The Fleet on Wednesday signed Grace Dwyer, their first-round draft pick, to a three-year deal — the longest rookie contract permitted by the collective bargaining agreement and proof of general manager Danielle Marmer’s commitment to developing homegrown talent.
That Boston signed Dwyer, chosen No. 10, to a three-year deal is both a vote of confidence in her high ceiling and an indicator of newfound stability across the league.
Now that the PWHL has added four teams ahead of the 2026-27 season and seems content to remain at 12 for the foreseeable future, Marmer doesn’t have to worry as much about losing her young players to expansion. Dwyer’s deal is an investment in both her future and the club’s.
Dwyer is a big defensive defender out of Cornell and strikes a balance with the Fleet’s more offensive blue liners Haley Winn and Megan Keller. A talented skater with a long reach, Dwyer was one of 31 players invited to Team USA’s September training camp ahead of the IIHF World Championship in November.
“As the league grows … defenders were already hard to come by, and now they’re even harder,” Marmer said. “You want [defenders] who you can trust on the ice against the best players in the world, and Grace is right there.”
Marmer — who worked in player development with the Bruins and Quinnipiac — is known for her development-focused approach to running the Fleet. She has a knack for getting the most out of her players and shaping diamonds in the rough into high-level pros.
During the spring, she lamented how the expansion process took away some of the young players she and the Fleet staff worked hard to turn into elite talents. With expansion tabled, that’s less of a concern.
In addition to Dwyer, the Fleet in August signed third-round pick Leah Stecker, a defender out of Penn State, to a three-year contract. In both cases, the deals were strategic moves to get the most out of the rookies and set the table for long careers in Boston.
“It helps with the relationship with players,” Marmer said. “That gives a player confidence, knowing that there’s going to be an opportunity for her here, and knowing that our management and coaching staff feel really strongly about her ability to perform in this league.”
The negotiation process was a breeze, Dwyer said, because both her camp and the Fleet were seeking the three-year deal from the start. Still, it’s nice to have the contract out of the way so she can focus on getting ready for Boston’s season opener, scheduled for Dec. 6 at the New York Sirens.
Dwyer has spent the past month in Boston working with a group of 10 Fleet players and getting used to the speed of the professional game. Her physicality, which she had to stifle at times in the hit-shy NCAA, is on par with her veteran teammates, she said.
“It’s cool to learn from them,” Dwyer said. “Obviously it’s a little bit of adjustment, but I feel like it’s a good chance to learn and kind of find my footing.”
Marmer has toyed with the idea of pairing Dwyer with Winn, the reigning PWHL Rookie of the Year. Though that decision is ultimately up to first-year coach François Méthot, splitting up Keller and Winn would allow the Fleet to stretch their top defensive talent further without diluting their offensive production.
While Dwyer isn’t known for her scoring, she worked to develop that side of her game over four years at Cornell and said she plans to continue that growth in the PWHL. Marmer expects her to log big minutes from the jump.
“When you have a player who feels confident about their game defensively and prioritizes that, that’s why a coach keeps putting you out there,” Marmer said. “Then you let your offensive instincts take over when it makes sense and you contribute and you add a little bit without overdoing it. That’s the perfect recipe for a rookie D coming into this league.”
Emma Healy can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @ByEmmaHealy.