- Brantford took the 17-year-old goaltender 40th overall in the OHL Under-18 Priority Selection
- She is the first woman ever drafted in the Under-18 event and second drafted into the OHL
- Read below for her Wisconsin commitment and the path that got her here
Sophie Jovanovic made history Monday night in the OHL.
The Brantford Bulldogs picked the 17-year-old goaltender 40th overall in the 2026 OHL Under-18 Priority Selection. That made her the first woman ever drafted in the Under-18 event.
Brantford wasted no time announcing the pick:
Jovanovic is also just the second woman drafted into the OHL at all. Taya Currie went to the Sarnia Sting in the 14th round of the 2021 OHL Priority Selection, and now Jovanovic joins her in the league’s record book.
The 5-foot-11 netminder has built her game against boys her whole career. She played U16 AAA with the Toronto Marlboros, suited up at the 2025 OHL Cup, and spent this past season with the Toronto Nationals U18 program.
That route kept her off Team Ontario and Team Canada rosters, which pull from girls’ programs. It didn’t stop the Bulldogs from spending a second-round pick on her.
The league marked the moment as it happened:
Her future already points south of the border. Jovanovic is committed to Wisconsin, the top women’s program in the NCAA, and she’ll join the Badgers in 2027.
Hockey runs in the family too. She’s the younger sister of Matthew Jovanovic, a former second-round pick of the Saginaw Spirit.
Fifty-two players came off the board in the draft, with Ethan Cava going first overall. Women’s hockey keeps stacking up bigger moments, from PWHL crowds packing Madison Square Garden to nights like this one in junior.
The Bulldogs don’t expect Jovanovic in their crease anytime soon, with Wisconsin on her calendar for 2027. The pick still writes her name into OHL history for good.
