DETROIT – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) franchise in Detroit does not have a team name yet, but it now has highly-touted names on its roster.
The first four signings to Hockeytown’s team were announced Friday night, bringing Olympic gold medalists, successful teammates, and one of the PWHL’s all-time offensive threats to the D.
Daryl Watts is PWHL Detroit’s maiden athlete, signing a four-year deal to lead the new team in 2026-27.
Coming from the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge, the 27-year-old Watts is the second-leading goal scorer in PWHL history, tallying 32 goals with a third-best 62 career points to her name. Prior to the pros, Watts won the Patty Kazmeier Award as a freshman at Wisconsin as the best player in women’s college hockey.
Forward Hannah Bilka comes to Detroit from Seattle, adding a left-shooting presence after a four goal, five assist season with the Torrent. Bilka’s deal is a two-year standard player agreement.
Two-time Team USA gold medalist Cayla Barnes joins PWHL Detroit to lead the defense. A teammate of Bilka’s in Seattle, she makes the move to the expansion team on a three-year deal after appearing in all 30 games with three goals and five assists last season.
PWHL Detroit also adds Britta Curl-Salemme to the fold, a 26-year-old forward who finished third in league scoring in 2025-26 with 11 goals and a new single-season record 18 assists. Curl-Salemme spent her first two seasons with the Minnesota Frost after being drafted ninth overall in 2024.
Phase Two of the PWHL expansion draft continues until Monday at 1 p.m. Existing teams can lose a maximum of three unprotected players under contract for the upcoming season.
Detroit will host the 2026 PWHL Entry Draft at the Fox Theatre on June 17.