Source: PWHL Boston signs Hannah Bilka to three-year contract
One of the top teams in the PWHL has locked down its top draft pick.
A team source tells Daily Faceoff that Boston has signed forward Hannah Bilka to a three-year contract.
Bilka was taken by the team in the first round, fourth overall, in this year’s PWHL Draft. She was the first of eight players out of Ohio State University selected in this draft. Bilka’s teammate, and former Boston College star Cayla Barnes, was selected by Montreal right after her.
Bilka came into the draft as one of the best prospects, arguably the third-best forward behind Princeton’s Sarah Fillier and Colgate’s Danielle Serdachny, who went 1-2 in the draft to New York and Ottawa, respectively.
The Coppell, Texas native transferred to Ohio State after four years at Boston College where she established herself as one of the top players in college hockey. In the move to Columbus, Bilka joined a winning program, and was a big reason the Buckeyes won the program’s second NCAA National Championship this past spring.
Bilka led OSU with 22 goals and 26 assists in 39 games, and her 48 points placed her 15th in the nation in scoring. In 160 career games, she scored 71 goals and 104 points, with an incredible plus/minus of +105.
The former Shattuck St. Mary’s product has become a mainstay on the national scene over the past half-decade. She debuted with Team USA at the 2018 IIHF Women’s Under-18 World Championship, helping her team win the gold medal. After winning silver at the U-18s the following season, Bilka joined the senior national team at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship, scoring 12 points in seven games, as the Americans finished second.
Bilka and the U.S. got revenge on Canada at the 2023 Women’s Worlds, winning gold for the first time in four years. She was also on the team that took home silver in Utica back in April.
The 23-year-old is the second draft pick Boston has signed. The team locked down Sydney Bard for two years. With the signings, Boston has 18 players under standard player agreements for the 2024-25 season.