Hilary Knight has company in Seattle, with the new PWHL team adding two 2024 first-round draft picks — Ottawa Charge forward Danielle Serdachny and Montreal Victoire defenseman Cayla Barnes — on Thursday during the expansion signing period.

The league said Serdachny agreed to sign a two-year contract and Barnes reached a three-year deal to join Knight as the yet-to-be-named franchise’s first three players.

The other expansion team, Vancouver, continued stocking up on Canadian national team stars with the additions of Toronto Sceptres forward Sarah Nurse and Ottawa goalie Emerance Maschmeyer. Nurse agreed to sign for one year and Maschmeyer for two.

Vancouver reached its five-player signing limit by agreeing to a one-year contract with Montreal Victoire forward and rookie of the year finalist Jenn Gardiner, who grew up in the city’s suburbs.

Seattle has two of a five maximum slots open during the signing period, which ends Sunday. The expansion draft is Monday.

Bruins name Sturm new head coach

The Boston Bruins hired Marco Sturm as coach on Thursday to help the Original Six franchise get back to the playoffs after missing them for the first time since 2016.

The Bruins picked the 46-year-old German to replace interim coach Joe Sacco, who took over from Jim Montgomery in November and led the team to a 25-30-7 record — much of it after a trade deadline roster purge.

Sturm, who spent the past three seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Ontario Reign and coached Germany to a silver medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, is a former Boston player — just like Bruins president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney.

St. Thomas to host 2026 WCHA tourney

Just a few months after the National Collegiate Hockey Conference held its final neutral site postseason tournament at Xcel Energy Center, the hockey people in St. Paul got some good news about another major college tournament coming to town.

On Thursday, officials from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association announced that the 2026 WCHA Final Faceoff will be hosted by the University of St. Thomas and held at the new state-of-the-art Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. The four-team tournament, which crowns the postseason champion, will be played on the St. Thomas campus March 5-7.

This will be the first time hosting the tournament for St. Thomas, which is the newest member of the eight-team conference. Ridder Arena in Minneapolis has hosted the Final Faceoff 17 times, with Bloomington, Blaine, Duluth, Bemidji and Grand Forks, N.D., also hosting the tournament since the inaugural event in 2000.

— Jess Myers

Minor League baseball

Saints drop high-scoring game to Railriders at CHS

Tanner Schobel, the No. 68 overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Twins, had his first Triple-A hit — a three-run homer — in his second game with the St. Paul Saints, but St. Paul lost 11-8 to Scranton/WB on Thursday at CHS Field.

Schobel was playing just his second game with the Saints after being promoted. His homer gave St. Paul a 4-2 lead as part of a five-run second inning. Patrick Winkel and Carson McCusker also homered for the Saints.

The Railriders had their own five-run inning in the fourth and chased St. Paul starter Marco Raya from the game. Raya allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings. Ryan Jensen (2-3) allowed two runs in two innings of relief.

Briefly

GOLF >> Cristobal Del Solar shot a 9-under 61 for a share of the first-round lead with Thorbjorn Olesen at the RBC Canadian Open.

WNBA >> Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers will miss her third consecutive game with a concussion on Friday.

WNBA >> Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark said she remains day-to-day with a left quadriceps strain but will be re-evaluated this weekend.

NFL >> The Baltimore Ravens signed former University of Minnesota receiver Rashod Bateman to a three-year, $36.75 million extension, which includes $20 million in guarantees, according to a source who spoke to The Associated Press.

NFL >> Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson has a shoulder injury that will sideline him indefinitely.

— From news services