Elisa Holopainen: 2026 PWHL Draft Prospect Profile

Recent Statistics

Sources: eliteprospects.com and sdhl.se. SDHL stats are not directly comparable to PWHL competition.

Who Is Holopainen?

Born in Tuusniemi, Finland, Holopainen played eight seasons in the Naisten Liiga (the Finnish league, now called the Auroraliiga), regularly recording an average of over two points per game and being named the league’s best player four times.

In 2024–25, Holopainen moved over to the SDHL and helped Frölunda HC to an SDHL title. In her first season in Sweden, she tied for the league lead in points and also registered five goals and six assists in the playoffs. Holopainen was named the SDHL’s best forward and most valuable player that season.

In her second year with Frölunda, she led the league in goals and tied for second in total points. The winger was by far her team’s most prolific goal-scorer—with 27 goals, she had 16 more than the next player. Her 12 points in the playoffs included a hat trick in the semifinals.

Holopainen has four Women’s World Championship (WWC) medals to her name, including a silver from 2019. She also has a bronze from the 2022 Olympics and appeared at the 2026 Olympics. At the 2025 WWC, she recorded five points in seven games. Her game-tying goal in the bronze medal game ultimately propelled her team to an overtime win.

Holopainen is still under contract with Frölunda for next season, but that clearly includes an out clause, as she declared for the draft.

What Holopainen Brings to the Table

The Finnish forward is a prolific goal-scorer who easily uses her speed and skating to weave around opponents.

• Shot: She generates a high volume of shots (165 in 2024–25 and 192 in 2025–26) and has a lethal one-timer on the power play.
• Speed: She was often noticeably the fastest skater on the ice in the SDHL.
• Clutchness: She had seven game-winning goals on the season and scored the game-tying goal in the bronze medal game at the 2025 WWC.

Areas to Develop

Holopainen is on the smaller side and relies more on finesse than physicality. Two years in the SHDL will have helped, but with increased physicality on a smaller ice surface in the PWHL, her transition may not be immediate.

Where Could She Land?

Natalia projects Holopainen to go 10th overall, which seems appropriate to me. The forwards ahead of her are Team USA superstars like Abbey Murphy, Laila Edwards, and Tessa Janecke. She’s skilled enough to go in the first round, but other forwards have proven themselves against truly the top competition on the international stage and in the NCAA over the last several years.

The Ottawa Charge seem to have the ability to bring out the best in their draft picks (see, for example, the seasons of Fanuza Kadirova and Sarah Wozniewicz). The expansion rules will put the Charge at risk of losing key pieces like Kadirova and Wozniewicz, and they have lost Brianne Jenner and Emily Clark already. Ottawa could use a proven goal-scorer with speed and finesse like Holopainen.

The Bottom Line

Without knowing where the expansion teams will pick in the draft, it’s difficult to predict who might take Holopainen. She’ll likely go in the first round, but she might be taken early in the second round depending on positional need.