Alberta goalie signs with PWHL Ottawa, one of first contracts inked in new league

Alberta’s Emerance Maschmeyer is among the first players to sign a contract in the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).

The goalie has inked a deal with Ottawa, where she will play alongside Team Canada colleagues Emily Clark and Brianne Jenner.

Jenner and Maschmeyer were both members of the Calgary Inferno of the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL).

The trio are the first players to sign free-agent contracts with the Ontario franchise.

“We are thrilled with the three players we have signed as the inaugural players for the Ottawa franchise,” Mike Hirshfeld, General Manager of PWHL Ottawa, said in a statement. “We truly believe that we have signed three incredible hockey players. As important to us, we are focused on making Ottawa a best-in-class organization in the PWHL, a place where players want to come and play. Building a culture is important to us and we believe these three players are incredibly well-respected and will help us to lay the foundation of the type of organization we aspire to be.”

The league said Tuesday that the three Olympians have agreed to terms on three-year deals for the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 PWHL seasons.

Information on salary won’t be provided, as per the PWHL Players’ Association.

Maschmeyer hails from Bruderheim, northeast of Edmonton.

Our defense just got stronger.
We can’t wait to see Olympic gold medalist Emerance Maschmeyer between the pipes for Ottawa!

https://t.co/be1d4w0Rvd pic.twitter.com/0Upii5N4gl

— PWHL Ottawa (@PWHL_Ottawa) September 5, 2023

The goalie spent four years at Harvard University from 2012-16, where she garnered attention as a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award as a sophomore and graduated as the program’s all-time leader in saves, according to the PWHL.

Her international career began in 2012 as the netminder for Team Canada at the U18 championships, where they won gold.

The Alberta-born player also has an Olympic gold medal and seven World Championship medals to her name.

While playing in the CWHL, she was a finalist for the Clarkson Cup twice and was awarded Goaltender of the Year in the 2018-19 season.

Maschmeyer said in a statement that she is excited to be a part of building a championship-calibre team.

“It is an absolute honour and privilege to be one of the first-ever players signed to the PWHL,” she said. “It’s important to recognize that I wouldn’t have reached this point of signing a professional contract without all the determination of the women and pioneers of the game who came before me.”

Hirshfeld said the 28-year-old will be an essential part of the culture Ottawa is trying to build.

“We believe Emerance is one of the top goalies in the world and believe she is heading into the best years of her career,” he said. “We are excited to have her on our team. In doing our research, people around the game were unanimous about all the intangibles she brings to the table like a positive, infectious personality, an amazing teammate, and a leader.”

Read more: PWHL names six general managers as teams begin roster construction

The league’s player selection process opened on Sept. 1, with a free agency period that continues through Sept. 10.

Teams are allowed to sign three players to Standard Player Agreements during this time, according to the PWHL.

The 2023 draft is set for Sept. 18, where Ottawa picks fifth.

The new professional women’s league is made up of six teams — Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Minnesota, Boston, and New York.