San Jose locks up Chan and Matthews for three years apiece
The PWHL expansion club signs its 16th and 28th overall picks through 2028-29, and the UConn goalie is the headline.
San Jose's PWHL expansion club put pen to paper with two of its 2026 draft picks on Tuesday. Forward Sloane Matthews and goaltender Tia Chan each signed three-year deals that run through the 2028-29 season, per the league's announcement and Daily Faceoff's Tyler Kuehl.
Matthews went 16th overall out of Ohio State and Chan went 28th out of UConn, both selected at the June 17 draft.
What San Jose is getting
Matthews is a 22-year-old from Wayzata, Minnesota, and she leaves Columbus with a ring. She won the 2024 national title with the Buckeyes and, per Daily Faceoff, played in four straight national championship games. Her senior year was her best: 20 goals and 44 points. Over 161 college games she put up 104 points.
San Jose Hockey Now noted on draft night that she won 59 percent of her 325 faceoffs last season. Matthews told the site she sees herself as a two-way player first. That's the kind of thing a coach hears and pencils onto the PK.
Chan is the bigger name, and the more immediate one. The 24-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario, was the 2025-26 Women's College Hockey Goalie of the Year and a First Team All-American. Her final UConn season: 27 wins, a 1.55 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage in 37 games.
She also has Olympic minutes, having represented China at the 2022 Games in Beijing, which is international experience most third-rounders can't claim.
Her save percentage never dipped below .935 in five college seasons, per San Jose Hockey Now. That isn't a hot year; that's a habit, and habits travel.
Ferda take
Expansion teams don't get to be particularly selective, so it matters when a third-round pick arrives carrying a resume like Chan's. A goalie who can steal a game is the fastest way for a new club to skip the "lovable but losing" phase.
Three-year term on both is the tell. San Jose isn't treating these two as camp bodies. They're pieces of a core, and the club wants them under contract while the roster around them gets sorted.
The Matthews pick is quieter but just as useful. Faceoff wins and a defensive conscience are how a young forward gets a coach to trust her in the last minute of a one-goal game.
What's next
PWHL training camps open Nov. 18. Chan walks into a crease with a chance to earn real starts right away, and Matthews will fight for a middle-six spot on a roster still being built. We'll know more when San Jose posts its camp list.
