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Hamilton continued to add foundational players Saturday in PWHL expansion with the signing of Swiss star Alina Müller and Canadian defender Nicole Gosling to three-year contracts.
Hamilton, Detroit, Las Vegas and San Jose, Calif., will join the women’s pro league next season to make for a 12-team league.
Each of the four new clubs were required to get their first five players on their roster by Monday afternoon, which ends the second phase of a six-phase process.
Hamilton, whose general manager Meghan Duggan is a former captain of the U.S. women’s team, had four players on board with the signing of Muller and Gosling.
The first two were Canadian forward Brianne Jenner and goaltender Kayle Osborne.
Each of the eight existing teams were able to protect three players, but could also lose up to three players under contract for next season by Monday.
Muller was the third overall pick by the Boston Fleet in the PWHL’s inaugural draft in 2023. The forward scored the overtime winner for Switzerland for the bronze medal in February’s Olympic Games.
The 28-year-old is tied for the most assists in PWHL history with 40 in 80 career games. Muller is coming off a season of four goals and 17 assists with the Fleet.
Gosling was a finalist for the PWHL’s rookie award with three goals, 16 assists and a plus-16 rating for the Walter Cup champion Montreal Victoire.
The 24-year-old from London, Ont., had a goal and two assists in nine playoff games. Gosling played for Canada and won gold at the 2024 women’s world championship in Utica, N.Y.
She was a first-round pick, fourth overall, by the Victoire in 2025.
Other PWHL moves
In other PWHL moves Saturday, San Jose signed forward Anne Cherkowski of Coldstream, B.C., to a two-year deal.
The forward had two goals and seven assists in 28 games for the New York Sirens last season.
A major move when the expansion signing window opened Friday was Darryl Watts earning the PHWL’s first four-year contract to sign with Detroit.
The 27-year-old Toronto forward led her hometown Sceptres in points with 10 goals and nine assists in 27 games this past season.
Watts made her Olympic debut with Canada in February. She led Canada in points with two goals and six assists in seven games en route to a silver medal.
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