PWHL Announces Expansion Draft, Roster Building Plans

June is going to be quite the busy month in the PWHL as the league announced plans for the Expansion Draft and roster building process for the two expansion teams, Seattle and Vancouver. It's a multi-step process for them to start building their teams from the existing teams' rosters leading up to the entry Draft on June 27th.

Each of the six inaugural teams will lose four players to expansion. The two new teams will end the process with 12 players on their rosters.

First up is the protection period. The six teams have until June 3 at 12 p.m. EST to submit their protection list. They are only able to protect players who are under contract for the 2025-26 season or players whose rights they hold. For example, if they drafted the player in 2024 - no matter how many years they have on their contract because teams retain their draft picks' rights for two years.

Initially the teams will be able to protect three players. Once two players from a team have been "relinquished," as the league's release calls it, teams can protect a fourth player. In other words, protect three, then relinquish two, and then protect a fourth.

Then, from June 4 at 9 a.m. EST through June 8 at 5 p.m. EST, Seattle and Vancouver have an "exclusive signing window." They can sign up to five players, with no minimum on how many they sign. The teams can sign any player who is not protected or a free agent. Any player signed during this period will count towards the four.

The Expansion Draft will be on June 9 at 8:30 p.m. EST. The amount of rounds will be based on how many players Vancouver and Seattle signed during the signing window. At minimum, it will be seven rounds. At most, it will be 12, as both teams need to be at 12 player by the end of the Expansion Draft. Unlike the signing window, the only players who can be picked in the draft are those whose rights are held or are an under contract unprotected player. Details on the Expansion Draft order and coverage details are to come.

All of this leads up to the Draft on June 27 in Ottawa. All eight teams will participate in the six-round draft from the pool of 199 players who declared for the Draft. The New York Sirens will pick first based on the Gold Plan.

Players Eligible for Protection

Team lists represent players under contract for the 2025-26 season and players whose playing rights are held by the team through the 2025-26 season, as denoted by *.

Boston Fleet (14):

• Daniela Pejšová (D)
• Emily Brown (D)
• Megan Keller (D)
• Sydney Bard (D)
• Hadley Hartmetz (D)*
• Alina Müller (F)
• Hannah Bilka (F)
• Hannah Brandt (F)
• Hilary Knight (F)
• Jamie Lee Rattray (F)
• Sophie Shirley (F)
• Ilona Markova (F)*
• Shay Maloney (F)*
• Aerin Frankel (G)

Minnesota Frost(15):

• Claire Thompson (D)
• Lee Stecklein (D)
• Sophie Jaques (D)
• Mae Batherson (D)*
• Britta Curl-Salemme (F)
• Denisa Křížová (F)
• Grace Zumwinkle (F)
• Kelly Pannek (F)
• Kendall Coyne Schofield (F)
• Klára Hymlárová (F)
• Taylor Heise (F)
• Brooke McQuigge (F)*
• Dominique Petrie (F)*
• Katy Knoll (F)*
• Nicole Hensley (G)

Montréal Victoire (14):

• Amanda Boulier (D)
• Cayla Barnes (D)
• Erin Ambrose (D)
• Anna Wilgren (D)*
• Abby Boreen (F)
• Jennifer Gardiner (F)
• Kristin O’Neill (F)
• Laura Stacey (F)
• Lina Ljungblom (F)
• Marie-Philip Poulin (F)
• Maureen Murphy (F)
• Amanda Kessel (F)*
• Dara Greig (F)*
• Ann-Renée Desbiens (G)

New York Sirens (17):

• Ella Shelton (D)
• Jaime Bourbonnais (D)
• Maja Nylén Persson (D)
• Micah Zandee-Hart (D)
• Allyson Simpson (D)*
• Lauren Bernard (D)*
• Abby Roque (F)
• Alex Carpenter (F)
• Elle Hartje (F)
• Emmy Fecteau (F)
• Jessie Eldridge (F)
• Noora Tulus (F)
• Paetyn Levis (F)
• Gabby Rosenthal (F)*
• Sarah Fillier (F)*
• Corinne Schroeder (G)
• Kayle Osborne (G)

Ottawa Charge (15):

• Aneta Tejralová (D)
• Ashton Bell (D)
• Jocelyne Larocque (D)
• Ronja Savolainen (D)
• Madeline Wethington (D)*
• Stephanie Markowski (D)*
• Brianne Jenner (F)
• Danielle Serdachny (F)
• Emily Clark (F)
• Gabbie Hughes (F)
• Kateřina Mrázová (F)
• Anna Meixner (F)*
• Mannon McMahon (F)*
• Emerance Maschmeyer (G)
• Gwyneth Philips (G)

Toronto Sceptres (16):

• Allie Munroe (D)
• Anna Kjellbin (D)*
• Anneke Rankila (F)*
• Blayre Turnbull (F)
• Daryl Watts (F)
• Emma Maltais (F)
• Emma Woods (F)
• Izzy Daniel (F)
• Julia Gosling (F)
• Kristen Campbell (G)
• Megan Carter (D)
• Noemi Neubauerová (F)*
• Raygan Kirk (G)
• Renata Fast (D)
• Sarah Nurse (F)
• Savannah Harmon (D)