PWHL Ottawa signs Daryl Watts to one-year deal

PWHL Ottawa announced they signed forward Daryl Watts to a one-year contract on Thursday.

Ottawa drafted Watts in the sixth round of the league’s inaugural draft.

Watts spent last year with the PHF’s Toronto Six, joining the team midway through the season and scoring three goals and seven points in only 12 games. She helped lead the franchise to an Isobel Cup.

She revealed last season that her contract with the Six would pay her $150,000, making her the highest-paid player in women’s hockey.

“I’m disclosing this because women’s hockey has been struggling for so long,” Watts said. “I’m so grateful and fortunate to be the recipient of this historic contract.

Before turning professional, Watts was one of college hockey’s most prolific scorers. She enrolled at Boston College and became the first freshman to win the Patty Kazmaier Award for the top player in the country in 2017-18.

She would transfer to Wisconsin where she would finish as a three-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award. During the 2021 NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament, she scored the overtime game-winning goal over Northeastern to secure the national title.

She was named the WCHA Player of the Year that same year, leading the country in goals (19) and finish second in points (36).

Her 297 points in 172 games rank her second all-time in NCAA scoring.