GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The new Detroit PWHL franchise is already making moves. In addition to a sign-and-trade involving Team USA captain Hilary Knight, the team has signed four other free agents, including Jesse Compher.
The name is familiar with Red Wings fans. She’s the sister of current Red Wing and former Michigan Wolverine J.T. Compher.
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Jesse played at Boston University before transferring to the University of Wisconsin for her final collegiate season. She scored 16 goals and 24 assists in 41 games. Compher was drafted by the Toronto Sceptres in the fifth round of the inaugural PWHL Draft in 2024. She has scored 16 goals and 19 assists in three seasons with the Sceptres.
She was under contract for the 2026-27 season with the Sceptres but she was selected by PWHL Detroit during Phase 2 of the league’s roster expansion process.
Compher has also played with Team USA on several occasions. She won silver at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing has four World Championship medals — two golds (2019, 2025) and two silvers (2021, 2022).
She will join former Sceptres teammate Daryl Watts, Britta Curl-Salemme, Hannah Bilka, Calya Barnes and Knight on the PHWL Detroit roster.
Toronto Sceptres forward Jesse Compher skates with the puck against the Ottawa Charge on April 25, 2026. (Getty Images)
Knight was reportedly acquired from the league’s new Las Vegas franchise in exchange for Detroit’s first-round pick in the 2026 draft. According to the Associated Press, the trade won’t become official until June 16, the day before the draft.
The 36-year-old Knight is a five-time Olympian. She was the captain of the 2026 Team USA Olympic team that beat Canada to win the gold. She has also won three Olympic silver medals.
Hilary Knight will play for PWHL expansion Detroit via sign-and-trade with Las Vegas, AP source says
Knight played for the Boston Fleet in the PWHL’s first two seasons before signing with the Seattle Torrent last season. She was left unprotected by the Torrent heading into this offseason’s expansion protocol.
Compher and Barnes have been signed to a three-year contract. Watts and Knight are both on four-year “foundational contract. Bilka is on a two-year deal.
The Detroit franchise will help fill out their roster at the 2026 PWHL Draft that will be held at Detroit’s Fox Theatre on June 17.
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