Where are former PWHL players playing in 2026-27?
While everyone is excited about what the fourth season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League will behold, there’s another premier women’s league gearing up for the 2026-27 season.
Training camps are underway for the Swedish Women’s Hockey League (SDHL), formerly known as Riksserien, many talented athletes are set to play in one of the longest pro women’s leagues in the world. While many of Europe’s top stars have called the SDHL and other top leagues in Europe – Auroraliga (Finland) and SWHL (Switzerland) – home for several years, there have been several players who joined the league from the other side of the ocean seeking an opportunity.
Prior to the creation of the PWHL, many players outside of the national team systems who still wanted to play decided to continue their careers in Europe. Even with the PWHL in existence, some people have moved overseas in order to have a better opportunity to play.
Let’s look at some of the most notable names who once played in the PWHL but have decided to join the European ranks.
Anna Meixner (F)
Let’s start off with a couple of players who were in the PWHL just this past year. Anna Meixner came to the PWHL in 2024, having been taken by the Ottawa Charge in the fifth round of that year’s draft. She was just a couple of years removed from being the SDHL’s most valuable player, helping Brynäs IF reach the finals. However, things just never panned out for Austria’s captain. After scoring just two points in her first season in the league, Meixner was part of the big six-player trade with the Vancouver Goldeneyes last January. Even with a greater role with an expansion team, she couldn’t find that scoring touch that made her a star overseas. In 30 games in 2025-26, she scored just three goals and six points.
Meixner decided it was time to return to Sweden, rejoining Brynäs on a two-year contract.
Brianna Brooks (F)
Brooks was a very talented player in college, earning the title as the first player from Penn State to be drafted in the PWHL, as the Goldeneyes selected her in the fourth round, 32nd overall in the 2025 PWHL Draft. However, despite signing a standard contract in the summer, she wasn’t able to crack the main roster out of training camp. She was activated for just one game, making her PWHL debut on March 1 against the Toronto Sceptres. Brooks decided that Sweden was the way to go if she wanted to gain significant ice time, signing a two-year deal with Skellefteå AIK.
Claire Vekich (F)
Vekich didn’t see any action in her lone year in the PWHL. She started the season on the Montreal Victoire’s reserve list, but was released in early January. Prior to that, she was a solid scorer in the college ranks, playing for both Bemidji State and Minnesota State. She signed a one-year contract with Djurgårdens IF, and is hoping to make her pro debut soon.
Cap Summary
Draft Picks
Chloe Aurard-Bushee (F)
Still one of the more controversial transactions during training camp last year. Aurard-Bushee, who had signed a one-year contract with the Boston Fleet the same summer when she got married, was cut by the team during camp, leaving her without a team as the 2025-26 season came to fruition. She was able to find a spot on the ZSC Lions in the SWHL, posting three goals and seven points in six games, with another goal in three league playoff games, finding the back of the net once as well during Switzerland’s National Cup. Playing in the Swiss top league helped her prepare for the Winter Olympics, where she represented France. She also helped France earn promotion to the top division for the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship, as her five points helped the Les Bleus win gold at the D1A Women’s Worlds.
Aurard-Bushee will be back with the Lions once again this season.
Noora Tulus (F)
One of the biggest “what-ifs” of the league’s young history, Noora Tulus came to the PWHL with high expectations. She was one of the SDHL’s top scorers, and was a seven-time league champion before the New York Sirens selected her in the second round of the 2024 draft. However, she was unable to adapt to the PWHL style of play, and the relationship between her and management quickly turned sour. After scoring just two points in 2024-25, Tulus and the team terminated the remainder of her contract. She joined Brynäs and was clearly rejuvenated, averaging over a point per game during the regular season, leading all players with 14 points in the playoffs, as Brynäs claimed the SDHL title.
Tulus is back with Brynäs once again this season.
Emma Söderberg (G)
There was a time when Söderberg was considered by many to be one of the two best goaltenders outside of North America. After Noora Raty stepped away from playing, the Swedish backstop was taken by Boston in the inaugural draft three years ago, and was slated to back up Aerin Frankel. While she had a decent rookie season, Söderberg stumbled in 2024-25, eventually losing her job to Klara Peslarova late in the season after Frankel was hurt at the Women’s Worlds. At the end of the year, she decided to return home, signing with SDE HF. She was exceptional, going 12-5-2 in 17 games, with a 1.76 goals-against average, a .931 save percentage and two shutouts. She also represented Sweden once again at the Winter Olympics, though Ebba Svensson Traff took the reins as the starter in Milan.
Söderberg signed a one-year contract to stay with SDE through the 2026-27 season.
Klára Peslarová (G)
Speaking of Peslarová, many were shocked when she didn’t find a home after the 2024-25 season, her lone year in the PWHL. Even though she played in just four games for the Fleet, the Czech netminder was great, going 2-0-1 with a 1.79 GAA, a .937 SV% and a shutout. It was because of her that Boston even had a chance to make the Walter Cup Playoffs with Frankel out of action. Yet, Peslarová went back to the SDHL, joining that stacked Brynäs team. After splitting duties with Ena Nystrom during the regular season, Peslarová went a perfect 9-0 in the playoffs, helping the team win the championship.
The 29-year-old looks to run it back with the club again this season.
Charlotte Akervik (D)
Akervik was with Vekich in Mankato for one season, where Akervik was captain of the Mavericks in 2023-24. She was placed on the Frost’s reserve roster at the beginning of 2024-25, but appeared in just two games as the team later went on to win its second straight Walter Cup. Last summer, she signed with Djurgårdens and fit right in, scoring nine goals and 18 points in 32 regular-season games, leading the SDHL in goals by a defender.
Akervik will be part of the welcoming party for Vekich, as she’ll be back with Djurgårdens this season.
