, and she's going to be a player that will grind, will contribute, [and] won't hurt you [defensively]. Then she has the potential in playoffs or big games, where you need that third line to contribute or chip in a goal.”

“I expect her to be one of those players that has that big developmental curve over the course of the season,” Cushman said. “… She's somebody I expect more to be on that fourth line [winger] or 13th forward. Rotate in and out of a lineup, and maybe build up over the course of the season.”

Even in a limited role, Elliott’s unique skillset could be too good to keep out of the Torrent’s lineup, however. She doesn’t use her size to outmuscle opponents that often, and could stand to develop more in that area overall, but she has been adept at using it to create effectively on offense.

“It's more of her reach and how smart she is,” her former coach shared. “Getting around defenders and driving the net. Protecting the puck and using it to create offense. She knows how to score. She knows how to create. That is where I think she uses her size most effectively.”

Seattle finished last season below average in both scoring and power play scoring. Adding a unique netfront presence to one of their power play units could improve that.

“You have 5-5 Aaron Frankel and you have 6-2 Grace Elliott, just plop her down in front and see what that looks like,” Cushman suggested. “That's going to be difficult for both defenders and goalies to deal with. She's taller than literally every goalie in the league.”

Thomas thinks that, while Elliott’s skating “can hang right now,” it will be the primary thing to improve at the next level. It’s harder for a larger to player to skate as well as their peers, just think about how few 6-8 or 6-9 players make it to the NHL even with their clear height advantages.

If everything works out for the Torrent, Elliott is a unicorn. If not, she could hopefully be a solid two-way option in the Seattle bottom-six group. Thomas wants to bet on the 6-2 rookie.

“She's ready. She's been a pro … The way she trains, the way she takes care of her body, the way she prepares. She's definitely a pro.”