In the 2026–27 cohort of new PWHL Expansion teams, none has been the subject of more headlines than PWHL Detroit. The team’s hiring of Ellen Hughes, a player development consultant for the U.S. national team, on a one-month contract as part of the expansion process, mired the team in controversy before the roster was even built.

Hughes was already in hot water with many for her response to a joke told by President Donald Trump at the expense of that squad and the subsequent reaction of the men’s national team. Two of her sons were involved in the scandal.

That aside, the PWHL has, to date, not stated if hiring Detroit hiring Hughes just for the expansion period was or was not in violation of their rules for the expansion process despite confusion on the subject from journalists and fans alike. Hughes’s involvement, combined with the signing of the widely-disliked Britta Curl-Salemme and a blockbuster trade that sent Hilary Knight to Hockeytown in exchange for what turned out to be the third overall pick means there’s probably no team in women’s hockey that is more controversial right now.

However, there’s hardly a team with more stars, either. (The only team that rivals Detroit in that regard is the Montreal Victoire.)

Detroit’s roster includes four members of the U.S. Olympic roster in Milan—Hilary Knight, Cayla Barnes, Britta Curl-Salemme, and Hannah Bilka. It also features the 2022 U.S. Olympian Jesse Compher. Plus, they have some big names from outside the States, including Daryl Watts and Swiss goaltender Andrea Brandli.

Here’s how The Hockey News sees all these big pieces coming together after the draft.

Depth Charts

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Daryl Watts	Britta Curl-Salemme	Hilary Knight
Hannah Bilka	Shiann Darkangelo	Jesse Compher
Taylor Girard	MaryKate O’Brien	Kyla Josifovic
Georgia Schiff	Olivia Wallin	Sena Catterall

Left Defence	Right Defence	Goaltender
Melissa Channell-Watkins	Cayla Barnes	Andrea Brandli
Sydney Bard	Nina Jobst-Smith	Alice Philbert
Stephanie Markowski	Casey Borgiel
Mia Biotti

Are There Any Weaknesses?

On paper, this team seems nearly indestructible. Remember, though, that similar things were said about Vancouver and Seattle last offseason. Look how that turned out.

History Repeats Itself?

This Detroit squad looks most similar to Seattle around this time last year. Yes, part of this is because they took three of Seattle’s biggest names in Barnes, Knight, and Bilka. More generally speaking, however, both squads created incredibly potent, top-heavy offences before their first puck drop.

The Seattle Torrent’s first season left a lot to be desired because of this decision. Their defence, apart from Cayla Barnes, was weak, giving up a league worst 92 goals. The squad also had difficulty scoring if goals didn’t come from its top line.

Similar issues with defending and overall depth could plague Detroit next season.

The Goalie Situation

When Detroit selected Andrea Brandli 15th overall with their first-ever draft pick, there was clearly no doubt that she could be a professional-caliber goalie in North America. Her resume suggests that there shouldn’t be much reason to doubt her.

However, it’s worth noting that as of writing, Detroit does not have a goalie that has ever played in a North American professional league. Brandli is coming over from the SDHL, and her presumed backup, Alice Philbert, is coming over from a club based in Italy.

Especially considering the team’s lack of big name blueliners apart from Barnes, Detroit will be counting on this duo to adapt to the highest level of competition, and do it fast.

Who to Look Out For?

This team has enough big names on the roster that it almost makes no sense to reiterate the resumes of the players you should most expect to make an impact.

Instead, here are three “dark horses”—players who fly under-the-radar on a star-studded roster.

Melissa Channell-Watkins

A two-time Walter Cup champion with the Minnesota Frost who played a key role in those championships, Channell-Watkins played a depth role on defence for the Vancouver Goldeneyes in the 2025–26 season. Despite playing behind 2025 defender-of-the-year nominees Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson the Michigan native from Plymouth led the Goldeneyes in hits by defenders with 44.

Also, despite Vancouver having a total goal differential of -13, Channell-Watkins had a plus-minus rating of only -1 during the 2025–26 campaign.

On a pairing with Cayla Barnes, she’ll be incredibly reliable defensively and a consistent physical presence.

Alice Philbert

Philbert has one of the most remarkable stories in the entire PWHL when it comes to how she got to the league. She was picked up by Detroit as an undrafted free agent just four days after the draft in what most considered an unexpected signing.

Here’s a quick rundown of her career prior to the PWHL.

College Hockey

Born in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, the now 29-year-old spent her college years (from 2017–18 to 2022–23—she was 20 when she began college hockey) playing for Concordia University.

She backstopped the Stingers to their third USports championship in 2022, their first in over two decades. Across her whole college career, she had save percentage of .926 and a GAA of 1.71.

International Play

After college, she naturalized as a French citizen by playing with the men’s club Wasquehal for two seasons. Wasquehal plays in Division two of French hockey. This made her eligible to represent France internationally.

Philbert played every game for France in the nation’s Olympic debut. Against the tournament’s group B competition, she had a goals against average of 3.00, but a save percentage of .933. This placed her fourth best in the entire tournament in save percentage despite not recording a single win.

She has also made two appearances for France at the World Championships Division 1A level, in 2024 and 2025.

IHLW/EWHL

When not playing for France this past season, she played with the EVB Eagles Südtirol, which plays in both the Italian Hockey League Women (IHLW) and the European Women’s Hockey League (EWHL).

For further context: the IHLW consists of teams just located in Italy, while the EWHL is made up of 12 total teams from Italy, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan.

Philbert played three games and had three shutouts for the Eagles en route to their 6th consecutive Italian championship.

In their EWHL competition, she made 22 regular season appearances with a 17–5–0 record, six shutouts, a GAA of 1.70, and a save percentage of .934.

Philbert is the second alumna of these leagues to reach the PWHL. Fellow goalie Gabriela Durante was the sixth-round pick for the Seattle Torrent. Durante was drafted out of Real Torino, which plays in the IHLW but not the EWHL. However, she also played for the EVB Eagles Südtirol in the 2024–25 season.

Philbert is also just the second player that represented France internationally to enter the PWHL, following Chloé Aurard-Bushee, who spent two seasons with the New York Sirens.

With all of this in mind, Philbert’s entry into the league should be exciting for any PWHL fan, let alone fans of the team that signed her.

Taylor Girard

Another Michigan native, hailing from Macomb, Girard had a breakout year in New York in 2025–26. She scored eight points in just 17 games played before being sidelined with a knee injury. It will be an interesting storyline to see if she can sustain her offensive production after return from this injury.

If she can, she’ll easily be one of Detroit’s most reliable depth pieces, and the projected third-line position should suit her physicality well. She also has experience with Detroit head coach Josh Sciba, who spent the last two years as an assistant coach with the Sirens.

In short, Girard is a great fit for Detroit. But for the new fan, note that a few of her stats from the last year come with asterisks beside them.

five of her seven goals last season came against the Ottawa Charge. Is this a case of a player doing particularly well against just one team? Only time will tell.

In addition, her 34 penalty minutes in 2025–26, the fourth highest total in the league, might seem jarring out of context, but 30 of them took place during a single game. She hopped the bench to get involved in the infamous line brawl between the Sirens and Victoire at the Takeover Tour game in Washington DC. This gave her an additional 20 minutes—and a three game suspension—on top of the 10 minute game misconduct that every brawling player received after the final whistle. Expect her penalty minutes number to drop significantly next season.

Sky High Expectations

There’s no doubt that a lot of eyes will be on PWHL Detroit heading into their inaugural season, and that this roster is anticipated to be a real playoff contender off the bat. If they are able to avoid the pitfalls of the 2025–26 Seattle Torrent (which they are somewhat poised to do with an easier travel schedule) expectations should be high.

High expectations are a double-edged sword. Every team is going to want to bring their very best performance against a team with so many bonafide superstars. If anyone’s up for the challenge—and the potential to lean into a villain status—it’s this group.