PWHL signs Sloane Matthews, Tia Chan to three-year contracts
A pair of college standouts have signed their first professional contracts.
On Tuesday, PWHL San Jose announced that the team has signed forward Sloane Matthews and goaltender Tia Chan to three-year contracts, which will carry through the 2028-29 season.
San Jose selected the duo in the 2026 PWHL Draft in Detroit in June, following first-round pick Laila Edwards. Matthews was selected in the second round, 16th overall, while Chan was taken in the following round, 28th overall.
Matthews is coming off an illustrious career at Ohio State University. In her four years with the Buckeyes, she played a key secondary role on a team that was consistently battling for a national championship. Matthews and her team reached the mountaintop in 2024, as Ohio State won the NCAA championship for the second time in program history. The Wayzata, Minn. native played in the national title game in each of her four seasons, though the team lost to the Wisconsin Badgers three times.
Matthews finished off her college career with her best performance, posting career highs in goals (20), assists (24) and points (44) in her senior season. In 161 games with the Buckeyes, she scored 48 goals and 56 assists for 104 points.
Chan, the second goaltender taken in the 2026 draft, has been one of the best netminders in college hockey for the past few years. At the University of Connecticut, she was a key part in helping the Huskies reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2024. In her senior year, the Hamilton, Ont. native was at her best. Along with backstopping her team to a second Hockey East championship in three years, Chan was named a First-Team All-American, as well as the NCAA Women’s Goaltender of the Year. She finished second in the nation in save percentage (.951), third in wins (27), and fifth in goals-against average (1.55). With the 24-year-old playing her best, UConn won a national tournament game for the first time, but bowed out in the quarterfinals to Penn State.
Across five years in Storrs, Chan posted a record of 64-37-13, with a 1.58 GAA, a .944 SV% and 23 shutouts.
Chan also has a notable international resume. Of Chinese descent, she was able to represent China at the IIHF Women’s World Championships in 2022 (D1B) and 2023 (D1A), as well as the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
With the signings, San Jose has 16 players signed to contracts for its inaugural season.
