PWHL Detroit signs Olympic star, local defender as roster takes shape

The roster for PWHL Detroit‘s inaugural season is taking shape before the historic first regular-season game in late November.

General manager Manon Rheaume announced Friday morning the signing of Olympic goaltender star Andrea Brändli to a three-year contract and Port Huron defender Casey Borgiel to a one-year contract.

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Brändli and Borgiel are the first of the team’s six-player draft class to sign and brings Detroit’s roster to 18 players under contract with two goaltenders, seven defenders and nine forwards.

Brändli, 29, is a three-time Olympian who backstopped Switzerland to a bronze medal victory in February and was named best goaltender and a tournament All-Star with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage.

“Andrea comes with a really good pedigree and her success at the Olympics,” Rheaume told The Detroit News. “We’re really fortunate to have a second goalie signed (Alice Philbert) that’s also participated in the Olympics for France. It’s very exciting to have that scenario.

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“I look at the Islanders when you have both goalies together (Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov) and you can go with either one in the playoffs. You never know what’s going to happen. Minnesota also shares their goaltending (Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt) the last few years.”

Borgiel, 22, joins her hometown team following two seasons as the top scoring defender at Colgate University, most recently tallying four goals and 21 points in 36 games during the 2025-26 campaign.

She’s a product of Detroit’s Little Caesars program, winning back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022.

“I actually saw her skate before Little Caesars,” Rheaume said. “She played with my son and I think she was the only girl on our team. She kept up with everyone and she played physical against those boys.

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“When she made the transition to the girls game, she continued to play the same way. She didn’t change her physicality. She’s just a solid defender who moves the puck well and brings stability to our blueline.”

Brändli is one of nine on the team who competed in Milano Cortina counting Americans Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, Britta Curl-Salemme and Hilary Knight, Canada’s Daryl Watts, France’s Philbert, Germany’s Nina Jobst-Smith, and Japan’s Akane Shiga.

“Akane (Shiga) is a very skilled player who sees the play well,” Rheaume said. “She put 10 pounds of muscle on in the last few years and did very well in Europe. We like her hockey IQ and feel she can be helpful.”

Borgiel is one of four Michigan-area players on the roster joining Mellissa Channell-Watkins (Plymouth) and forwards Shiann Darkangelo (Brighton) and Taylor Girard (Macomb).

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The PWHL schedule hasn’t been released yet for the 12 teams, including Detroit and three other expansion teams.

Last year, the schedule was released Oct. 1 with play beginning in late November. This year, the women’s world championships will be held in Denmark from Nov. 6-16. The season is expected to start shortly after the worlds.

mark.falkner@detroitnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: PWHL Detroit signs Olympic star, local defender as roster takes shape