Erin Ambrose, who has been playing women’s hockey in Montreal since 2017, is leaving for Las Vegas, one of three Montreal Victoire players picked up by Professional Women’s Hockey League expansion franchises during the process that began last week.
PWHL’s Vegas team announced Monday that Ambrose has signed a two-year contract and forward Hayley Scamurra has signed a three-year deal.
On Saturday, PWHL Hamilton announced it had signed defender Nicole Gosling to a three-year deal.
Ambrose, 32, of Keswick, Ont., started her professional career with the Canadian Women’s Hockey League’s Toronto Furies in 2016-17 before being traded to the Montreal Canadiennes after that season. She played 42 CWHL games over two seasons with Montreal before the league folded in 2019 and was named CWHL defender of the year in 2019.
She was Montreal’s first pick, sixth overall, in the inaugural PWHL draft in 2023. In three PWHL seasons with the Victoire, she has four goals, 33 assists and is an overall plus-24. She also was part of Canada’s gold-medal team at the 2022 Olympics.
During the last expansion process a year ago, Ambrose, a Montreal alternate captain, was the fourth Victoire player protected from the expansion process after captain Marie-Philip Poulin, forward Laura Stacey and goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens. Those three were also protected in this process.
Scamurra, 31, of Buffalo, N.Y., will be on her fourth PWHL team in as many seasons. In 79 games with Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal, she has 14 goals and 15 assists overall, with 16 of those points coming this season, plus another two goals and two assists in this past playoff run to the Walter Cup.
Gosling, 24, of London, Ont., was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2025 PWHL draft. She finished her rookie season with Montreal with 19 points, tied for most among rookie defenders, plus three points in the playoffs. She is a finalist for the PWHL’s rookie of the year award.
Monday’s announcements complete the Phase 2 expansion team signing period for all but one teams, with Vegas having to sign or select one more player to complete its roster of five. Several outlets including the Associated Press and Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that last player would be Seattle Torrent captain Hilary Knight, who would immediately be traded to Detroit for a draft pick.
Starting Wednesday, unsigned and unprotected players on expiring contracts can negotiate and sign with any of the eight existing or four new teams. The existing teams can protect three more players, and each expansion team can sign up to three more players.
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