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PWHL Boston’s 2024 Draft class headlined by former Boston College star
"She is our favorite forward in this draft."
Less than two weeks after PWHL Boston’s season came to a close in the Walter Cup Final, Boston bolstered its roster in the 2024 PWHL Draft — headlined by a fleet-footed forward taken with the fourth overall pick.
With their first-round selection, PWHL Boston selected former Boston College forward Hannah Bilka — with the 23-year-old skater expected to add some much-needed speed and scoring punch to a team that was prone to sustained stretches of listless offense in 2023-24.
“Hannah is a dynamic forward who drives the play and has incredible hockey IQ,” PWHL Boston general manager Danielle Marmer said in a team release. “She is our favorite forward in this draft.”
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Bilka played four seasons at Boston College before transferring to Ohio State — with the Coppell, Texas, native helping the Buckeyes win a national championship earlier this year.
After recording 127 points over her four years at Chestnut Hill, Bilka led the Buckeyes with 48 points (22 goals, 26 assists) over 39 games. Beyond the collegiate game, Bilka won a gold (2023) and two silvers (2022, ‘24) at the Women’s World Championships.
Here are the other five players beyond Bilka that PWHL Boston selected in the 2024 PWHL Draft:
Daniela Pejšová, D (Second Round, No. 7 overall)
PWHL Boston traded up three spots in its draft order to bolster its defense with Pejšová — dealing away Picks No. 10, 16, and 28 to PWHL New York in exchange for the seventh-overall selection and pick No. 37.
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Pejšová is a Czech defender who has played the previous six seasons in Sweden. She was named the top defender at the 2022 Worlds for fourth-place Czechia and should log plenty of minutes with Boston.
Sydney Bard, D (Fourth Round, No. 22 overall)
Marmer and PWHL Boston continued to add to their defense with the addition of Bard in the fourth round. Over her five seasons at Colgate, Bard scored 13 goals and added 99 assists over 180 total games.
Shay Maloney, F (Sixth Round, No. 34 overall)
She played last season in the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL), but Maloney spent her entire collegiate career in New England. Maloney played four seasons at Brown before closing out her college years at Quinnipiac, where she scored 15 goals and recorded 16 assists for 31 points during the 2022-23 season.
Ilona Markova, F (Seventh Round, No. 37 overall)
Markova became the first Russian drafted by a PWHL team when Boston took her in the seventh round. Markova, 22, was captain of the Russian U-18 team and spent the last six seasons with Agidel Ufa of the Zhenskaya Hockey League — scoring 14 goals and 40 points over 42 games last season.
Hadley Hartmetz, D (Seventh Round, No. 40 overall)
PWHL Boston closed out its latest draft class by taking Hartmetz, who played two seasons at BC before ending her collegiate years with three years at Ohio State. She scored nine goals and recorded 33 points over 39 games on the Buckeyes’ blue line in 2023-24.
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