Olympic gold medalist Tessa Bonhomme taken first overall in Canadian Women's League entry draft

The Canadian Women’s League held its first entry draft Thursday night at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The top competitive women’s league is changing its look this year, from six teams to five, including expansion into Boston.

Tessa Bonhomme, a 5-foot-7, 140-pound defenseman, was taken first overall by Toronto. The Sudbury native was a part of Team Canada’s gold medal team at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

“I’m very excited about the opportunity that Toronto is providing me with as the first overall pick ever in the sport of women’s hockey,” Bonhomme said. “It’s both an honor and a responsibility to play at my best level and to be an ambassador of the sport and to try and help our team win the Clarkson Cup.”

The draft was included this year in an effort to improve parity in the league. The draft involved the three teams from the Greater Toronto Area: Brampton, Burlington and Toronto, while the Montreal and Boston teams are able to add players from those areas.