VANCOUVER - It's been a big year for Caroline Harvey -- and some of the biggest changes are yet to come.
The American defender has already won Olympic gold, an NCAA championship and been named the International Ice Hockey Federation's female hockey player of the year.
Now she's getting a glimpse of her future.
Harvey is in Vancouver this week, the city she'll soon call home after being selected first overall by the Goldeneyes in the PWHL draft on June 17.
鈥淚t was incredible. I mean, I was just honoured to hear my name called in general, and then by the Goldeneyes, it was even more of an honour," Harvey said of the draft experience.
"Just so happy to be here. I knew it would be a crazy, amazing experience, and it really was. It's a day I'll never forget for the rest of my life.鈥
The 23-year-old Harvey is widely recognized as a generational talent.
鈥淪he is elite at everything already," said Goldeneyes general manager Cara Gardner Morey. "She still is very young 鈥 I'd like us to remember that she is very young 鈥 and there's still a learning curve. But she certainly has the tools. She's shown that she can play with these players at a very high level. Short-term competition is very different from a long season.鈥
Hailing from Pelham, N.H., Harvey amassed 18 goals and 64 points for Wisconsin last season, won her third NCAA championship and claimed the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in women's college hockey.
She also put on a show with the Americans in Milan, tallying two goals and nine points over seven games as the U.S. edged Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the Olympic title.
鈥淚t was a phenomenal experience," Harvey said. "Obviously, winning gold is always so sweet, and that's the goal you set out to do as a team when you get there. But it was a long couple weeks, and the best experience ... I think (the final), for sure, it was a game that helped build the skills, and just challenged us.鈥
The top pick brings more than skill to the Goldeneyes, Gardner Morey said.
Ahead of the draft, the former head coach of Princeton's women's hockey team talked with Harvey and was impressed by what she heard.
鈥淗earing her willingness and desire to be in Vancouver, that was really special," Gardner Morey said. "And just knowing how well she's going to fit it within our locker room and within our systems."
Harvey joins a Vancouver team that's heading into its second season relatively intact following the PWHL's second expansion process.
Despite the league adding four teams in Hamilton, Detroit, Las Vegas and San Jose, the Goldeneyes managed to hang on to the majority of their players, including star forward Sarah Nurse, standout defender Sophie Jaques and starting goalie Emerance Maschmeyer.
Navigating the expansion process kept Garnder Morey up multiple nights worrying about which of her players would be scooped up by new teams.
鈥淚 never felt good until it was over," she said. "It was every night trying to sleep, not sleeping well, wondering when the shoe was going to drop, because they were there, but you knew the next rounds were coming."
Unlike last summer, the PWHL did not have an expansion draft this year and instead used a process that gave players more autonomy over where they wanted to be.
The results showed Vancouver is creating something unique, Gardner Morey said.
"I was extremely proud in the sense that there must have been something special there," she said. "I think the city sells itself, too, I think they love our setup. But there's something special in that locker room that they all really wanted to come back. So super proud moment there.鈥
It's a locker room Harvey is looking forward to being part of.
The newly minted Goldeneye said she's long admired some of Vancouver's stars, including Jaques and Nurse.
鈥淥bviously (Jaques) is an amazing defender, and I hope to get the opportunity to play with her at some point," she said. "And just watching her do what she does out there, she's got such a high IQ, such a great player.
"And then Sarah Nurse, just to get her the puck, and then I know she'll score. She has a knack for scoring. She's so good at that. So I think there's so many players I can't wait to play with, but specifically those two, because I hated playing against them.鈥
This report by 好色tvwas first published June 23, 2026.
