A number of key forwards across the PWHL are on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), such as Hilary Knight, Hannah Bilka, and Mikyla Grant-Mentis for the Seattle Torrent and Kendall Coyne Schofield and Dominique Petrie for the Minnesota Frost.

The SDHL, the Swedish women’s hockey league, just concluded its championship series. A few former PWHL players from eliminated SDHL teams became available. The Torrent and the Frost took advantage, signing Gabrielle David and Sam Cogan, respectively.

Gabrielle David

David is a former member of the Montréal Victoire and had a stellar season for SDE HF in the SDHL.

Tenure with Montréal

The forward from Drummondville, Quebec, graduated from Clarkson University in 2024. She was then selected 54th overall by PWHL Montréal in the league’s inaugural draft. Playing in 23 regular season games and all three of Montréal’s playoff games, she recorded two goals and four assists. David played both centre and wing as a depth forward on the third or fourth line.

David held a reserve contract for the Montréal Victoire in 2024–25, playing in three games and recording no points. A move to the SDHL, where she could get regular ice time, made sense for her 2025–26 season.

Among the leading scorers in the SDHL

David was a standout forward in the SDHL for SDE, often playing alongside Cogan and team captain Mathea Fischer. Just under two months into the season, she scored a hat trick and two assists in SDE’s 7–4 win over Färjestad BK.

In 36 regular season games, she notched 42 points, tying for second in the league. Her 19 goals included three game-winning goals.

David tallied six goals and three assists in eight playoff games, including a goal in three of four semifinal games against first-place Frölunda HC. When SDE ultimately lost that series, David became an appealing option for PWHL teams to finish out the season.

Newest member of the Seattle Torrent

On March 22, Seattle signed David to a standard player agreement (SPA) after placing Grant-Mentis on LTIR.

David played her first for the Torrent on March 25 as the second-line centre between Julia Gosling and Lexie Adzija and saw 15:24 of ice time.

She’ll bring her veteran experience to the team, which has recently had to rely on reserves and rookies who have few PWHL reps under their belts.

Sam Cogan

Cogan is a former member of the Toronto Sceptres and, similar to David, saw excellent success with SDE this season.

One season with Toronto

Before joining PWHL Toronto in the inaugural season, Cogan played four years at the University of Wisconsin and three seasons with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).

In late 2023, Cogan was a camp invite for PWHL Toronto. The forward from Ottawa, Ontario, played 23 regular season games and five playoff games, tallying two goals.

For 2024–25, she signed a reserve contract with the Sceptres but was ultimately released from the lineup after Natalie Spooner returned from injury.

Second in scoring for SDE

The Swedish league offered Cogan the opportunity to play after not getting any ice time in 2024–25. She started the 2025–26 season with SDE by scoring a hat trick in her debut game.

Cogan finished the season tied for fifth in league scoring and second for SDE, behind only David. Her 16 goals and 23 assists in 33 regular season games put her third in points per game (1.18).

In eight playoff games, Cogan recorded five assists and one goal, a game-tying goal with 28 seconds left in the quarterfinals against MoDo Hockey to help her team to a double-overtime win.

A chance with the reigning champs

The Minnesota Frost signed Cogan to a reserve player contract on March 26. With Petrie and Coyne Schofield both on LTIR, Élizabeth Giguère and Kaitlyn O’Donohoe were both activated from the reserve player list and signed to SPAs. Cogan can now fill one of those reserve spots and potentially get called up to a bottom-six role if needed.

Upcoming action

David should be on the ice on Sunday, March 29, for the Torrent’s game against Ottawa. The Frost also play on Sunday, against Boston, and Cogan may or may not be in the lineup.