With the Whitecaps being the only National Women's Hockey League team not based in the Eastern Time Zone, it's no surprise that 21 of the 23 players on their 2019-20 roster had Minnesota ties.
And it should come as no surprise that the Whitecaps added two more players with Minnesota ties during Tuesday's first two rounds of the NWHL draft.
A pair of Gophers seniors – forward Alex Woken and defender Patti Marshall – were the Whitecaps' selections in the first and second rounds, respectively. Woken, a Fargo native, was the No. 5 overall pick in the six-team league, while Marshall, of Thief River Falls, Minn., was picked at No. 11. Both played on national championship-winning teams for Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault.
Woken had 32 points on 16 goals and 16 assists for the Gophers in 2019-20 and 38 goals and 37 assists in her career. Marshall had a goal and nine assists, plus 44 blocked shots, last season and eight goals and 53 assists in her career. Woken's selection was announced live on Twitter by Lynx guard Rachel Banham, a former Gophers star. Katie Million, USA Hockey's director of women's national team programs and the former commissioner of the WCHA Women's League, announced the selection of Marshall.
Boston University forward Sammy Davis was the No. 1 overall selection by the Boston Pride, the league's regular-season champion. The Pride acquired the pick from Toronto, an expansion franchise.
Selections in rounds three through five of the draft will be announced live on Twitter beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Here are the results of Tuesday's first two rounds:
First round
1. Boston (from Toronto): Sammy Davis, F, Boston University
2. Connecticut: Kayla Friesen, F, Clarkson
3. Buffalo: Carly Jackson, G, Maine
4. Metropolitan: Saroya Tinker, D, Yale
5. Whitecaps: Alex Woken, F, Gophers
6. Toronto (from Boston): Jaycee Gebhard, F, Robert Morris
Second round
7. Connecticut: Victoria Howran, D, New Hampshire
8. Toronto: Amy Curlew, F, Cornell
9. Buffalo: Codie Cross, D, Northeastern
10. Metropolitan: Delaney Belinskas, F, Boston College
11. Whitecaps: Patti Marshall, D, Gophers
12. Boston: Tereza Vanisova, F, Maine