OTTAWA, ON (June 25, 2026) – The Ottawa Charge today announced that goaltender Sanni Ahola and defender Vita Poniatovskaia have each been re-signed to one-year Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Standard Player Agreements for the 2026-27 season. The signings were completed during the league’s Open Signing Period that allows all 12 teams to continue building their rosters in advance of the 2026-27 campaign.
Ahola was Ottawa’s fifth-round pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft after playing five seasons at St. Cloud State University, notably earning WCHA Goaltender of the Year and First Team All-Star honours in 2024. The 26-year-old Finnish Olympian and two-time bronze medalist at the IIHF Women’s World Championship made her PWHL debut in Seattle on Dec. 17. She won her second career start in Halifax on Jan. 11 against the Boston Fleet, making 31 saves in a 2-1 shootout victory opposite Aerin Frankel. Injuries limited Ahola’s availability during her rookie campaign, finishing with a 1.93 goals-against average and .927 save percentage across her two appearances, while also starting four of Finland’s six games in Milan.
Poniatovskaia joined the Charge with a training camp invitation and made the team as a reserve. She was activated to play seven regular-season games during an injury to fellow defender Brooke Hobson, debuting in the lineup on Mar. 29. The 23-year-old from Chelyabinsk, Russia, has been playing hockey in North America since 2018. She completed a four-year collegiate career at Yale University in 2025 with 62 points (27G, 35A) in 131 games, earning Second Team All-Ivy and ECAC All-Academic Team honours in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
The Charge now have 16 players under contract for the upcoming season with Ahola joining her goaltending partners Gwyneth Philips and Kendra Woodland from last season and Poniatovskaia joining defenders Ronja Savolainen, Jocelyne Larocque, Kathryn Reilly, Emma Greco and Hobson. Forwards Rebecca Leslie, Gabbie Hughes, Kateřina Mrázová, Michela Cava, Dara Greig, Brooke McQuigge and Jenna Buglioni round out the full roster to date.
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, visit the PWHL Contract Guide here.