Ottawa Charge name three players to protection list for PWHL expansion process

Ottawa Charge's Rebecca Leslie (37) works under pressure from New York Sirens' Nicole Vallario (11) during first period PWHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Saturday, April 18, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

The Ottawa Charge have selected three players to protect from the upcoming Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) expansion process.

Forward Rebecca Leslie, goaltender Gwyneth Philips and defender Ronja Savolainen will be off limits to the new PWHL franchises popping up in Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose.

Last season, Leslie netted a team-leading 14 goals and added 9 assists. Savolainen played 22:03 minutes per night on the team’s blue line and tallied 4 goals and 6 assists. Philips played in 28 of the team’s 30 games, posting a 0.931 save percentage and a 2.12 goals against average.

Instead of the traditional expansion draft format, the PWHL has implemented a six phase “Expansion Roster Distribution Process,” in which the new clubs will build their teams through negotiations with unprotected players, free agent and players on expiring contracts.

Each of the PWHL’s eight existing teams had until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to finalize their list of protected players.

An initial negotiation phase will take place this weekend, and late next week, existing teams will be able to protect three additional players. Existing teams can lose a maximum of four players signed to their roster for the 2026-27 season during the initial expansion signing period.

The Ottawa Charge fell to the Montreal Victoire in Game 4 of the 2026 PWHL Walter Cup finals.

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