DETROIT, MI (June 5, 2026) – PWHL Detroit today announced that forward Britta Curl-Salemme has been signed to a three-year Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Standard Player Agreement ahead of the team’s inaugural 2026-27 season. Curl-Salemme, who was under contract with the Minnesota Frost, joins PWHL Detroit with a new deal through the 2028-29 campaign and becomes the fourth of five players to be added to the team during Phase 2 of the PWHL’s Expansion Roster Distribution Process.
Curl-Salemme spent the first two seasons of her career with the Frost, who selected her ninth overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft. As a rookie in 2024-25, she recorded 15 points (9G, 6A) and earned All-Rookie Team honors, helping Minnesota capture its second-straight Walter Cup. The 26-year-old finished third in league scoring in 2025-26 with 29 points (11G, 18A) in 30 games, while her 18 assists set a new single-season record. Across her two seasons with Minnesota, Curl-Salemme totaled 44 points (20G, 24A) in 58 regular-season games and five points (3G, 2A) in 11 playoff contests. Internationally, Curl-Salemme won Olympic gold with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina, contributing five points (1G, 4A) in her debut, and is a four-time IIHF Women’s World Championship medalist (two gold, two silver). The Bismarck, ND, native played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin, where she was a two-time captain and helped lead the Badgers to three national championships.
The addition of Curl-Salemme to PWHL Detroit follows the team’s earlier Phase 2 signings of forwards Daryl Watts (four-year contract/Expansion Franchise Offer) and Hannah Bilka (two-year contract) and defender Cayla Barnes (three-year contract).
Phase 2 of the Expansion Player Distribution Process, which began Friday at 12 p.m. ET and continues until Monday, June 8 at 1 p.m. ET, allows each expansion team to build the foundation of its roster by acquiring five players through signings and, if necessary, a player selection process. Only players identified on an expansion team’s initial 20-player Exclusive Negotiation Target List are eligible to be signed during Phase 2. Existing teams can lose a maximum of three players who are under contract for the 2026-27 season during this phase. Read the full rules here.
A complete list of player signings and transactions is available on the official PWHL Transactions Page. To see the full overview of the status of PWHL player contracts ahead of Phase 2, visit the PWHL Contract Guide here.
ABOUT PWHL DETROIT
PWHL Detroit is one of 12 teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), which was founded in 2023. The PWHL began its inaugural season in January 2024 and features the best women’s hockey players in the world. PWHL Detroit was officially announced as one of the league’s four new expansion teams on May 6 and will debut at Little Caesars Arena in the fall. Fans can place a time-stamped deposit here, opens in a new tab to secure priority access to season tickets for PWHL Detroit’s historic inaugural season, once ticket packages are released. To learn more and stay up to date, visit DetroitPWHL.com, subscribe to the newsletter here, opens in a new tab and follow the team on Facebook PWHL Detroit, opens in a new tab, Instagram @PWHL__Detroit, opens in a new tab, X @PWHL__Detroit, opens in a new tab, TikTok @PWHL__Detroit, opens in a new tab, YouTube PWHL Detroit, opens in a new tab, Threads @PWHL__Detroit, opens in a new tab, and Bluesky @PWHL--Detroit, opens in a new tab.
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