As much emphasis was placed on the “expansion” aspect of Hamilton’s expansion team over the course of the PWHL’s Player Distribution Process, general manager Meghan Duggan quickly shifted that focus onto the “team” behind it all.
Duggan began Tuesday’s media availability by recognizing the contributions of USA Hockey U18 GM Haley Skarupa, former University of Minnesota coach Brad Frost, former Syracuse head coach Britni Smith, and analyst Carleen Markey, who Duggan worked alongside with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. “The four of them, they’ve been really pushing me, challenging me, and working hard behind the scenes to help PWHL Hamilton get off on the right foot,” she said.
A star-studded group of five executives, fittingly so, given the star-studded group of five players Duggan and co. were able to land to make up the core of PWHL Hamilton. Here’s what Canada’s newest team is working with on the ice coming out of Phase Two.
F Brianne Jenner
An unexpectedly unceremonious exit from Ottawa quickly turned into an exciting opportunity in Hamilton, as former Charge captain Brianne Jenner started the domino chain of this year’s expansion process. Jenner, who also wore the “C” for Team Canada in two games at the Olympics, is coming off career highs in goals (12), assists (14), and points (26). The 35-year-old signed a three-year contract to become the first player in PWHL Hamilton’s history.
“Well, first and foremost, I love it,” Jenner said of signing a multi-year deal at this stage of her career. “Being able to sign a three-year contract to play hockey is the dream job, and it feels as good as it does this time as it did the first time around signing in Ottawa. I still have to pinch myself, that I get to play in this league, that I get to be a part of it, and I’m still having so much fun on the ice, in the gym, all the aspects of pro hockey life.”
“Of course, I think like everyone in this league, I’m chasing a Walter Cup. That is the dream, and I’ve gotten close obviously, but still very motivated to make that happen for the city of Hamilton, and just very excited to go chase that with these girls.”
“We were thrilled to have Brianne as our first-ever signing for PWHL Hamilton,” said Duggan. “She’s a player I’ve known, played against, watched, followed for a long time. I’ve had my own battles with Jenner on the ice, and deeply respect her as a player and a person… Elite hockey IQ, two-way, 200-foot center who can really do everything, and just brings your team into the fight.”
“When I look at who are the players whose games trend up when the game gets tough, that’s a Brianne Jenner-type player.”
G Kayle Osborne
A surprise invite to Team Canada’s August training camp roster, Kayle Osborne followed that up by rattling off the longest streak of starts to begin a season of any PWHL goaltender. With her pedigree and workload growing significantly over the past year, it’s easy to forget she was the second-youngest player out of the 2024 PWHL Entry Draft class.
“The way people talk about [Kayle] as a teammate, as a leader, as someone that’s ascending in the right direction, and just a great person to have around the locker room was number one, but [she’s also] one of the most valuable long-term goalie assets in the league,” said Duggan. “She’s been very good in the last couple years, seeing a lot of action in the markets that she’s played in, and she’s performed well. I think she has a ton of upside, she’s gonna be a top goalie in this league.”
“We really saw that and were willing to go all in on Kayle.”
Osborne played in 27 of the New York Sirens’ 30 regular season games, posting a .906 save percentage and held sole possession of third place in the PWHL with four shutouts. She was brought to Milan as Canada’s third goaltender for the Olympics behind Ann-Renée Desbiens and Emerance Maschmeyer, but didn’t see any game action.
F Alina Müller
Speaking of the Olympics, two medal-clinching goals is an attractive accomplishment for a team looking to contend out of the gate, and Alina Müller brings that to the table and more.
Müller is the Boston Fleet’s all-time leading scorer with 56 points in 80 regular season PWHL games, as well as their leader in playoff points. The Swiss forward is leaving the state of Massachusetts for the first time since 2018, having been a college standout for Northeastern University before going pro with Boston, but she has a familiar face accompanying her to Hamilton.
“The first news, we heard that [now-PWHL Hamilton head coach Kris Sparre] was leaving [Boston]. Obviously we were all super sad and disappointed, he did an amazing job and we all learned so much from him in just one season,” Müller said. “Then I got the news that I wouldn’t be one of the three protected players, and I immediately looked at what other opportunities there were… Having the two best mentors there are in the league in one spot, I think it was a pretty easy decision for me to go with PWHL Hamilton.”
The second mentor in question was, of course, Duggan, who Müller also had incredibly high praise for. “I immediately felt super connected and excited, and that I wanted to work with [Meghan]. She has an amazing resume, and did some unbelievable work in the last five years,” said Müller.
“I think any player in this league would benefit from just being around her.”
D Nicole Gosling
With two gold, three silver, and two bronze medals from the world’s biggest stage between Hamilton’s first three acquisitions, all that was missing from the group was a Walter Cup champion. Enter Nicole Gosling, who led the Montréal Victoire in ice time in the playoffs as a rookie en route to the title.
“[Nicole’s] already proving herself as one of the top [defenders] in the league. This is an offensively skilled, puck-moving, skating, power play [defender] who has her best years in front of her,” Duggan said.
A finalist for the Rookie of the Year award, Gosling recorded 19 points from the blueline in the regular season, taking the reins of the Victoire defence after Erin Ambrose was injured at the Olympics. She was drafted fourth overall in 2025 out of Clarkson University where she played alongside fellow Rookie of the Year finalist Haley Winn, who excelled under Sparre in Boston.
F Emily Clark
To round off Phase Two, Duggan went back to the Ottawa well with Emily Clark, another longtime member of Canada’s national team. One of the fastest skaters in the league, Clark is coming off a down season with three goals and nine points, but it certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying. The forward, tied for fourth in league history in career shots on goal with 238, added 77 to the total this season for a shooting percentage of just 3.9%.
Like Jenner, Clark made two Walter Cup Finals appearances with the Charge, scoring the overtime winner in their sole victory in 2025. “I’m so grateful for my time in Ottawa and the connections we built in that community,” she said. While departing the team she was a foundational player of was a difficult decision, the moves Hamilton had made to that point were enticing to Clark. “I left [my conversation with Duggan] really excited about the opportunity and the work that’s ahead here, and what Meghan wants to build.”
“And then looking at the other four players on the call, I’m just super excited to be a part of it.”
The Person and the Player
As impressive as the on-ice accomplishments of Hamilton’s quintet are, Duggan made it abundantly clear that she valued more than that when working through their options in Phase Two. “We’re looking to create a true identity, and we want PWHL Hamilton to become a standard in this league, a place where great players can come and not only win and compete in year one, but be sustainable,” she explained.
“We want our players to develop and thrive, no matter where they’re at in their career, and I think we did just that with our first five signings. Really, a mixture of strong veteran leadership, proven winners, young, up-and-coming talent that’s ready to develop and take the next step. And I have an incredible group of five excellent people that I’m bringing in, and that was of top of mind and a huge priority for me and our group.”
“These are A+ human beings in this league. That was first and foremost for us, and then obviously they’re A+ players and that’s why we brought them in as well.”
Hamilton was the first of the four expansion teams to complete their signings, and the only one not to use their Expansion Foundational Offer (EFO), the sole binding contract teams had available to them. “A little bit of risk in it as well, a calculated risk which we were excited and okay to take… [We] really believed in our process, our relationships, and what we were communicating to the players about what we’re trying to build,” said Duggan. “We wanted them to choose us, and the five we brought in chose us.”
Heading into Phase Three of the expansion process, with the players and people PWHL Hamilton have secured thus far, it wouldn’t be a surprise for many more to want to choose them going forward.
Note: PWHL Hamilton announced the signing of defender Zoe Boyd to a two-year Standard Player Agreement on Thursday morning, the first of up to three additional players the team can add during Phase Three.
