DETROIT, MI (June 8, 2026) – PWHL Detroit today announced that forward Jesse Compher 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. Compher, who was under contract with the Toronto Sceptres for the 2026-27 season, joins PWHL Detroit on a new deal through the 2028-29 campaign and rounds out the five players to be added to the team during Phase 2 of the PWHL’s Expansion Roster Distribution Process.
Selected by Toronto in the fifth round of the inaugural PWHL Draft, Compher is one of five players to have taken the ice in every Sceptres game in team history (84 regular season and nine postseason games). In her sophomore season, Compher evolved into a top six forward, ranking among the Sceptres scoring leaders in each of the last two seasons (third in 2025-26 with 6G, 6A; fourth in 2024-25 with 9G, 9A). Representing the United States, the 27-year-old Northbrook, Illinois native has an Olympic silver medal to her name (2022) and four World Championship medals (gold in 2019 & 2025, silver in 2021 & 2022). Collegiately, Compher played her first four seasons at Boston University before transferring to the University of Wisconsin for her fifth year of eligibility, helping the Badgers secure the 2023 NCAA National Championship. Detroit is now home to two professional hockey playing siblings, as Jesse joins her older brother and Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher in Hockeytown.
On PWHL Detroit, Compher reunites with her former Sceptres teammate, Daryl Watts (four-year contract/Expansion Franchise Offer), former Wisconsin and U.S. teammate, Britta Curl-Salemme (three-year contract), and has also shared National Team experiences with fellow forward Hannah Bilka (two-year contract), defender Cayla Barnes (three-year contract), and Head Coach Josh Sciba.
Phase 2 of the Expansion Player Distribution Process, which began Friday at 12 p.m. ET, allowed 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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