Analyzing the CanWNT players who have (so far) joined new NWSL clubs in 2026

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It’s been a busy start to the offseason in the NWSL, as the league gets set for a massive 2026 campaign, its first with 16 teams. 

With two new teams set to join the league this year, the Denver Summit and Boston Legacy, that’s good news for several CanWNT players, with a couple of them set to find themselves on the league’s newest clubs for their inaugural campaigns - they’ll now hope to carve out big roles right from the start. 

The Canadian transfer 🧵 is back as there’s been lots of movement.

Follow along 👇

— wsoccer.ca (@WsoccerCa) January 13, 2026

Along with a few other surprise moves, including the departure of one of Canada’s best NWSL players of the past few years from her old club, it’s certainly made for a busy start to the window from a Canadian perspective.

Here’s a look at some of the moves made so far, and what they’ll mean for the CanWNT as they get set for a World Cup qualifying year - one that they’ll hope goes a lot better than 2025 did. 

Janine Sonis → Denver Summit

In a move that makes a lot of sense for both parties, Janine Sonis is set for a special homecoming in 2026, as she was unveiled as one of the Denver Summit’s inaugural signings last week. 

SONIS IS SIGNED 🇨🇦

Welcome home, Janine! pic.twitter.com/i7Cce5tHmD

— Denver Summit FC (@denversummitfc) January 9, 2026

Having acquired her via a trade from Racing Louisville for $120,000 plus add-ons, Sonis will look to pick up where she left off at the expansion club, as she gets set to return to the city where she was born and raised. 

After spending a season and a half with Louisville, where the 31-year-old made 37 appearances, scoring four goals and six assists following a trade from the Portland Thorns in 2024, she’ll bring valuable leadership to her new team, too, as she quickly became one of Louisville’s vice-captains in her short stint at the club. 

Now, the big thing to watch with Sonis will be where she lines up in the Summit’s first year as a club. Given her pedigree, she’ll start on day one - but she’s transitioned between playing as a full back and a winger in recent years. 

Interestingly, Denver listed her as a defender when announcing her arrival - perhaps that’s a sign that Sonis will now play as a full-back full-time, giving her clarity about where she fits in this team.

Here's Sonis's 2025 stats when compared to other NWSL full backs - as seen here, she was an elite chance generator at the full back position, and a good defender (FBRef)

That role should suit her, though - in 2025, her numbers had her among the best attacking full-backs in the NWSL, especially in terms of her final product, although it’s worth noting that her chance creation still stood out among wingers, showing that she could still have a role to play further up the pitch, if needed.

When comparing her 2025 numbers to fellow wingers, Sonis's chance generation numbers are solid, but a lack of goals stands out. Her defensive numbers really pop, though, which is unsurprising (FBRef)

Ultimately, though, that’s the challenge Sonis has faced with Canada over the past year - it’s clear that she’s at her best when creating chances for others, instead of finishing them. Because of this, it highlights why playing at full back can work well for her, especially considering her strong defensive work rate, which has always been a key strength, regardless of her position. Therefore, it makes sense to push her into a full back position, a move that also opens the door for her side to deploy another dangerous attacker in front of her. 

WATCH THIS.

The assist by Janine Sonis and the header by Emma Sears were both exceptional! pic.twitter.com/sz4aDk7Y0d

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 27, 2025

Emma Regan → Denver Summit

It didn’t take long for Emma Regan’s standout performances with AFC Toronto to attract suitors, as she made a landmark transfer to the Denver Summit this week, joining Sonis at the new club.  

CANADA ➡️ COLORADO 🇨🇦🏔️

Welcome to Denver, Emma Regan! pic.twitter.com/GRGfGs50oy

— Denver Summit FC (@denversummitfc) January 14, 2026

After playing in every minute of every game for Toronto this year, captaining the side in their first season, Regan will now make the leap to the NWSL, joining the Summit for a fee reported to be upwards of $450,000. 

Safe to say, that gives an idea of how much her new side rates her abilities, so look for her to carve out a massive role in the heart of the Summit’s midfield immediately. 

A strong all-around midfielder, she can play as more of a natural #6, as well as a #8, so it’ll be interesting to see how Denver deploys her, though. Perhaps, she’d be a good fit in a midfield double pivot, although it’s worth noting that Toronto typically used her in the heart of a midfield three as more of a ball-playing #6 - she could play as both a #6 and an #8 in that sort of system. 

Based on her numbers, that ball-playing #6 role suited her nicely, though - she had good ball retention and progressive passing numbers, and was very solid defensively.

As seen here Regan was solid at pretty much every thing she did for AFC Toronto last year, although she was surprisingly quite good with her final product, which explains how she scored a decent amount of goals despite her position as more of a defensive midfielder (WyScout)

Now, the big question will be to see how her skills translate to the NWSL, as there isn’t a whole lot of evidence of how the transition between the two leagues might go. Based on the fee splashed by Denver, though, they feel relatively confident. 

For what it’s worth, she’s proven in her play for the CanWNT that she’s more than capable of raising her game when called upon, so it should be a shrewd acquisition for the expansion club, who will hope the 25-year-old can blossom into a strong NWSL player in the long-term. 

GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Emma Regan's shot hits the bar on its way in and the @CANWNT have a 4-1 lead 🔥

🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/72f2aBrPQm

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 28, 2025

Kailen Sheridan → North Carolina Courage

In one of the surprise moves of this offseason, Kailen Sheridan left the San Diego Wave after four successful seasons on the West Coast, as she joined the North Carolina Courage on a free transfer not long after her contract with the Wave was ‘mutually terminated’.  

GOT OUR KEEPER 🧤

We have signed Canadian National Team goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan through 2027. Can't wait to see you between the posts, Kailen!

📰 Read more: https://t.co/OeRHJr0uJy pic.twitter.com/UF0QYMfWBd

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) January 8, 2026

Given that she had won the 2022 NWSL Golden Glove while with the Wave, it’s a surprise to see her move on from the club, as she’s been with them since they joined the league as an expansion side. 

99 appearances later, though, her time with San Diego is now over, and that’s big news for the Courage, who will be pleased that a goalkeeper of Sheridan’s calibre was available as a free agent. 

While Sheridan blossomed at the Wave, it’s worth noting that she had cracked the NWSL’s Best XI in 2021 while still with Gotham FC, so she’s been one of the league’s best goalkeepers for a while now. 

Yet, after a mixed 2025 campaign, one that saw the Wave finish sixth in the regular season table and lose in the first round of the playoffs, the Wave were ready for a fresh start, and they felt the 30-year-old goalkeeper was expendable as a result of that. 

Now, look for her to bring a big boost to a Courage side that finished ninth last season, missing the playoffs by just one point. Statistically, she remained one of the best shotstoppers in the NWSL last year, sitting in the 75th percentile for PSxG/SoT, but there are questions about her ability to play with her feet, which could explain why the Wave were willing to move on from her, given that they led the league in possession with an average of 59.5% last year.

Here's Sheridan's 2025 NWSL numbers, which show that she was a good shotstopper that struggled in other areas of her game (FBRef)

If the Courage, who were fourth with an average of 52.7% possession, can figure out a way to maximize her shotstopping abilities while limiting the work she has to do on the ball, this should be an extremely successful signing - they had a solid defence in 2025, sitting fifth in xG conceded, but outgoing goalkeeper Casey Murphy (who is heading to the Boston Legacy) was a bottom five goalkeeper in PSxG/SoT.

At the same time, here's Sheridan's radar from her excellent 2022 season, showing how dominant she can be at her best. This is the version of Sheridan the Courage are banking on acquiring, provided that they put her in the right system (FBRef)

Nichelle Prince → Boston Legacy

After two seasons with the dominant KC Current, Nichelle Prince is headed to expansion side Boston Legacy, as she was traded for $125,000 in allocation money and $50,000 in intra-league transfer funds.  

Now playing in title town 💪

Welcome to Boston, Nichelle Prince. pic.twitter.com/xXFRWtlfY0

— Boston Legacy FC (@NWSLBoston) January 13, 2026

For Prince, this is big news, too, as she’ll get a fresh start at a new club, one that should hopefully allow her to carve out a far bigger role than what she got at the Current. Ultimately, while Prince got to play alongside some excellent players with the Current, winning the 2025 NWSL Shield, regular minutes were hard to come by for her. 

Because of that, despite making 37 appearances for the club, she had just 814 minutes in 22 appearances in 2025, and 793 minutes in 15 appearances in 2024. 

Haley Hopkins ➡️ Nichelle Prince for her first goal of the season! pic.twitter.com/Hkq47fAo1A

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) November 2, 2025

Now, she’ll look to carve out a much bigger role on an expansion side, which should hopefully allow her to return to the heights she hit at the Houston Dash, such as when she scored six goals and added three assists in the 2022 season - for context, she scored just three goals and added three assists across her two seasons in Kansas, period. 

She’s not the same player she was at the Dash, however, due to an Achilles tear sustained in 2022, so it’ll be fascinating to see how the Legacy plans on using her. 

With the Current, she mostly played up front as more of a striker, much as she has for Canada - she’s played a lot more centrally since her injury, after having come up as more of a speedy winger, although she did play more out wide in 2025.

Here are Prince's numbers from 2024, when she was playing mostly as a striker. As seen above, she was a very productive player, generating a lot of chances for her teammates, and progressing the ball nicely, while defending well (FBRef)

Interestingly, in 2024, she proved to be quite effective as a forward, too, as she had good underlying numbers as a chance creator, something that fell off significantly in 2025 - although her defensive numbers were very good this year. Perhaps that shows the impact of playing more on the wing in 2025, though.

In 2025, though, Prince struggled to have the same impact offensively, although she was quite good defensively (FBRef)

Because of that, look for the Legacy to tap into what made her such an effective creator, while using her defensive ability to their advantage, by keeping her as a forward permanently. Given what they traded for her, you’d expect her to be a starter on this team, so she’ll look to recapture her form as she battles to remain in the CanWNT picture long-term, having struggled to impress in recent appearances at the National Team level. 

Bianca St-Georges → Boston Legacy

Once again, Bianca St-Georges finds herself at a new club to begin a season, as she’s one of several Canadians who find themselves sitting as a part of the Legacy’s inaugural roster.  

Bianca's in Boston 👋

Bianca St-Georges joins Boston Legacy FC 🦢

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Bianca est à Boston 👋

Bianca St-Georges rejoint le Boston Legacy FC 🦢 pic.twitter.com/vQCZ57VVGc

— Boston Legacy FC (@NWSLBoston) January 2, 2026

After spending the 2025 season with the Utah Royals, St-Georges brings good experience to the Legacy, too, as she’s made over 100 appearances in the NWSL across stints with the Royals, the North Carolina Courage and the Chicago Stars.

In recent years, she’s bounced around the league a bit, as she spent 2025 in Utah and 2024 in North Carolina after playing in Chicago between 2019 and 2023, but perhaps the Legacy can provide her with a bit more of a permanent home. 

Able to play all over the park, as she’s featured as a full back, wing back, winger and even a striker in her time in the NWSL, she’ll certainly offer good versatility to her new team, which should get her into the lineup in some form right away. 

Based on her 2025 numbers, which mostly came as a forward, playing a little deeper on the pitch seems to be what will work best for her - she scored just three goals in 22 games last year, with her underlying numbers suggesting that while she generated good xG numbers, she struggled to do a lot of the other responsibilities expected of a forward, except to defend.

As seen in St-Georges's unique chart, she generated xG and goals at a surprisingly high rate, but struggled in other areas such as her ball retention, ball progression and chance generation, at least compared to most attackers. Her defensive numbers were quite good, though (FBRef)

Because of that, it seems likely that she returns to more of a full back or wing back role (or maybe an in between of a wide midfield role), depending on how the Legacy line up, which seems to give her a good balance between her defensive and offensive responsibilities. 

Ultimately, some of her best seasons came as a wing back with the Stars, so that’s a role that would likely suit her best - there’s a reason why she’s mostly featured in a similar full back role in her cameos for Canada, which will give the Legacy another reason to put her in that sort of position going forward. 

Amanda Allen → Boston Legacy

Can 2026 be the year that Amanda Allen breaks out as an NWSL regular? That’s the bet the Legacy are making heading into their inaugural season, as they’ve signed the 20-year-old as a free agent.  

Allen is all in 💪

20-year-old Canadian International Amanda Allen joins Boston Legacy FC. pic.twitter.com/h95jQoodKd

— Boston Legacy FC (@NWSLBoston) December 26, 2025

After spending parts of three seasons with the Orlando Pride, making just 14 appearances, Allen hopes that a move to the Legacy can jumpstart her career in a big way. Having spent parts of the last two seasons on loan, first with USL Super League club Lexington SC and then with Northern Super League side Halifax Tides, Allen will hope the experience she accumulated with those clubs can pay off at her latest stop. 

Ultimately, there’s no doubting her potential, as she’s shown glimpses of being a dynamic and dangerous attacker when at her best, but as is often the case with young players, she’s looking for more consistency in her game, both in terms of her offence generation and her final product.

Here's Allen's stats from her stint in the NSL, showing that she struggled to impose herself as a regular at that level. Because of that, look for her to be much more dangerous offensively in Boston (WyScout)

Yet, given that she was signed to a deep and dangerous Orlando side that became one of the best in the NWSL during her period there, this seems like a good opportunity for her to hit the reset button, as she’ll hope to get the sort of minutes that were very hard to come by in Orlando. 

Élisabeth Tsé → Washington Spirit

There is a second Canadian defender on the Washington Spirit roster, as just weeks after Gabrielle Carle inked a long-term contract extension with the club, the Spirit acquired Élisabeth Tsé on a transfer.  

Welcome to the Spirit, Élisabeth 💛

The Spirit has signed Élisabeth Tsé from club Le Havre 👏 pic.twitter.com/KlXSkWmx0Z

— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) January 13, 2026

After spending parts of four seasons in France, having foregone most of her college eligibility in order to play professionally as a teenager (she played one season in the NCAA for the SMU Mustangs in 2021), Tsé brings some excellent experience to the Spirit despite her age, too. 

Now, she’ll look to use that experience, which came from a season in the French 2nd division with GSPO 92 Issy and two-and-a-half seasons with top-flight side Le Havre, to her advantage as she adjusts to the NWSL. 

With 49 appearances at Le Havre under her belt, it should be a relatively smooth transition - that the Spirit, who appeared in both the 2024 and 2025 NWSL Championship matches (losing both), were willing to invest a transfer fee in Tsé suggests that she could play a role in their team quite immediately. 

Because of that, this is a move that is most definitely worth keeping an eye on from a Canadian perspective. 

When looking at her statistical profile, she’s been a good ball-playing centre back despite playing on a midtable side in Le Havre, putting up especially good seasons on both sides of the ball in 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 (she’s regressed a bit in her ball-playing ability this season).

Here's Tsé's chart from the 2024-2025 season, where she had good ball progression and defensive numbers with Le Havre, which is what the Spirit will be hoping she brings in the 2026 NWSL season and beyond (FBRef)

For a Canadian team that is looking to build up their depth at the back, especially in the long-term with Vanessa Gilles, Kadeisha Buchanan and Shelina Zadorsky all in or about to enter their 30s, Tsé could quickly throw her name into the CanWNT mix if she can snatch a role quickly with the Spirit - just like Zara Chavoshi did last season with the Orlando Pride.