A Look at What Manon Rhéaume is Building in Detroit

Rebecca Labaj

This off-season has been a busy one with four new expansion teams entering the league, including Detroit. This location starts a cross border rivalry with Hamilton, as both teams enter their inaugural season. So here’s a look at what Manon Rhéaume has built so far: 

Forwards 

Starting it off for Detroit was the signing of Daryl Watts from the Toronto Sceptres. This past season Watts led the team in scoring, as an offensive spark through their offensive struggles recording 10 goals and 9 assists. 

Joining from Seattle is Hannah Bilka. Bilka was drafted by the Torrent in the inaugural expansion from the Boston Fleet, where she played with USA and Boston linemate Hilary Knight. This year Bilka made her Olympic debut at the Milano-Cortina games where she helped the USA to a perfect gold. In her debut she recorded 4 goals, two of which were scored against Canada in their prelim matchup, along with 3 assists, going +8 throughout the tournament. 

Joining from the Minnesota Frost is Walter Cup winner Britta Curl-Salemme. Curl-Salemme has been an impact player since being drafted in 2024 known for her physical presence and play making ability, finishing the league first in assists this season with 18. This season she also scored 11 goals, and recorded 64 blocks showing her impact on both ends of the ice. 

Joining from the Toronto Sceptres is Jesse Compher. With her signing in Detroit her and her brother, JT became the first sibling pair to play for the same city in the PWHL and NHL. This season Compher scored 6 goals and 6 assists. Her effort extended to the faceoff dot with a 45.7 win percentage. 

Joining from the New York Sirens is Michigan’s own, Taylor Girard, who became the first hometown player to sign with Detroit. Unfortunately, her season was cut short due to a knee injury. Prior to the injury, Girard played 17 games, scoring 7 goals, the third most on the Sirens. 

Also signing from Michigan is Walter Cup champion Shiann Darkangelo from the Montreal Victoire. This season Darkangelo came out big in the faceoff dot with a 52.2 win percentage through the regular season and a 55.9 win percentage through the playoffs. The Brighton native recorded 4 goals, 4 assists and 15 blocks this season, contributing on both ends of the ice. 

Joining via a sign and trade deal with Las Vegas is “Captain America,” Hilary Knight. Before signing with Vegas, Knight played for the Seattle Torrent as the first player in team history. Though her season was cut short due to an injury sustained at the Olympics, she recorded 14 points in 22 games. Most notably known as Captain America, Knight continued to make an impact on the World Stage, appearing in her fifth and final Olympic Games. In the tournament Knight recorded 3 goals and 3 assists, most clutch was the game tying goal that sent the Gold Medal Game to overtime that broke the women’s all-time American scoring record. Her leadership and veteran presence is something 

Rounding out the forward group is Olivia Wallin, who joins from the Ottawa Charge reserve roster. Wallin was drafted in the sixth round of the 2025 PWHL Draft, and played in 1 game with the Charge this season when they visited Toronto. 

Defenders 

Kicking off the d-core was Cayla Barnes from the Seattle Torrent. This season Barnes recorded 43 blocks, 3 goals and five assists, being a spark on the backend. Her presence extended to the US National Team that has won the IIHF Women’s Worlds, Rivalry Series, and Olympics all in the last year. 

Joining from the Vancouver Goldeneyes is Sydney Bard. This season Bard recorded 43 blocks and 2 assists increasing her impact in her second year. Prior to being drafted to Vancouver via the Expansion Draft, Bard played for the Boston Fleet. 

Also joining from the Vancouver Goldeneyes is Nina Jobst-Smith. She began her rookie season on the injury reserve, making her debut in January ahead of the Olympics where she made her debut with Germany, recording 2 goals and an assist through the tournament. 

Joining from the Vancouver Goldeneyes is Michigan native, Melissa Channell-Watkins Prior to playing in Vancouver Channell-Watkins played for Minnesota where she won back-to-back championships. She brings a veteran presence to a young blue-line along with championship experience which will be important for one of the league’s newest teams as they look to dive right in. 

Joining from the Ottawa Charge is Stephanie Markowski who has continued to make an impact finding 10 points and 51 blocks, becoming a reliable presence on the blue-line. In her first two seasons she’s made back-to-back Finals seasons gaining valuable playoff experience.

And rounding out the defensive group is Mia Biotti from the Boston Fleet. Biotti was a reserve player moving in and out of the lineup. Through Boston’s injuries Biotti was able to gain some valuable experience playing in 13 regular season games averaging 4.22 minutes a game. 

Goalie 

In net, is Alice Philbert from the France National Team. At the Olympics, Philbert started in all four of France’s games, where she put in an incredible performance with a 0.933 save percentage, unfortunately due to offensive struggles with only four goals through the tournament France finished 4-0. This past season she also played for the EV Bozen Eagles (EWHL) where she started in 22 regular season and 2 playoff games, recording a 0.936 save percentage through the season. 

Draft 

Andrea Brändli (G) Frölunda HC (SDHL) 

Casey Borgiel (D) Colgate University 

MK O’Brien (F) University of Minnesota Duluth

Kyla Josifovic (F) University of Connecticut 

Sena Catterall (F) Clarkson University 

Georgia Schiff (F) Cornell University 

Detroit’s Identity

Detroit’s identity quickly took shape with their first signings and has only grown with Manon Rhéaume signing gritty players who continue to show up day-after-day leaving it all on the ice playing off Detroit's hard-working culture. GM Manon Rhéaume is looking to hit the ground running in Detroit’s inaugural season and those efforts are showing through their roster signings.