(© George Walker IV-Imagn Images)

This season the PWHL welcomed the first three Russian-born players even to step on league ice. Fanuza Kadirova, of the Ottawa Charge, had a spectacular season recording ten goals and 12 point in 28 games as a first year player. She continued that scoring in the playoffs.

While she struggled in her first season, Anna Shokhina continued her adaptation to the speed and phyicality of the league a well, recording five points in 28 game split between Ottawa and the Vancouver Goldeneyes.

Finally, former Yale defender Vita Poniatovskaia appeared in seven games for the Ottawa Charge after joining the team as a reserve following training camp.

The trio could soon be joined by another wave of Russians as four Russian Olympians have declared for the 2026 PWHL Draft.

The first Russian to attempt to join the PWHL was Ilona Markova, who was picked by the Boston Fleet in the 2024 PWHL Draft. Markova didn't make the Fleet's roster in training camp and returned to Russia. Last season she returned to North America finishing the season with the University of British Columbia in an attempt to prepare for another shot at the PWHL this offseason.

Four Russians Declare For PWHL Draft

Four Russian players have thrown their names into the 2026 PWHL Draft class. Forward Oxana Bratishcheva played on a line with Kadirova in the ZhHL with Dynamo-Neva St. Petersburg. She's represented Russia at the 2018 Olympics, two World Championships, and their U-18 national team levels. This season she scored 19 goals and 37 points in 36 games for Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Perhaps more notable are the pair of defenders who have declared. 30-year-old Maria Batalova is coming off back-to-back Best Defender awards in Russia's ZhHL and was also named Best Player in the league this season. She's a two-time Olympian and three time World Championship participant for Russia.

Nina Pirogova is the other defender to watch. The 5-foot-9 27-year-old defender is Russia's all-time leading scorer by a defender with 395 points in 400 career games, and he again led all Russian defenders in scoring in the ZhHL this season. Like Batalova, Pirogova has twice represented Russia at the Olympic Games.

The final Russian to declare is 22-year-old netminder Darya Gredzen. The 5-foot-9 goalie was the 2025 ZhHL Best Goaltender, and Russian Player of the Year in 2024. She played two games for Russia as a teenager at the 2022 Olympics. In 187 career games in Russia's top league, Gredzen has a .931 save percentage.