In her younger years, Anne Cherkowski paid a visit to New York City and there was a bit of excitement.
But not nearly as much as now, as she'll be a 30-minute drive away from Manhattan, over the Passaic and Hudson rivers, in Newark, NJ, home of the Professional Women's Hockey League New York Sirens.
Cherkowski was selected ninth overall by the Sirens – the first pick of the second round – in the league's annual draft June 24 in Ottawa.
"There was definitely tons of excitement, and it was a really cool moment to hear my name getting called," said Cherkowski, home in Coldstream for the summer before heading off to the Sirens' training camp in the fall.
"I think having my parents and brother there alongside me made it a really cool experience, so it's definitely something I'll remember for awhile."
Dad Kevin, mom Sabre, and brother Nick were on hand to congratulate Cherkowski, who played four years of NCAA Div. 1 women's hockey with the Clarkson University Golden Knights in Potsdam, NY (seven hours north of Newark, and a mere 90 minutes south of Ottawa), when the Sirens made the forward their third selection in the first nine picks.
New York had the first overall pick and selected Czechia forward Kristýna Kaltounková, who played at Colgate University. After a trade with the Toronto Sceptres for the third overall pick, the Sirens chose American forward Casey O'Brien from the University of Wisconsin, then grabbed Cherkowski six picks later.
"I definitely had a bit of a sense that New York was interested in me," said Cherkowski. "I was able to have phone calls with the teams beforehand, so definitely it was a possibility. And so yeah, I was just super excited when my name was called."
Cherkowski is a skilled offensive force with a high-level scoring touch.
She finished her final collegiate year with 17 goals and 28 assists, and was a first-team Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference all-star.
"She brought speed, tenacity, and a veteran presence to Clarkson's attack," said the Golden Knights on its website.
Two of Cherkowski's Clarkson teammates were selected in the first round – defenceman Haley Winn was drafted second overall by the Boston Fleet, and defenceman Nicole Gosling went fourth overall to the Montreal Victoiré.
Clarkson's showing at the 2025 PWHL Draft stands as a testament to the program's reputation for the development of elite level talent.
"Winn, Gosling, and Cherkowski leave a legacy that the next generation of Golden Knights will look to build upon, and as they begin their next chapters in the PWHL, they carry with them the pride, tradition, and championship mindset of Clarkson Hockey," said the Golden Knights.
Cherkowski – who did her undergraduate studies in civil engineering, and a one-year Masters degree in business at Clarkson – called the trio being drafted in the first nine picks "amazing."
"We've been a really tight-knit group playing together for the past four years, and to see them have success at that level has been really cool," she said. "To go through this whole process with a couple of buddies has been a ton of fun."
The Sirens missed the PWHL playoffs in the six-team league in 2025. The loop will grow to eight teams for 2025-26 with the addition of West Coast expansion teams in Vancouver and Seattle.
The Hockey News wrote following the draft that the Sirens "went from a troubled team with known issues in their locker room to a group built around talented youth and respected veterans."
New York made nine draft picks in the six rounds, shipped out two veterans, and replaced them with players added by trade and free agency.
"What a great night for New York," general manager Pascal Daoust said to The Hockey News after the draft. "It's definitely an opportunity that we had to, you know, play with the cards and find solutions, find a new angle that we haven't evaluated, and now we're very, very happy that we had the opportunity to come here with six rounds but nine picks, adding nine players coming from picks and adding as well a player coming from a trade.
"So yeah, new faces will come, new energy will come, new culture, new leadership. And we're very, very excited."
In Cherkowski, the Sirens also have a player with experience at the highest level of women's hockey. Cherkowski suited up for Team Canada in the 2023-24 Rivalry Series with the United States in a battle of national teams.
Making the jump to the pro league, still, will come with some adjustments to make.
"I think the speed and physicality is a lot more prominent in the league and so that's kind of going to be a focus in the off-season," said Cherkowski. "But I've also been trying to implement a little more physicality into my game, so I think it's going to be a bit of a bit of an adjustment, but I'm ready to have fun with it."
The final pick of the 2025 Draft, taken 48th overall in the sixth round, was Lake Country's Chanreet Bassi from the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds program by the expansion Vancouver franchise.
