PWHL teams announce protected players during four-team expansion process

The PWHL’s eight existing teams have decided which players they’ll protect from their expansion roster-building process.

During Phase 1 of the six-phase process, which began Tuesday, teams were permitted to protect three players from being signed — or selected, if necessary — by the league’s newest teams in Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose.

Only players under contract for the 2026-27 season could be protected, which meant free agents needed to sign before 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Any signing automatically counted as one of the team’s three protections.

The four expansion teams will begin to build their inaugural rosters from the remaining pool of eligible players, which includes U.S. Olympic gold medalists Hilary Knight and Hannah Bilka, Swiss star forward Alina Müller and Canadian Daryl Watts.

Each expansion team will have a three-day window, starting Friday, to acquire five players through signings and, if necessary, a player selection process. Existing teams can lose a maximum of three players who are under contract for the 2026-27 season during this phase.

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Montreal Victoire

Protected

Marie-Philip Poulin (F)
Laura Stacey (F)
Ann-Renée Desbiens (G)

Key players available: Nicole Gosling (D), Erin Ambrose (D), Abby Roque (F), Hayley Scamurra (F), Kati Tabin (D)

Boston Fleet

Aerin Frankel (G)
Megan Keller (D)
Haley Winn (D)

Key players available: Alina Müller (F), Jessie Eldridge (F), Susanna Tapani (F), Jamie Lee Rattray (F), Abby Newhook (F)

Minnesota Frost

Taylor Heise (F)
Kelly Pannek (F)
Maddie Rooney (G)

Key players available: Britta Curl-Salemme (F), Kendall Coyne Schofield (F), Kendall Cooper (D), Lee Stecklein (D), Grace Zumwinkle (F)

New York Sirens

Sarah Fillier (F)
Kristýna Kaltounková (F)
Casey O’Brien (F)

Key players available: Kayle Osborne (G), Maja Nylén Persson (D), Anne Cherkowski (F), Micah Zandee-Hart (D), Paetyn Levis (F)

Ottawa Charge

Rebecca Leslie (F)
Gwyneth Philips (G)
Ronja Savolainen (D)

Key players available: Emily Clark (F), Brianne Jenner (F), Rory Guilday (D), Gabbie Hughes (F), Fanuza Kadirova (F)

Seattle Torrent

Alex Carpenter (F)
Hannah Murphy (G)
Anna Wilgren (D)

Key players available: Cayla Barnes (D), Hilary Knight (F), Hannah Bilka (F), Julia Gosling (F), Danielle Serdachny (F)

Toronto Sceptres

Renata Fast (D)
Raygan Kirk (G)
Ella Shelton (D)

Key players available: Daryl Watts (F), Blayre Turnbull (F), Jesse Compher (F), Natalie Spooner (F), Kali Flanagan (D)

Vancouver Goldeneyes

Sophie Jaques (D)
Emerance Maschmeyer (G)
Sarah Nurse (F)

Key players available: Hannah Miller (F), Ashton Bell (D), Tereza Vanišová (F), Jenn Gardiner (F), Abby Boreen (F)