Feb 19, 2026; Milan, Italy; Abbey Murphy (37) of the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal in women's ice hockey after defeating Canada during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
Feb 19, 2026; Milan, Italy; Abbey Murphy (37) of the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal in women's ice hockey after defeating Canada during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
The Seattle Torrent selected Abbey Murphy as the No. 2 overall pick on Wednesday, June 17. At the Fox Theatre in Detroit, MI, the University of Minnesota standout joined the PWHL after a stellar 2025-26 season.
“I think the most exciting thing is the crowd over there,” Murphy said to the PWHL Draft live broadcast, as per Fox 13 Seattle.
“They get a big fanbase, and that's something that's really exciting to me. Everyone likes my feistiness, so I'm excited,” she added.
Murphy scored 66 points (40G / 26A) in just 31 games in her final season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers as captain, leading the NCAA charts in points and goals.
The Evergreen Park, IL, native finished her five-year college career with 261 points (143G / 118A) in 171 games. Murphy also features in multiple Golden Gophers all-time stats. She sits atop the all-time goals leaderboard and second in career points.
Notably, the 24-year-old became a top-three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award in the 2025-26 season after being a two-time top-10 finalist in the previous two seasons.
She also received the coveted WCHA All-Academic honor for her impressive tenure as a student-athlete in Minnesota over the last five years.
Besides these accolades, Murphy became the WCHA Forward of the Year and earned her spot on the All-WCHA First Team for the first time. Before that, she had made the ALL-WCHA Second Team twice and the All-WCHA Third Team once.
Abbey Murphy’s international career with Team USA
Abbey Murphy has earned tremendous success in her international career with Team USA in women’s ice hockey over the last few years.
During her junior career from 2018 to 2020, she won three medals in her three appearances at the IIHF U18 World Championship. In 2018 and 2020, Team USA clinched gold medals, while in 2019, they had to settle for silver.
On her senior debut for Team USA at the 2021 IIHF Women’s World Championship, Murphy earned silver before doing the same in her first Winter Olympics in 2022 in Beijing. She finally grabbed the Worlds gold in 2023 before repeating it in 2025, despite another silver in between in 2024.
Her four World Championship medals would probably pale in comparison to her first and only gold medal at the Winter Olympics earlier this year in Milan.
Murphy scored seven points, including two goals and five assists, to play a key role in Team USA’s ascent to the top step of the podium in 2026 in women’s ice hockey.
Will Abbey Murphy repeat her heroics at the college and international level in the PWHL for Seattle Torrent? Tell us your opinion in the comments section.
Written by
Arjun Sharma
Edited by
Sagnik Bagchi