![Meet the newest faces of PWHL Montréal](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7231238.1718118283!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/jennifer-gardiner-and-cayla-barnes.jpg)
Meet the newest faces of PWHL Montréal
CBC
Montreal's professional women's hockey team has secured its picks for the future.
The draft came only weeks after PWHL Minnesota hoisted the league's Walter Cup in the league's inaugural season.
Seven players in total were drafted by Montreal. The team's top picks were former college teammates and friends Cayla Barnes and Jennifer Gardiner.
They were two of the draft-eligible players from Ohio State, the NCAA school that dominated Monday's event with eight former players heading to professional teams.
Barnes, who has represented the U.S. in two Olympic Games, said even she was surprised when Montreal selected her with its top pick in the seven-round draft.
Growing up in California, her four brothers caught hockey fever when Wayne Gretzky was traded to the L.A. Kings. She tagged along and played roller hockey with the boys.
"I learned how to be tough, how to bounce back from a lot of things," she said.
Her mother, Michelle Church, said they first enrolled her in figure skating but had to bribe her to take the ice with Skittles because she just wanted to watch the boys play hockey.
"The coach finally came to us and said, 'You know, I don't think she likes it, she wants to [play hockey]," she said.
Barnes will be called on to strengthen Montreal's defence and take the load off Erin Ambrose. The two are rivals in international competition.
"She's an amazing hockey player and has so much experience and a wealth of knowledge," Barnes said of Ambrose.
"I'm just excited to get things going with her and pick her brain."
Montreal hockey fans may be in for a treat.
Barnes describes herself as a defensive-minded player "with a bit of spice offensively."