DETROIT, MI (June 5, 2026) – PWHL Detroit today announced that defender Cayla Barnes and forward Hannah Bilka have each been signed to Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Standard Player Agreements ahead of the team’s inaugural 2026-27 season. Barnes has signed a three-year contract through 2028-29 and Bilka has inked a two-year contract through the 2027-28 campaign. The additions of Barnes and Bilka, who were both under contract with the Seattle Torrent, follow the earlier Phase 2 signing of forward Daryl Watts to an Expansion Foundational Offer (EFO).
Barnes appeared in 30 games for Seattle during the 2025-26 season after signing a three-year contract with the team in the foundational signing window for 2025-26 PWHL expansion teams. The 27-year-old tallied eight points (3G, 5A) and stepped in to serve as alternate captain during the team’s leadership transition due to captain Hilary Knight’s midseason injury. Barnes was originally selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2024 PWHL Draft by the Montréal Victoire and finished her rookie season with 13 points (2G, 11A) and a spot on the 2025 PWHL All-Rookie Team. On the international stage, the Eastvale, CA, native has represented the United States at each of the last three Olympic Winter Games, earning two gold medals (2018 and 2026) and a silver medal (2022), and has three gold medals in six appearances at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. Barnes played collegiately at Boston College and Ohio State and was teammates with Bilka at both schools (2019-23 at Boston College and 2023-24 at Ohio State). The pair led the Buckeyes to the 2024 NCAA National Championship.
Bilka played in 14 games with the Torrent during the 2025-26 season, contributing nine points (4G, 5A) before suffering an upper-body injury while representing the United States at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games that sidelined her for the remainder of the PWHL season. The 25-year-old from Coppell, TX had a breakout performance in her first Olympics in Milan, winning gold and tying for the tournament lead with four goals and earning All-Star honors at forward with seven points in seven games. Her Team USA experience also includes a gold medal and two silvers at Women’s Worlds. She was originally selected fourth overall by the Boston Fleet in the 2024 PWHL Draft and totaled 11 points (5G, 6A) across 16 games in her rookie season, then went third overall to Seattle in the 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft. Bilka played four collegiate seasons with Boston College before transferring to Ohio State for her graduate year, alongside Barnes, where she led the Buckeyes in scoring.
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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