Montreal Victoire sign Jessica DiGirolamo to two-year contract
The Montreal Victoire is looking to keep its spot atop the PWHL standings in 2025-26 and took the first steps to doing so as free agency opened on Monday.
The Montreal Victoire has officially announced that the team has signed defender Jessica DiGirolamo to a two-year contract, coming over from the Boston Fleet, where she has played the last two seasons.
TheScore’s Kyle Cushman was the first to report the signing earlier this week.
Jessica DiGirolamo is signing a two-year contract with the Montreal Victoire.
Physical blue-liner who posted strong defensive metrics last season. Ranked 4th among defenders with 41 hits. One of the younger defenders available in unrestricted free agency.
DiGirolamo has played 54 games for the Fleet over the last two seasons, scoring a goal and seven assists, while helping the team reach the inaugural Walter Cup Final in 2024, where they fell to the Minnesota Frost in a dramatic series.
After a strong showing in the debut season, Boston took a step back in 2024-25, missing the Walter Cup Playoffs. Now, they have also lost a key player in DiGirolamo, who is joining the departing group alongside superstar Hilary Knight, who signed with PWHL Seattle as part of the expansion process.
DiGirolamo, meanwhile, heads to a Victoire team, where she will bring a physical and composed presence to the backend. In 2024-25, she ranked fourth among all defenders with 41 hits, and at 26, was one of the youngest available defenders in free agency.
Before her time in the PWHL, the native of Mississauga, Ontario, played her first professional season in the PWHPA with Team adidas, where she skated with now Montreal teammate Laura Stacey, joining the touring setup after a five-year NCAA career with the Syracuse Orange.
At Syracuse, she served as captain in her final year, 2020-21, and was a more offensive presence, scoring 33 goals and 95 points in 163 games from 2017 to 2022. During that time, she also won the 2021-22 CHA Best Defenseman award and was named to the 2021-22 All-CHA First Team, highlights among several other honors.
Outside of DiGiralomo and re-signing defender Kati Tabin, Montreal were relatively quiet on the first day of the PWHL’s signing window, but will continue to build their roster to take on their seven opponents in the first expanded season of the PWHL in 2025-26.