MANKATO — Former Minnesota State women’s hockey captain Taylor Otremba had an idea on what she wanted her legacy to be.
She wanted to leave the Mavericks’ program in a better place than she found it. She hoped people remembered her for who she was as a person as much as she was as a player, leaving a permanent impact on and off the ice.
Otremba’s time as MSU is over. But the legacy she’s leaving behind is far from over. She was one of 72 players selected in Wednesday’s PWHL Entry Draft at the Fox Theater in Detroit.
And since that unforgettable moment of getting her name called Otremba’s life has been chaotic and emotional to say the least.
“It’s been filled with traveling back home,” Otremba said of the chaos the few days after the draft has brought. “Then also all the things after the draft, just kind of getting back to reality in a sense. But then also sitting with the fact that I did get drafted, what’s going to come, and what that looks like for the next few months before camp. There’s a lot of thinking and processing going on, but it’s been good.”
Otremba’s final season with the Mavericks was one for the record books. The program record 17 wins. The WCHA Tournament quarterfinal victory over Minnesota Duluth. MSU’s first trip to the Final Faceoff since 2009.
But as she skated off the ice at Lee and Penny Anderson Arena for the final time in MSU’s purple and gold, the reality of possibly playing at the next level, as well as college graduation, shifted to the forefront.
All Otremba and any senior in the women’s college hockey and international world had to do in order to declare for the PWHL Draft was simply fill out a Google Doc. Otremba filled out that Google Doc. As did teammate Kianna Roeski.
Oh, and 233 other players also filled out the Google Doc. A record 235 players were eligible for the 2026 PWHL Draft.
With the league expanding from eight teams to 12, and the draft set to be six rounds deep, only 72 of the 235 players were going to have their name called.
And unlike most professional sports leagues, there was no draft combine to display skills or personality. Otremba was left to train and prepare for a possibility of joining a PWHL squad while her agent had brief conversations with teams across the league.
Then came draft day. Otremba was accompanied by her parents, Mike and Sarah, on her first trip to the Motor City. She walked the red carpet. Then she took her seat in Detroit’s legendary Fox Theater, where the trio sat and waited for five hours as the draft proceeded.
Wisconsin’s Caroline Harrvey went first overall. Former MSU teammate Jamie Nelson, who spent her final season at the University of Minnesota, was selected in the second round.
Names kept being selected. The Otremba trio sat patiently.
Taylor knew that no matter what happened on that night her support system still had her back. There was still a way for her to potentially crack the PWHL.
The draft wore down to its sixth and final round. By the time the draft’s live stream on YouTube reached the 5 hour, 45 minute and 56 second mark the Ottawa Charge were on the clock with the second to last pick of the night.
A team which Otremba and her agent heard nothing from during the entire process.
But then the brass representing the Ottawa Charge came up to the podium. With the 71st pick in the 2026 PWHL Draft, the Ottawa Charge are proud to select… Taylor Otremba.
Her photo was projected onto the big screen of Fox Theater. The crowd broke into applause.
Taylor was joining the professional ranks of women’s hockey.
“I was definitely in a state of shock because I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Taylor said. “My mom actually gasped, and then she said ‘That’s you.’ I looked at her in complete shock and said ‘Oh my god, that is me.’”
After that it was all hugs with Mike and Sarah before she made her way to the stage, doing her best not to panic. Five hours of waiting to hear her name, all the countless hours spent training culminated in one moment.
Drafted by a team that was two wins away from a Walter Cup championship last season.
“I’m extremely excited and honored for that, because they are a very good team,” Taylor said. “They have a good coaching staff, and I’m really excited to be a part of that. They have a good thing going right now, and I like the way they play. Obviously they picked me for a reason, and I’m excited to contribute in any way possible.”
That moment of being selected was a moment that she admits wasn’t always a dream for her. The PWHL didn’t begin until her sophomore season. All the work and hours spent training was meant to get her to play at the collegiate level, which was the pinnacle of women’s hockey when she first arrived at Mankato.
Now young women have the opportunity to play at the professional level. Taylor hopes she can continue to be an example of what happens when you dream big in women’s hockey and hopefully leave it in a better place, just like she did at MSU.
“I just hope I can be an inspiration (for future generations), and no matter what their background is, that they can do this,” Taylor said. “You have to work hard, and you don’t have to go to a top 10 school or anything like that. But if you work hard, show up every day, you’re consistent and you love the game anything is possible. You can do it if you are dedicated.”