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Mitten Hockey story card: PWHL Detroit

Four PWHL Detroit players make the U.S. roster for the Women’s World Championship

Hilary Knight, Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, and Jesse Compher are on Team USA’s 25-player roster for the Women’s Worlds in Denmark; Britta Curl-Salemme is not.

Shaun
1–2 minutes

Four PWHL Detroit players are on the 25-player U.S. roster for the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship, which USA Hockey announced Saturday, Oct. 31. Forwards Hilary Knight, Hannah Bilka, and Jesse Compher and defender Cayla Barnes will represent the defending world champions at the tournament in Denmark, Nov. 6-16.

All four were among the five PWHL Detroit players invited to Team USA’s final pre-Worlds camp in Plymouth last month. The fifth, forward Britta Curl-Salemme, did not make the final roster.

Knight’s 16th Worlds

Knight, 37, is headed to her 16th Women’s World Championship. She captained the United States to Olympic gold at Milan Cortina in February, beating Canada in the final, and had said those would be her last Olympics while leaving the door open to more national-team play. Knight signed an extension with PWHL Detroit in June that runs through the 2028-29 season.

The U.S. roster also includes Olympic final hero Megan Keller, 2026 Olympic MVP Caroline Harvey, 2024 Worlds MVP Laila Edwards, and goaltender Aerin Frankel. The full group has 14 forwards, eight defenders, and three goaltenders. Kendall Coyne Schofield, who is not playing this season, and goaltender Ava McNaughton are also not on the roster.

The schedule

The tournament was moved to November this year. The United States plays in Group A with Austria, Czechia, Germany, and Switzerland, and opens against Switzerland on Friday, Nov. 6. The Americans are trying to win back-to-back world titles for the first time since 2019.

PWHL Detroit forward Daryl Watts was named to Canada’s roster in October. The tournament ends two days before PWHL Detroit opens its first training camp on Nov. 18 at Belfor Training Center in Detroit, ahead of the team’s home opener on Dec. 12 at Little Caesars Arena.

Sources

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