Less than three weeks after the Montreal Victoire celebrated the franchise’s first Walter Cup, PWHL teams are being rolled like dice in a Yahtzee game.
Four new expansion teams in Hamilton, Detroit, Las Vegas and San Jose signed five players each last week, as the league enters its 12-team season.
Those signed players have laid the foundation for new teams, dramatically changing the look of many existing teams in this league.
All teams have holes to fill as the league enters the third expansion phase, which begins Wednesday afternoon. Expansion teams can sign up three more players, while existing teams will have the opportunity to protect three more.
Here’s a look at what the PWHL’s four new teams look like so far, and what we’ve learned about those teams through the first five signings.
PWHL Hamilton
Players signed: Brianne Jenner, F (Ottawa), Emily Clark, F (Ottawa), Alina Müller, F (Boston), Nicole Gosling, D (Montreal), Kayle Osborne, G (New York)
It’s still early, but it looks like Hamilton GM Meghan Duggan is building a team that can play with the same kind of pace and relentlessness that her head coach, Kris Sparre, led last season with the Boston Fleet.
It starts with former Ottawa Charge captain Brianne Jenner, who has consistently lifted all the lines she played for in the nation’s capital.
He leaves Ottawa as the team’s all-time leading scorer (61 points in 82 games), and that’s not counting what Jenner brings to the table when it comes to leadership.
Duggan, who spent years playing with Jenner as a member of the US women’s national team, sees her as a 200-foot center who can do almost anything.
“You’re looking at him again [Emily Clark] put Ottawa on their backs in the playoffs a few years ago and it’s hard not to see players like that in those times, players whose games really rise when the going gets tough,” said Duggan.
Like Jenner, Clark is a two-way player who can be relied on to kill penalties and set the team’s culture behind the scenes.
They were joined by Alina at the front Müller, the 28-year-old Swiss star who led his country to a bronze medal at the Olympics.
On the back end, Duggan signed former Montreal Victoire linebacker Nicole Gosling, who turned into a power-play quarterback for the championship team in her first season in the league.
Both Gosling and 24-year-old goalkeeper Kayle Osborne are two players Hamilton will be able to build around for years to come.
“I think he’s one of the most important goalie assets of the long term and he’s coming up fast,” Duggan said of Osborne. “We were clear that we see him as the first starter to help put our team in the right position to win and move forward.”
PWHL Detroit
Players signed: Daryl Watts, F (Toronto), Hannah Bilka, F (Seattle), Jesse Compher, F (Toronto), Britta Curl-Salemme, F (Minnesota), Cayla Barnes, D (Seattle)
Detroit signed the top free agent on the market in Daryl Watts, who trails only Montreal’s Marie-Philip Poulin in scoring since the league began in 2024.
For a while, it looked like Watts would return to his hometown Toronto Scepters. But he eventually accepted a four-year extension from Detroit – a contract worth more than $100,000 US per season.
“I got a call from Zoom [Detroit GM Manon Rhéaume] and his team,” Watts said. “They blew me away. From then on, Detroit was my favorite place. “
Watts will be a pillar of Detroit’s offense, but he won’t be the only one. She is joined by Hannah Bilka, who was one of the top players on the US team that won Olympic gold last February.
Jesse Compher and Britta Curl-Salemme are strong performers who can rock. Curl-Salemme finished third in the league’s scoring race last season with Minnesota.
Rounding out the team is Barnes, an offensive defenseman who can move the puck and has years of experience playing alongside Bilka, in particular.
That doesn’t mean Hilary Knight, who signed with Las Vegas but is reportedly headed to Detroit in a sign-and-trade, according to an Associated Press report. The deal won’t be final until the PWHL’s suspension ends on June 16, according to the AP.
Knight will add to the best picture of women’s hockey, and should strengthen a strong offense in Detroit.
PWHL San Jose
Players signed: Kristin O’Neill, F (New York), Anne Cherkowski, F (New York), Maddi Wheeler, F (New York), Rory Guilday, D (Ottawa), Corinne Schroeder, G (Seattle)
San Jose will look to former New York player Kristin O’Neill to set the tone for the Bay Area.
On the national team, O’Neill revealed who he is, a bottom 6 center who can win faceoffs and make the game difficult for the opposition.
But San Jose GM and head coach Troy Ryan, who coached O’Neill on the Canadian team, sees more room for growth in O’Neill, who he signed with a proposed extension.
“[She still has] the ability to be the player he was in the national team,” said Ryan. “As he gets older, I think about the experience he’s had over the years, I think he’s ready to step up.”
That could mean an offensive role for O’Neill, who is tied for third in points on Team Canada at the Olympics (five points in seven games).
O’Neill, who is loved by his teammates, is also the captain of the new team.
Joining her are two New York teammates who just finished their rookie seasons, Anne Cherkowski and Maddi Wheeler. And they’re players who could carry a crippling burden for bigger roles in San Jose.
Ryan also signed goaltender Corinne Schroeder, who hasn’t had a chance to play in front of a strong defense other than PWHL stints in New York and Seattle.
“We are confident that we can surround him with a good team that will give him a career-like year,” said Ryan.
The most important signing of the five may be Rory Guilday, a young defender who can play heavy minutes against the opposition, and who pursued a role on the US Olympic team this past winter.
PWHL Las Vegas
Players signed: Hilary Knight, F (Seattle), Hayley Scamura, F (Montreal), Erin Ambrose, D (Montreal), Mae Batherson, D (Minnesota), Kendall Cooper, D (Minnesota)
According to The Associated Press, Knight will be sent to Detroit for a first-round pick, but it’s unclear where that pick will go in next week’s draft.
With that trade in mind, Las Vegas is missing a leading scorer and starting goaltender. But the team has a strong foundation in the blue line.
That starts with Erin Ambrose, a defenseman known for her hockey IQ and leadership off the ice.
“He really takes his time and is honest with everyone on the team,” said Vegas signee Hayley Scamura, who played with Ambrose in Montreal last season. “He’ll do little things for people as much as possible. He’s the head of the birthday committee and stuff like that.”
Ambrose, who was the league’s defensive player of the year in 2024-2025, can lead the power play and mentor the two young defenders Las Vegas GM Dominique DiDia has signed.
Those two defensemen, Mae Batherson and Kendall Cooper, both had outstanding seasons on Frost’s blue line that was depleted in the last expansion round.
Both grabbed the chance to play big roles in Minnesota. They made Frost a tough team to play against, according to Ambrose, who faced Frost in the playoffs against Montreal.
The big piece here would be Cooper, who is entering his second professional season.
“Coop came in and I think he’s honestly changed the league,” Ambrose said. “Since his first game, I’ve been a fan of watching Coop. I think the way he swings the game is one of his biggest assets.”
Scamurra is the only forward on the list so far, but it brings a ton of flexibility. He has solid power, but he showed this past season in Montreal that he has a lot to offer offensively.
Three of the players signed in Las Vegas won Walter Cups. It’s not just a coincidence.
“One of our pillars is doing it right,” DiDia said. “We want to win, and we have players who have won. They know what it takes to win the Walter Cup.”
