PWHL Vancouver sign Jobst-Smith, Brooks, Samoskevich ahead of inaugural season
The 2025-26 PWHL season is fast approaching and PWHL Vancouver continues to put the finishing touches on the roster for their inaugural campaign on the West Coast.
On Tuesday, the club announced it had signed three picks from the 2025 PWHL Draft, securing defender Nina Jobst-Smith to a two-year contract, as well as forward Brianna Brooks and versatile forward-defender Madison Samoskevich on one-year standard player agreements.
Jobst-Smith, who plays for Germany in international hockey, will suit up for her home town team, having grown up in North Vancouver. The 24-year-old, who Vancouver selected 19th overall, put up three goals and 18 points last season for the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Welcome to the squad! We’ve signed 2025 Draft Picks Nina Jobst-Smith, Brianna Brooks and Madison Samoskevich to one-year Standard Player Agreements for the 2025-26 season! 🤩
📝 Details: https://t.co/OYdc2c4xwd pic.twitter.com/OnPAVXLHZ4
Outside of her time in college, she has also played in five IIHF Women’s World Championships, and now returns to play in Vancouver where she last played locally for the Greater Vancouver Comets.
“I’m so excited to be joining Vancouver and to have the opportunity to be a part of this amazing organization,” said Jobst-Smith. “It is a dream come true to be lacing up my skates for the city and people who first made me fall in love with this game.”
Brooks comes to Vancouver as the 32nd overall pick where she became the first player out of Penn State University to be selected in the PWHL. While she spent two seasons with the Nittany Lions, her first three years of NCAA hockey came with the University of New Hampshire, amassing a total of 46 goals and 109 points in 164 games across her entire NCAA career.
Meanwhile, Samsoskevich –– Vancouver’s fifth round pick –– comes to Vancouver after thriving at Quinnipiac University, where she switched from defense to forward in her final season. At the end of her NCAA career, she had potted 19 goals and 84 points through 168 games. Now, she will be able to offer immense versatility to the Vancouver lineup.
“We’ve built a good group of young players heading into our inaugural season, including draft picks Nina, Brianna and Madison,” said Cara Gardner Morey, PWHL Vancouver General Manager. “We’re excited to see the competition for roster spots unfold at Training Camp in Vancouver in just over a week.”
With an entire roster signed, PWHL Vancouver will hit the ice for closed-door preseason games, before taking on fellow expansion team, PWHL Seattle in their inaugural game on Nov. 21 at the Pacific Coliseum.