{"id":2521,"date":"2026-06-19T12:37:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2521"},"modified":"2026-06-19T12:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T12:37:18","slug":"what-to-know-about-laila-edwards-pwhl-san-joses-top-draft-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2521","title":{"rendered":"What to know about Laila Edwards, PWHL San Jose’s top draft pick"},"content":{"rendered":"
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San Jose may have lucked into adding one of the faces of women\u2019s hockey in its franchise\u2019s inaugural year. Laila Edwards, projected to go second or third in Wednesday\u2019s PWHL draft, slipped to fourth and general manager and head coach Troy Ryan pounced on the opportunity.<\/p>\n

Read more Affordable homes group buys San Jose apartment hub for over $80 million<\/a><\/p>\n

Now the expansion franchise has one of the most popular players in women\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Here is what to know about the newest Bay Area women\u2019s sports star:<\/p>\n

She is a history maker<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

The 22-year-old was the first Black woman named to the U.S. women\u2019s Olympic team this winter, and when she was taken No. 4 overall, she became the highest-drafted Black woman in PWHL history.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepresentation matters,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cThat role model-like stature, it\u2019s an honor. And I don\u2019t take it lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards was also the youngest-ever MVP (20 years old) at the IIHF Women\u2019s World Championships in 2024.<\/p>\n

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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\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Edwards also became the tallest player in league history at 6-foot-1.<\/p>\n

Edwards can play two positions<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s national team ahead of the Olympics.<\/p>\n

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She has one of the hardest shots in women\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

In fact, she was third on the U.S. team with eight points even as a defender.<\/p>\n

Edwards said she hasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

She has won at multiple levels<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

She won three national championships at Wisconsin, playing alongside many of her U.S. teammates such as Caroline \u201cKK\u201d Harvey, her best friend who was the top overall pick to Vancouver on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI gave her a hug, I started crying, and I couldn\u2019t stop,\u201d Edwards said of Harvey going first overall. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Social media star<\/strong><\/p>\n

After she was named to the Olympic roster in January, Edwards\u2019 family posted a GoFundMe to help them get to Italy to watch the Games. They raised $62,210 \u2013 more than the $50,000 they asked for \u2013 and the campaign itself went viral.<\/p>\n

That enabled 10 family members, including her 91-year-old grandmother, to watch her win a gold medal.<\/p>\n

Edwards donated the leftover money to youth hockey programs in Cleveland Heights, her hometown.<\/p>\n

She has 86,000 followers on Instagram and 66,300 on TikTok as one of the most followed women\u2019s hockey players in the world. She and Harvey often went viral during the Olympics and NCAA season posting their \u201coutfit of the day\u201d videos.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think social media is so prevalent, especially in women\u2019s sports, and so I like to show a little bit of personality,\u201d she said. \u201cI think I\u2019d love to see this game get some more personality. There\u2019s so many cool people in it, so yeah, I think having that presence and that, you know, role model like stature, it\u2019s an honor, and I don\u2019t take it lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is in the Swiftie-sphere<\/strong><\/p>\n

Edwards is from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the hometown of NFL stars Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce. She has gotten multiple shoutouts on their podcast \u201cNew Heights,\u201d which has made her one of the most popular athletes among Taylor Swift fans.<\/p>\n

Travis openly supported her at the Olympics and donated $10,000 to her GoFundMe campaign.<\/p>\n

She joked with US Weekly on Wednesday that her invite to the Kelce-Swift wedding must have \u201cbeen lost in the mail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said simple things because they\u2019re just down-to-earth simple guys, but they\u2019re just like, enjoy it and have fun, and they said they\u2019re proud of me,\u201d she said about the Kelce brothers\u2019 advice before the draft. \u201cSo, you know, if I\u2019m making people like that proud, I\u2019m feeling pretty good, but yeah, they\u2019re really good guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Bay Area fans wind up for Turkey\u2019s long-awaited World Cup soccer appearance at Levi\u2019s Stadium<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In many ways, being the first draft pick in San Jose history fits Edwards. She has been the first at a lot of things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to know about Laila Edwards, PWHL San Jose’s top draft pick - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2521\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to know about Laila Edwards, PWHL San Jose’s top draft pick - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In many ways, being the first draft pick in San Jose history fits Edwards. 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