PWHL Detroit announced that forward Britta Curl-Salemme 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. Curl-Salemme, who was under contract with the Minnesota Frost, joins PWHL Detroit with a new deal through the 2028-29 campaign and becomes the fourth of five players to be added to the team during Phase 2 of the PWHL’s Expansion Roster Distribution Process.
Curl-Salemme spent the first two seasons of her career with the Frost, who selected her ninth overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft. As a rookie in 2024-25, she recorded 15 points (9G, 6A) and earned All-Rookie Team honors, helping Minnesota capture its second-straight Walter Cup. The 26-year-old finished third in league scoring in 2025-26 with 29 points (11G, 18A) in 30 games, while her 18 assists set a new single-season record. Across her two seasons with Minnesota, Curl-Salemme totaled 44 points (20G, 24A) in 58 regular-season games and five points (3G, 2A) in 11 playoff contests. Internationally, Curl-Salemme won Olympic gold with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina, contributing five points (1G, 4A) in her debut, and is a four-time IIHF Women’s World Championship medalist (two gold, two silver). The Bismarck, ND, native played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin, where she was a two-time captain and helped lead the Badgers to three national championships.
The addition of Curl-Salemme to PWHL Detroit follows the team’s earlier Phase 2 signings of forwards Daryl Watts (four-year contract/Expansion Franchise Offer) and Hannah Bilka (two-year contract) and defender Cayla Barnes (three-year contract).
Phase 2 of the Expansion Player Distribution Process, which began Friday at 12 p.m. ET and continues until Monday, June 8 at 1 p.m. ET, allows 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.
(info courtesy of PWHL/Frost)
