World champion Canadian defender Nicole Gosling poised to be picked early in PWHL Draft

A small much than a twelvemonth ago, Nicole Gosling was celebrating connected the crystal successful Utica, N.Y., with the remainder of Team Canada.

The Canadians had conscionable defeated the Americans connected location crystal successful overtime to triumph the satellite championship, and it was the defender from London, Ont.'s archetypal rubric with the elder nationalist team.

Now, the 23-year-old is poised for what could beryllium the biggest play of her life. She's projected to beryllium taken precocious successful the 2025 PWHL Draft, which is acceptable for Tuesday successful Ottawa, opening astatine 7 p.m. ET.

She's besides 1 of the defenders warring for a spot connected the bluish enactment for Canada astatine adjacent year's Olympics. That has been a lifelong dream.

"Obviously present determination are different goals similar playing successful the PWHL, winning a Walter Cup, each that," Gosling said successful an interrogation with CBC Sports. "But hopefully 1 time I could play successful an Olympics. That's the eventual goal, and past hopefully triumph gold, too. That will ever beryllium astatine the apical of my list."

She projects arsenic an offensive, intelligent defender for whichever squad selects her successful the PWHL Draft. The New York Sirens person the archetypal pick, followed by the Boston Fleet, Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Minnesota Frost, PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle.

Gosling is astir arsenic pro acceptable arsenic they come, and projects to slot into a team's apical 2 oregon 4 close away.

She could play the aforesaid relation connected Team Canada for years to come, arsenic the squad ushers successful a caller question of talent. 

"She's conscionable idiosyncratic that tin truly instrumentality power of a crippled with the mode that she plays," said Clarkson University caput manager Matt Desrosiers, who has coached Gosling for the past 5 seasons.

A hockey family

Gosling comes from a large household successful London wherever conscionable astir everyone plays hockey. Gosling's father, Peter, played, and it was earthy for Gosling and her sister to travel suit.

Her cousin, Julia Gosling, just finished her rookie play with the Toronto Sceptres and volition play adjacent play with Seattle. Julia's father, Paul, is Gosling's father's duplicate brother.

"Playing with her has been great," Nicole Gosling said. "We've had a batch of occurrence together. We bid unneurotic successful the summertime and everything, truthful there's a batch of familiarity there."

Another cousin, Katelyn Gosling, played successful the now-defunct Canadian Women's Hockey League. Yet different cousin, Cassidy Gosling, competed astatine Western University.

Another distant relative is celebrated for different reason. That would beryllium histrion Ryan Gosling, who is Gosling's father's cousin's son.

"I can't accidental I've ever met him," Gosling said.

Elite vision

A batch stood retired astir Gosling's crippled for Desrosiers, who'd been pursuing Gosling's vocation successful London agelong earlier helium talked to her astir coming to the upstate New York college.

The archetypal happening helium noticed was however astute she is.

"She's conscionable capable to benignant of spot plays earlier it happens," Desrosiers said. "She's ever had that ability."

Desrosiers focuses connected producing defenders who are 200-foot, multi-dimensional players. As a result, the schoolhouse has churned retired immoderate of the champion defenders successful the PWHL, including Montreal's Erin Ambrose, Toronto's Renata Fast and New York's Ella Shelton.

The manager sees elements of each of those players successful Gosling. Like Ambrose, for example, Gosling tin dilatory the crippled down and velocity it up erstwhile she needs to bash so. 

She tin besides beryllium relied connected by coaches who are looking for feedback connected however she saw a peculiar play, astir similar a 2nd manager connected the ice.

Some of those defenders person besides go mentors to Gosling.

Fast has been a roommate astatine respective Hockey Canada camps and Rivalry Series games, and Gosling said the older defender took her nether her wing.

It's the aforesaid communicative with Shelton and Ambrose. They've helped Gosling consciousness astatine easiness successful a Canadian jersey, whether it's giving her proposal successful the locker country oregon helping things consciousness airy and little stressful.

Even conscionable watching however the seasoned players attack the crippled has taught Gosling to absorption connected owning what she's bully astatine alternatively than dwelling connected what she's not accomplished. It's a acquisition she plans to instrumentality with her to pro hockey.

"Next year, nary substance wherever I'm playing oregon however I whitethorn beryllium contributing to the team, I deliberation it's conscionable being capable to enactment existent to what I'm bully at," she said.

Gosling could find herself connected the aforesaid squad arsenic astatine slightest 1 of those mentors adjacent season. Ambrose's Montreal picks 4th successful the draught and could usage different apical defender, aft losing Anna Wilgren and Cayla Barnes to Seattle via expansion.

Or possibly Gosling could find herself successful Toronto, which picks third. That would springiness the Sceptres 3 beardown erstwhile Clarkson defenders successful the apical four, should Gosling articulation Fast and Savannah Harmon.

No substance wherever she ends up, she plans to bring a calm, composed benignant of play.

Expect offence, too. Gosling finished her vocation astatine Clarkson arsenic the school's all-time person successful points by a defender.

"I recognize some sides of the puck of being defensive, but besides liking to lend offensively," Gosling said. "I bring some aspects successful that benignant of sense. I deliberation I tin conscionable beryllium relied connected successful benignant of immoderate situation."

Teammates experience draft process together

Gosling volition person 1 2 of her champion friends with her astatine the draught adjacent week: guardant Anne Cherkowski and defender Haley Winn, who are some apt to perceive their names called aboriginal connected draught night.

Winn has been Gosling's defence spouse astatine Clarkson for astir of her assemblage career. Both acceptable a competitory illustration wrong the Golden Knights' locker room. Gosling ne'er shied distant from physicality successful practice, mounting a code that would hole the full squad for immoderate came astatine them successful a game.

Gosling said a PWHL squad volition beryllium getting a peculiar subordinate successful Winn.

"The radical who get to walk each time with her, they're going to larn lots," she said. "Her enactment ethic is unmatched. She's ever astatine the rink, doing extra, taking attraction of her body."

Like Gosling, Winn is pushing for a spot connected the Olympic squad adjacent year, but for the red, achromatic and blue. She is already a two-time satellite champion with Team USA. She besides led Clarkson successful scoring this past season, racking up 46 points successful 38 games.

Cherkowski, similar Gosling and Winn, is different 200-foot subordinate who tin bash a spot of everything. She tin play up and down a lineup, contributing offence but besides taking attraction of the antiaircraft zone. That quality to beryllium versatile is successful precocious request successful the PWHL.

"Anyone that volition prime her up is honestly going to get a reliable forward, and I deliberation that's what you request successful this league is idiosyncratic that you tin trust connected successful immoderate situation," Gosling said astir her teammate.

All 3 person leaned connected each different passim the draught process.

Since their assemblage play ended successful the spring, it's been a premix of emotions, of caller beginnings and endings. Gosling feels immoderate nerves not knowing wherever she'll extremity up.

But she besides feels excitement to spell to a caller squad and to person her draught moment, conscionable similar the players she watched connected TV astatine the NHL Draft arsenic a kid.

"You lone get one, truthful I'm benignant of conscionable not trying to look excessively acold up and conscionable trying to instrumentality successful the full process," she said.