Goldeneyes Sign Goaltender Katie DeSa to One-Year Contract

The Vancouver Goldeneyes signed goaltender Katie DeSa to a one-year PWHL Standard Player Agreement for the 2026-27 season on Tuesday. DeSa is the first of the club's five 2026 draft picks to sign, and the deal brings Vancouver to 17 players under contract.

DeSa, 22, was selected 37th overall in the fourth round of the 2026 PWHL Draft on June 17. The Pawcatuck, Connecticut, native leaves Penn State as the program's all-time shutout leader with 25, with a 1.43 career goals-against average and a .818 winning percentage. In her final season she went 27-4-0 with 12 shutouts, an NCAA high and a single-season program record, and 16-1-0 against conference opponents. She was named AHA Goaltender of the Year in each of her last two seasons and backstopped Penn State to its first Frozen Four.

"I'm feeling super grateful and blessed in this moment," DeSa said in an interview published Tuesday.

DeSa joins a goaltending group that already includes Emerance Maschmeyer and Kristen Campbell, both under contract for 2026-27. The Ice Garden called the pair "arguably the best tandem in the league" and wrote that DeSa will find it difficult to get game time behind them. The site described the draft selection itself as "a confusing selection, not because DeSa isn't good, but because the Goldeneyes have already got two solid goaltenders."

Vancouver's four other 2026 draft picks have yet to sign: first overall selection Caroline Harvey, a Wisconsin defender, forward Thea Johansson (17th), defender Jules Constantinople (25th) and defender Ashley Messier (61st).

Cara Gardner Morey, who was Vancouver's general manager at the June draft, was named the team's head coach on July 30. The PWHL is leading the search for the club's next general manager.