Boston Fleet captain and MVP candidate Hillary Knight leads a star caliber list of players not protected by their respective teams to make it available for the PWHL expansion franchises in Seattle and Vancouver.
Some of the other well-known players remained unprotected by the league’s list released on Tuesday. There were Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle of Minnesota, Alex Carpenter of New York, Captain Brian Jenner of Ottawa, veteran defender Jocelyn Larick and Toronto Sarah Nurse.
Editor’s Pick
1 Related
The list release opens the first part of PWHL’s two-stage roster building process, which begins on Wednesday with a five-day exclusive signature window. The expanded draft will then follow on Monday.
Seattle and Vancouver can each sign up for up to five players, then fill out the remaining first 12 rosters in the expansion draft.
The availability of a wealth of talent is the result of the PWHL’s focus on ensuring that the two newest teams are competitive in the third season of the league, scheduled to open in November. The PWHL limited six existing teams to protect only three players, allowing them to add a quarter if they lost two players.
Six teams each lose four players in the expansion process, and then all eight teams will take part in the PWHL draft on June 24th.
Knight is finishing a great season with 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) tied up with a league lead with New York rookie Sala Filier. And it appears that Knight, who turned 36 in July, is closing her international career when the 2026 winter competition announces her fifth and final US representative.
Knight intends to continue his PWHL career and could be open to travelling to the Pacific Northwest, given that he is building an offseason home in Idaho. Knight is also familiar with Seattle GM Meghan Turner, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant GM for the fleet.
The list of unprotected players includes Daniel Seldahiny of Ottawa, Claire Thompson of Minnesota, Hannah Bilka of Boston, Kayla Burns of Montreal and five of six selected in the first round of last year’s draft at Julia Gosling in Toronto.
Thompson’s future is uncertain as it has yet to announce whether he plans to resume pursuing a medical degree at NYU after he is scheduled to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February. She has a relationship with Carragardner Molly, Vancouver general manager who coached Thompson as Princeton.
Both expansion teams have many goaltending options, along with Colin Schroeder of New York, Nicole Hensley of Minnesota, Emerance Meshmeyer of Ottawa and Kristen Campbell of Toronto.
Boston protected goalkeeper Aerin Frankel, defensive man Megan Keller and forward Alina Muller. Defending champion Frost protected captain Kendall Coyne Scofield, Forward Taylor Hyes and defenseman Lee Steckline. New York protected Phillier and defensemen Ella Shelton and Mika Zandy Hart.
Montreal protected goalkeeper Ann Range Deathbience and transferred Marie Phillip Pauline and Laura Stacey. Ottawa protected forward Emily Clark, goalkeeper Gwyneth Phillips and defensive man Longi Savoranen. Toronto quickly protected Captain Braire Turnbull, forward Daryl Watts and defensive man Renata.
The PWHL also issued a list of future unlimited free agents that are available to extended teams during the signing period but are not eligible to draft. The group includes the first season MVP of the PWHL, Natalie Spooner of Toronto, Susan Natapani of Boston, and Liz Shepherds of Minnesota.
