Trio of women’s hockey standouts to attend Oilers development camp

United States' Abbey Murphy (37) is in action during a women's ice hockey gold medal game between the United States and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Three women who play U.S. college hockey are slated to participate in this week’s Edmonton Oilers’ prospect development camp.

The National Hockey League squad invited Abbey Murphy and Chloe Primerano of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and Caitlin Kraemer of the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs to join 24 of its men’s prospects for the three-day camp starting Tuesday at the Downtown Community Arena that’s part of the Rogers Place complex.

The Oilers’ invitation to the female trio marks the first time women have been named to an NHL development camp roster.

All five of the Oilers’ picks from last weekend’s NHL Draft will suit up for the camp, including centre Rudolfs Berzkalns (second round, 58th overall), forward Malcom Gastrin (third round, 84th overall), defenceman Andrew Robinson (fifth round, 133rd overall), centre Caden Harvey (sixth round, 180th overall) and goalie Ryan Cameron (seventh round, 212th overall).

Murphy, a 24-year-old from suburban Chicago, was drafted second overall earlier this month by the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women’s Hockey League after a five-year NCAA career with Minnesota. The forward, who captained the Golden Gophers the last two seasons, scored two goals and five assists in seven games to help the U.S. women’s Olympic squad win gold this past February. For Minnesota in 2025-26, she scored 40 goals and 26 assists for 66 points in 31 games

Defender Primerano hails from Vancouver and has played two seasons with Minnesota, scoring 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points in 34 games in 2025-26. The 19-year-old put up five goals and 26 assists for 31 points in 35 games the season before. Four years ago, Primerano became the first female skater taken by a major junior team in a U15 draft after the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League selected the hometown blueliner.

The 20-year-old Kraemer, a forward from Kitchener, Ont., has played two seasons with the Bulldogs, putting up 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) in 36 games last season following a debut NCAA campaign in which she scored 31 points (18 goals, 13 assists) in 31 games. Kraemer represented Canada twice at the Under-18 world championships, in which she scored 10 goals each time, records for a Canadian in a single international tournament.

Other Oilers prospects attending the camp include defenceman Beau Akey (56th overall in 2023), and forwards Connor Clattenburg (160th overall in 2024) and Tommy Lafreniere (83rd overall, 2025).

Goalie Connor Ungar, who recently signed a contract extension with the Oilers after joining the organization undrafted two years ago, is also in the camp lineup.