The PWHL expansion draft is less than a week away, and in anticipation of roster shakeups, the league announced Tuesday each of the inaugural six teams’ protected players list.
In locking in the 18 players who cannot be selected by either PWHL Seattle or PWHL Vancouver on June 9, we move one step closer to both those rosters getting built ahead of their debuts in 2025-26.
Each of the six teams had the opportunity to initially protect three players from selection ahead of the exclusive signing window (June 4-8) and the expansion draft.
Here is a full list of each team’s first three protected players.
Boston Fleet: Aerin Frankel (G), Megan Keller (D), Alina Müller (F)
Minnesota Frost: Kendall Coyne Schofield (F), Taylor Heise (F), Lee Stecklein (D)
Montréal Victoire: Ann-Renée Desbiens (G), Marie-Philip Poulin (F), Laura Stacey (F)
New York Sirens: Sarah Fillier (F), Ella Shelton (D), Micah Zandee-Hart (D)
Ottawa Charge: Emily Clark (F), Gwyneth Philips (G), Ronja Savolainen (D)
Toronto Sceptres: Renata Fast (D), Blayre Turnbull (F), Daryl Watts (F)
If one of the original six teams ends up relinquishing two players — whether during the signing window or draft — said team(s) will be allowed to protect one additional player, but can only do so if they are under contract for the 2025–26 season or the team must hold their playing rights through the 2025–26 season.
Throughout the process, Seattle and Vancouver will acquire a combined total of four players from each of the six inaugural team rosters from the 2024–25 season, either from the exclusive signing window or through selection in the expansion draft.
Here is a list of players eligible for each team’s fourth protection pick, but can also be signed or selected by either Seattle or Vancouver prior to that.
Boston Fleet (11): Sydney Bard (D), Hannah Bilka (F), Hannah Brandt (F), Emily Brown (D), Hadley Hartmetz (D), Hilary Knight (F), Shay Maloney (F), Ilona Markova (F), Daniela Pejšová (D), Jamie Lee Rattray (F), Sophie Shirley (F)
Minnesota Frost (12): Mae Batherson (D), Britta Curl-Salemme (F), Nicole Hensley (G), Klára Hymlárová (F), Sophie Jaques (D), Katy Knoll (F), Denisa Křížová (F), Brooke McQuigge (F), Kelly Pannek (F), Dominique Petrie (F), Claire Thompson (D), Grace Zumwinkle (F)
Montréal Victoire (11): Erin Ambrose (D), Cayla Barnes (D), Abby Boreen (F), Amanda Boulier (D), Jennifer Gardiner (F), Dara Greig (F), Amanda Kessel (F), Lina Ljungblom (F), Maureen Murphy (F), Kristin O’Neill (F), Anna Wilgren (D)
New York Sirens (14): Lauren Bernard (D), Jaime Bourbonnais (D), Alex Carpenter (F), Jessie Eldridge (F), Emmy Fecteau (F), Elle Hartje (F), Paetyn Levis (F), Maja Nylén Persson (D), Kayle Osborne (G), Abby Roque (F), Gabby Rosenthal (F), Corinne Schroeder (G), Allyson Simpson (D), Noora Tulus (F)
Ottawa Charge (12): Ashton Bell (D), Gabbie Hughes (F), Brianne Jenner (F), Jocelyne Larocque (D), Stephanie Markowski (D), Emerance Maschmeyer (G), Mannon McMahon (F), Anna Meixner (F), Kateřina Mrázová (F), Danielle Serdachny (F), Aneta Tejralová (D), Madeline Wethington (D)
Toronto Sceptres (13): Kristen Campbell (G), Megan Carter (D), Izzy Daniel (F), Julia Gosling (F), Savannah Harmon (D), Raygan Kirk (G), Anna Kjellbin (D), Emma Maltais (F), Allie Munroe (D), Noemi Neubauerová (F), Sarah Nurse (F), Anneke Rankila (F), Emma Woods (F)
Here is a full list of players eligible to be signed during the exclusive window for Seattle and Vancouver.
Boston Fleet (14): Lexie Adzija (F), Kelly Babstock (F), Jillian Dempsey (F), Jessica DiGirolamo (D), Loren Gabel (F), Emma Greco (D), Sidney Morin (D), Amanda Pelkey (F), Klára Peslarová (G), Jill Saulnier (F), Theresa Schafzahl (F), Emma Söderberg (G), Susanna Tapani (F), Olivia Zafuto (D)
Minnesota Frost (11): Charlotte Akervik (D), Marlène Boissonnault (G), Brooke Bryant (F), Natalie Buchbinder (D), Claire Butorac (F), Michela Cava (F), Mellissa Channell-Watkins (D), Maggie Flaherty (D), Kaitlyn O’Donohoe (F), Maddie Rooney (G), Liz Schepers (F)
Montréal Victoire (14): Sandra Abstreiter (G), Elaine Chuli (G), Claire Dalton (F), Gabrielle David (F), Clair DeGeorge (F), Catherine Dubois (F), Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), Mariah Keopple (D), Alexandra Labelle (F), Dominika Lásková (D), Kennedy Marchment (F), Kelly-Ann Nadeau (D), Kati Tabin (D), Kaitlin Willoughby (F)
New York Sirens (9): Chloé Aurard (F), Jade Downie-Landry (F), Élizabeth Giguère (F), Taylor Girard (F), Alexie Guay (D), Brooke Hobson (D), Olivia Knowles (D), Abbey Levy (G), Kayla Vespa (F)
Ottawa Charge (12): Jessica Adolfsson (D), Logan Angers (G), Zoe Boyd (D), Shiann Darkangelo (F), Taylor House (F), Sam Isbell (D), Rebecca Leslie (F), Lucy Morgan (G), Jincy Roese (D), Natalie Snodgrass (F), Tereza Vanišová (F), Alexa Vasko (F)
Toronto Sceptres (11): Jesse Compher (F), Maggie Connors (F), Kali Flanagan (D), Carly Jackson (G), Laura Kluge (F), Jess Kondas (D), Rylind MacKinnon (D), Hannah Miller (F), Kassidy Sauvé (G), Hayley Scamurra (F), Natalie Spooner (F)
The expansion draft will feature Seattle and Vancouver selecting a minimum of seven players each until both rosters have reached 12 players. If one of the two teams enters the expansion draft with fewer signed players than the other, it will be granted additional selections to reach the required threshold of 12.
Players eligible to be selected in the expansion draft consist of unprotected players under contract for the 2025–26 season or those whose playing rights are held through the 2025–26 season.
Meanwhile, the order in which Seattle and Vancouver will make their selections will be determined at the beginning of the expansion draft.