What to know about Laila Edwards, PWHL San Jose’s top draft pick

San Jose may have lucked into adding one of the faces of women’s hockey in its franchise’s inaugural year. Laila Edwards, projected to go second or third in Wednesday’s PWHL draft, slipped to fourth and general manager and head coach Troy Ryan pounced on the opportunity.

Now the expansion franchise has one of the most popular players in women’s hockey in addition to one of the best. Edwards has shattered glass ceilings and connected with the hockey community for years, culminating in an Olympic gold medal and NCAA championship this year.

Here is what to know about the newest Bay Area women’s sports star:

She is a history maker

In many ways, being the first draft pick in San Jose history fits Edwards. She has been the first at a lot of things.

The 22-year-old was the first Black woman named to the U.S. women’s Olympic team this winter, and when she was taken No. 4 overall, she became the highest-drafted Black woman in PWHL history.

“Representation matters,” Edwards said. “That role model-like stature, it’s an honor. And I don’t take it lightly.”

Edwards was also the youngest-ever MVP (20 years old) at the IIHF Women’s World Championships in 2024.

Her 35 goals in 2024-25 are the most scored at Wisconsin since Brianna Decker in 2011-12 as well, giving her one of the best single seasons in the prestigious program’s history.

Edwards also became the tallest player in league history at 6-foot-1.

Edwards can play two positions

Edwards began her career as a forward and played her first three seasons at Wisconsin as a scorer before transitioning to the blue line in college and with the U.S. women’s national team ahead of the Olympics.

She has one of the hardest shots in women’s hockey and an offensive mindset while leading a power play. She is a physical, hard-nosed defensive player as well, and the transition to running point from the top of an offense elevated her game further.

In fact, she was third on the U.S. team with eight points even as a defender.

Edwards said she hasn’t spoken with Ryan yet about where she will play with San Jose, but the team does lack right-handed defenders and she declared for the draft as a blueliner.

But there could be some lineups where she pinches up on the offense and can generate scoring punch, something few PWHL players can do at that level.

She has won at multiple levels

Edwards scored two goals and six assists in seven Olympic games and netted 45 points in the NCAA this year en route to winning titles in both competitions.

She won three national championships at Wisconsin, playing alongside many of her U.S. teammates such as Caroline “KK” Harvey, her best friend who was the top overall pick to Vancouver on Wednesday.

“I gave her a hug, I started crying, and I couldn’t stop,” Edwards said of Harvey going first overall. “I was just so excited to hear her name, and then for her to be one of the first people I saw when I went back behind the curtains was really special.”

She joins free agent signing Rory Guilday as the only gold medal winners on the San Jose roster, and there is a good chance the two of them will make up a defensive pairing.

Social media star

After she was named to the Olympic roster in January, Edwards’ family posted a GoFundMe to help them get to Italy to watch the Games. They raised $62,210 – more than the $50,000 they asked for – and the campaign itself went viral.

That enabled 10 family members, including her 91-year-old grandmother, to watch her win a gold medal.

Edwards donated the leftover money to youth hockey programs in Cleveland Heights, her hometown.

She has 86,000 followers on Instagram and 66,300 on TikTok as one of the most followed women’s hockey players in the world. She and Harvey often went viral during the Olympics and NCAA season posting their “outfit of the day” videos.

“I think social media is so prevalent, especially in women’s sports, and so I like to show a little bit of personality,” she said. “I think I’d love to see this game get some more personality. There’s so many cool people in it, so yeah, I think having that presence and that, you know, role model like stature, it’s an honor, and I don’t take it lightly.”

She is in the Swiftie-sphere

Edwards is from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the hometown of NFL stars Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce. She has gotten multiple shoutouts on their podcast “New Heights,” which has made her one of the most popular athletes among Taylor Swift fans.

Travis openly supported her at the Olympics and donated $10,000 to her GoFundMe campaign.

She joked with US Weekly on Wednesday that her invite to the Kelce-Swift wedding must have “been lost in the mail.”

“They said simple things because they’re just down-to-earth simple guys, but they’re just like, enjoy it and have fun, and they said they’re proud of me,” she said about the Kelce brothers’ advice before the draft. “So, you know, if I’m making people like that proud, I’m feeling pretty good, but yeah, they’re really good guys.”