Three Eagles Selected on First Day of NWHL Draft

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – A trio of Boston College women's hockey seniors were selected in the first two rounds of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) Draft on Wednesday. The five teams that make up the NWHL will make their third through fifth round picks tomorrow, beginning at 11 a.m. Megan Keller was picked third overall by the Buffalo Beauts. Two picks later, fellow blue liner Kali Flanagan was taken fifth overall by the Boston Pride. Forward Makenna Newkirk was selected seventh overall by the Connecticut Whale in the second round.

Keller currently leads all defenders in the country in scoring, putting up 22 points on nine goals and 13 assists. The captain's nine goals and five power-play goals are both tops among blue liners. Her five power-play scores tie for the overall national lead. She has registered at least one point in 15 of the 19 games that she has played this season and earned multiple points in seven outings. Keller is the Eagles' career leader in defenseman points (135) and assists (102) and second in goals (33). Her 102 assists are tied for fourth overall in program history.

Flanagan, who along with Keller was a member of the gold-medal winning 2018 U.S. Olympic Team, is the Eagles' most-tenured defenseman with 138 appearances. She has 59 career points from 15 goals and 44 assists. All three of those numbers place her in the top 10 amongst BC blue liner career records. The captain has registered seven points on one goal and six assists so far this season.

Earlier this season, Newkirk became the fifth player in program history to reach 150 career points. The two-year captain is currently second on the team in points with a team-high 14 assists and seven goals. She is fifth in program history in career points (170), tied for fourth in assists (102), sixth in goals (68), fourth in game-winning goals (14), and fifth in power-play goals (21). Entering the 2018-19 season, Newkirk was the lone Division I player that had finished each of the previous three seasons in the top 25 in scoring.

BC has had two number one overall drafts picks in the NWHL Draft, with Katie Burt '18 going first overall last year while Alex Carpenter '16 as chosen first overall by the New York Riveters in the league's inaugural draft in 2015. The Eagles' three picks today marked the most of any school and BC was just one of two schools (Wisconsin) with multiple players drafted in the first two rounds.

Twelve BC alumnae are currently competing in the NWHL while 17 total Eagles are skating professionally this season.

Three Eagles Selected on First Day of NWHL Draft

Players Mentioned

Katie Burt

Kali Flanagan

Megan Keller

Makenna Newkirk

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