Vancouver’s Professional Women’s Hockey League team continued to add to its initial roster Thursday by signing goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer to a two-year contract and forward Sarah Nurse to a one-year deal.
Maschmeyer spent the last two seasons with the Ottawa Charge. She was one of the franchise’s three foundational signings in the PWHL’s inaugural season, but she sustained a season-ending lower-body injury in March.
Gwyneth Philips was excellent in relief as the Charge advanced to the Walter Cup final, and the 30-year-old Maschmeyer was left unprotected by Ottawa heading into the exclusive signing period and expansion draft to stock the rosters of the teams in Vancouver and Seattle that start play in 2026.
Maschmeyer from Bruderheim, Alta., had 15 wins with two shutouts, a goals-against-average of 2.42 and save percentage of .914 over two seasons in Ottawa.
Nurse was one of the Toronto Sceptres first three signings. She had six goals and eight assists in 21 games last season, despite missing nearly two months with injury.
The 30-year-old from Hamilton added one assist in four playoff contests before the Sceptres were ousted from the semifinals by the Minnesota Frost, who went on to win the Walter Cup for the second year in a row.
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Nurse — cousin of WNBA star Kia Nurse and Edmonton Oilers defender Darnell Nurse — is a two-time Olympian, winning gold for Canada at the 2022 Games in Beijing and bringing home silver from Pyeongchang in 2018.
The moves were another splash by Vancouver general manager Cara Gardner Morey, who opened the signing period Wednesday by luring defenders Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques away from the Frost. Both players are finalists for the league’s defender of the year award.
“Joining Vancouver is an incredible opportunity, and I’m thrilled to be a part of such an exciting chapter of the league’s expansion,” Maschmeyer said in a release. “Vancouver has proven to be a vibrant hockey city and I’m thrilled to play in front of such passionate fans. I’m aligned with Cara’s vision and values and honoured to have the opportunity to help build this organization’s culture from the ground up.”
Both players were on Canada’s Olympic championship team at the 2022 Beijing Games. Nurse has also represented Canada at six women’s world championships, winning three gold medals, while Maschmeyer has played at three worlds.
“I am so honoured to be joining PWHL Vancouver, finally bringing professional women’s hockey to the West Coast,” Nurse said in a release. “I already got a taste of the passion last year during the Takeover Tour and can’t wait to experience that daily.”
The Charge also lost forward Danielle Serdachny to Seattle. As a result, they were able to add American forward Gabbie Hughes as a fourth protected player.
The Montreal Victoire also lost their first player to the expansion process, with Seattle signing defender Cayla Barnes to a three-year deal. Barnes, from Eastvale, Calif., tied for the Victoire lead in scoring among defenders and ranked fifth among all PWHL rookies with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 30 games.
Expansion teams have an exclusive window to sign a maximum of five players up until 5 p.m. ET Sunday.
The expansion draft is Monday. Seattle and Vancouver will select a minimum of seven players until each has reached a 12-player roster.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
