SEATTLE, WA (June 21, 2026) – The Seattle Torrent today announced that forward Emma Nuutinen has been signed to a one-year Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Standard Player Agreement for the 2026-27 season. The signing was made during the league’s Open Signing Period that began on Friday and allows all 12 teams to continue building their rosters in advance of the 2026-27 season.
The 29-year-old from Helsinki, Finland, is a three-time Olympian and longtime member of the Finnish National Team, winning Olympic bronze in 2018 and competing in the 2014 and 2026 Olympic Winter Games. She has medaled in all three IIHF Women’s World Championships in which she competed, winning bronze in 2015 and 2017, and silver in 2019.
Nuutinen has spent the last three seasons with Finland’s Kiekko-Espoo, winning two straight championships and Auroraliiga scoring titles. She posted 63 points (27G, 36A) in 28 regular-season games in 2025-26 and added a playoff-high 25 points (13G, 12A) in 13 postseason contests. In North America, she played collegiately at the University of North Dakota in 2016-17, then at Mercyhurst University from 2017-20 following UND’s program discontinuation. In 2022-23, she competed with the PHF’s Buffalo Beauts where she was teammates with Mikyla Grant-Mentis.
With the signing, the Torrent now have 13 players under contract for the upcoming season counting Nuutinen, Grant-Mentis, and fellow forwards Alex Carpenter, Julia Gosling, Danielle Serdachny, Lexie Adzija, Theresa Schafzahl and Gabrielle David, defenders Anna Wilgren, Aneta Tejralová and Emily Brown, and goaltenders Hannah Murphy and CJ Jackson.
The 2026 PWHL Draft presented by Upper Deck took place on Wednesday where the team selected six players in the six-round process.
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.