Detroit’s team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League signed former Japanese Olympian Akane Shiga to a two-year contract for the 2027-28 season.
Shiga, who made history as the PWHL’s first Japanese player in 2024, brings Detroit’s roster to 16 players under coach Josh Sciba for the team’s inaugural season.
Shiga competed for Ottawa in the PWHL’s first season and scored two goals in 24 games and played in the league’s first game at Little Caesars Arena on March 16, 2024.
The 25-year-old from Hokkaido, Japan, spent the last two seasons in Sweden’s SDHL as a member of Lulea HF, finishing second in team scoring last year with 38 points (12G, 26A) in 36 regular-season games. She led the club in postseason scoring with seven points (2G, 5A) in six playoff appearances.
The two-time Olympian tied for Japan’s scoring lead in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan with three points (1G, 2A) in four games. Her international experience also includes six IIHF Women’s World Championships in the top division tournament.
Shiga reunites with her former Ottawa teammates Shiann Darkangelo and Daryl Watts, and joins fellow forwards Hannah Bilka, Jesse Compher, Britta Curl-Salemme, Taylor Girard, Hilary Knight and Olivia Wallin.
The roster also includes defensemen Sydney Bard, Cayla Barnes, Mia Biotti, Mellissa Channell-Watkins, Nina Jobst-Smith and Stephanie Markowski, plus goaltender Alice Philbert.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: PWHL Detroit signs Japanese Olympian for inaugural season
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