More than 40 players now signed to play in the PWHL

More than 40 players have now signed contracts to play in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), as the league prepares to open its first training camps later this month.

As of late Friday morning, Ottawa and Boston led the way with 11 signings each. The contracts range in length from one to three years, but financial terms haven't been released. 

The collective bargaining agreement requires an average base salary of $55,000 US for players in the new league this upcoming season, while the minimum salary is set at $35,000. No more than nine players per team can make the minimum salary, teams are required to have at least six players on three-year contracts that will pay them at least $80,000 per season.

Ottawa's signings this week are headlined by a Canadian Olympic gold medallist and two world champions with Team USA.

Defender Ashton Bell from Deloraine, Man., who Ottawa selected in the second round of last month's draft, signed with the team for three years. This season will be Bell's first in professional hockey, but she already has a big resume: she won an Olympic gold medal with Team Canada in 2022, and back-to-back world championships in 2021 and 2022. 

Bell spent five seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where she began her career as a forward before moving to the blue-line. She scored 33 points in 39 games last season.

"Her skating and offensive potential are incredibly exciting," Ottawa general manager Mike Hirshfeld said in a statement.

Ottawa also signed forwards Gabbie Hughes and Hayley Scamurra, who were both members of the American team that reclaimed gold at this year's world championship.

Like Bell, her co-captain at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, this season will be Hughes' first in