PWHL San Jose signs Natalie Mlynkova to one-year contract
PWHL San Jose announced Sunday they signed forward Natalie Mlynkova to a one-year contract that through the 2026-27 season.
Mlynkova spent her rookie season with the Montreal Victoire, where she scored five goals and added five assists for 10 points in 30 regular-season games in 2025-26. She also played in all nine of the Victoire’s playoff games and helped them win their first Walter Cup championship in franchise history.
The 25-year-old forward, who was taken in the second round of the 2025 PWHL Draft, has represented her native Czechia a number of times in international hockey. She was two bronze medals in six IIHF World Championship tournaments, and she’s participated in two Winter Olympic Games.
Read more: 2026 PWHL Expansion: Top 11 remaining unprotected players
Read more: Grading each PWHL expansion team’s Phase 3 signings
Mlynkova also spent five seasons playing college hockey with the University of Vermont and University of Minnesota. In 143 career NCAA games, he scored 64 goals and 67 assists for 131 points, averaging 0.92 points per game.
In 2022-23, Mlynkova has 23 goals and 19 assists for 42 points in 36 games with Vermont. In 2023-24, she won the Cammi Granato Award as the Hockey East Player of the Year.
Mlynkova becomes the ninth person to sign with the team and the first of two players to sign during phase four of the league’s expansion process. She joins other players like Rory Guilday and Corinne Schroeder, Anne Cherkowski, Kristin O’Neill, Maddi Wheeler, Hadley Hartmetz and Mariah Keopple.
Last month, San Jose hired former Toronto Sceptres head coach Troy Ryan as both their head coach and general manager.