Port Moody player plucked in first round of PWHL draft

Port Moody hockey fans won’t have to travel far to see one of the city’s own make her debut in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

Jenna Buglioni, who was also a top field hockey player when she attended Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam, was selected eighth overall by the new Seattle team in the league’s 2025 entry draft.

That’s seven places higher than the Hockey News’ assessment of top prospects last February.

Buglioni, who scored 164 points in 167 games during her five seasons at Ohio State University, said she’s looking forward to the next step in her hockey career.

“I’m so excited to see the fans rockin’ it at Climate Pledge Arena,” Buglioni said on Instagram, adding she “can’t wait to get to work in November.”

Buglioni was actually eligible to be selected in the PWHL’s 2024 entry draft, but she opted instead to play a fifth season at Ohio State while earning a Master’s degree in sport management.

Buglioni said the additional season would also better prepare her for the rigours of turning pro.

“I have gotten that extra time to work on skills and get more game experience,” she said.

Buglioni won two conference and two national championships at Ohio State, although her final season ended in heartbreak when the Buckeyes were defeated in overtime by the University of Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA Frozen Four championship final on March 30.

“We were so close to getting that outcome we wanted and it almost felt stripped away,” Buglioni said of the result that came after the Badgers tied the game on a penalty shot with less than 19 seconds left in the third period.

Individually, Buglioni set school records for career and single-season game-winning goals and she tied the program’s record for career short-handed goals.

Buglioni was also the Buckeyes’ captain in her final season and she even sang the national anthem prior to her final regular season game at Ohio State.

Seattle joins Vancouver as the PWHL’s first expansion teams. Neither has yet to announce a nickname.

Vancouver selected veteran Finnish national team forward Michelle Karvinen seventh overall in the entry draft, which took place in Ottawa.

The PWHL is expected to release its schedule later in the summer.