Report: Alex Carpenter, Abby Roque expected to be New York’s first PWHL signings

The New York PWHL team is reportedly set to sign forwards Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque for the inaugural season.

The Athletic’s Hailey Salvain was the first on Roque, while Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek had the initial report on Carpenter.

Carpenter, 29, is a six-time world champion with the United States. The 5-foot-7 center has won silver twice at the Olympics and twice more at the World Championship, with her most recent gold coming this past April. Carpenter was a dominant offensive threat in college, which saw her won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top women’s NCAA player in 2014-15. She finished her four-year run with 133 goals and 278 points in 150 games with Boston College before turning pro for the 2016-17 season.

Carpenter spent one year with the Boston Pride, scoring nine goals and 29 points before signing with Kunlun Red Star of the CWHL the following year. She spent four years playing in China between the CWHL and Russian women’s league before joining Team Scotiabank for the 2022-23 PWHPA season.

Roque, 25, has limited experience with the American national team, but has quickly become one of the nation’s top young stars. She helped USA win gold this year with nine points, following up from her eight-point run in 2022. The 2019 NCAA champion with Wisconsin was also a strong college player, finishing as a Patty Kazmaier Award finalist in 2020. Roque made her Olympic debut with USA in 2022, recording three points en route to a silver.

New York holds the fourth pick in the first round of the 2023 PWHL Draft, swapping between the third and fourth picks of each round. The draft is set to take place on Sept. 18, eight days after the end of the league’s official free agency period.