Fleet select Cornell’s Grace Dwyer at No. 10 in first round to shore up defense corps
DETROIT — Around Grace Dwyer’s left wrist hangs a custom silver charm bracelet, each charm representing one of the teams she played for throughout her hockey career.
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Pretty soon, she’ll have to figure out how to get one made of the Fleet logo.
The Fleet used their first-round pick in the PWHL Draft, No. 10 overall, to select the Cornell defender, bolstering a Boston back end that was picked apart during the expansion process.
“I’m super pumped to get to Boston and meet the players and get to know them and get to work,” Dwyer said at the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit.
Boston lost four defenders — Zoe Boyd, Riley Brengman, Daniela Pejsova, Hadley Hartmetz — in expansion. Dwyer has the potential to add depth to the group.
With the Fleet, she’ll play alongside PWHL Defender of the Year Megan Keller and Rookie of the Year Haley Winn and in front of MVP and Goalie of the Year Aerin Frankel.
“That’s awesome, going to the rink and being challenged by people like that,” she said. “I just want to bring that competitive spirit too, and definitely just learn from people like that.”
Dwyer, a left-shot defender from Wynnewood, Pa., appeared in 134 games over four years at Cornell and produced 76 points (18 goals, 58 assists). A captain in her senior season in 2025-26, Dwyer recorded 20 points in 33 games and earned first team All-Ivy honors for the second time in her collegiate career.
A two-way defender, Dwyer was a mainstay on Cornell’s penalty kill unit and was a crucial part of Cornell’s elite defensive group, which ranked 12th in scoring in the NCAA. In her career, she and the Big Red made two NCAA Tournament appearances, won three Ivy League titles, and an ECAC Championship.
Internationally, Dwyer has represented the United States on the Collegiate Select Team and the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship, where she had one goal and three assists as the team won silver.
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Dwyer, 22, has spent some time in Boston, between youth hockey tournaments in the area and visits to Harvard, her mother’s alma mater.
“The fans are passionate, and I’m super excited,” she said. “Just an awesome atmosphere.”
Through her pre-draft conversations with Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer, Dwyer had a hunch Boston might be her destination, but she wasn’t certain when in the order she would hear her name called. She used the word “awesome” about a dozen times in her first media availability as a member of the Fleet.
“It was surreal coming here,” she said. “Definitely blacked out a little going on the stage, but it’s such a cool feeling.”
The Fleet traded their second-round selection to Detroit in a pick swap that brought forward Ella Huber back to Boston after she was poached in expansion, so their next pick was a third-rounder.
With the 27th pick, Boston selected Penn State defender Leah Stecker, who played youth hockey with Dwyer for the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers. Stecker said she’s thrilled about the possibility of a reunion.
An alternate captain in her senior season with the Nittany Lions, Stecker scored three goals and assisted on 17 others while blocking 32 shots.
The Fleet also selected Northeastern forward Jaden Bogden (Round 4, 46th), forward Jenna Goodwin (Round 5, 58th) out of the top-tier Swedish league, and Boston University defender Maeve Kelly (Round 6, 70th).
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