PWHL Stars Available for Expansion Teams
The Boston Fleet captain and MVP candidate, Hilary Knight, leads a list of high-caliber players who were not protected by their respective teams and are available to the PWHL expansion franchises in Seattle and Vancouver. The league unveiled this list on Tuesday, marking the beginning of a crucial process for building the new teams.Among the other notable unprotected players are Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle from Minnesota, Alex Carpenter from New York, Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner, and veteran defender Jocelyne Larocque, as well as Sarah Nurse from Toronto.
The publication of this list marks the beginning of the first phase of the PWHL’s roster construction process, which starts with a five-day exclusive signing window starting Wednesday. This will be followed by an expansion draft on Monday.
Seattle and Vancouver will be able to sign up to five players each, and then they will complete the first 12 spots on their rosters in the expansion draft.
The large amount of talent available is the result of the PWHL’s emphasis on ensuring that its two newest teams can be competitive for the league’s third season, which is expected to begin in November. The PWHL limited its six existing teams to protecting only three players, with the possibility of adding a fourth once they lose two players.
The eight teams will participate in the PWHL draft on June 24.
Knight is coming off a stellar season in which she accumulated 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists), tying for the league lead with New York rookie Sarah Fillier. In addition, Knight, who will turn 36 in July, is nearing the end of her international career, after announcing that the 2026 Winter Games will be her fifth and final representing the United States.
Knight intends to continue her career in the PWHL and could be open to joining the Pacific Northwest region, given that she resides in Idaho during the offseason. Similarly, the list of unprotected players includes five of the six selected in the first round of last year’s draft, including Danielle Serdachny of Ottawa, Claire Thompson of Minnesota, Hannah Bilka of Boston, Cayla Barnes of Montreal, and Julia Gosling of Toronto.Both expansion teams will have numerous goaltending options, with Corinne Schroeder from New York, Nicole Hensley from Minnesota, Emerance Maschmeyer from Ottawa, and Kristen Campbell from Toronto available.
Boston protected goaltender Aerin Frankel, defender Megan Keller, and forward Alina Muller. Defending champion Frost protected captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, forward Taylor Heise, and defender Lee Stecklein. New York protected Fillier and defenders Ella Shelton and Micah Zandee-Hart. Montreal protected goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens and forwards Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey. Ottawa protected forward Emily Clark, goaltender Gwyneth Philips, and defender Ronja Savolainen. Toronto protected captain Blayre Turnbull, forward Daryl Watts, and defender Renata Fast.
