MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin women's hockey program and head coach Mark Johnson announced the signing of six student-athletes for the 2019-20 season on Thursday. 
 
Forwards Dara Greig (Lethbridge, Alberta), Grace Shirley (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Daryl Watts (Toronto, Ontario), defensemen Chayla Edwards (Cleveland Heights, Ohio), Teagan Grant (New Liskeard, Ontario) and Kaitlyn (Katie) Kotlowski (Warroad, Minnesota) will join the Badgers this fall.

"As I look at it, this year's class fills the need of what we lost from last year," Johnson said. "We lost a couple high-quality defenseman and we're bringing in three defensemen in Chayla, Teagan and Katie to battle for that position. The same thing upfront, we lost four tremendous forwards and we need people to come in and fill those quality minutes. Obviously Dara, Grace and Daryl are going to be asked to do that. They're all good players but they're also good students who come from great families. Almost all of them aspire to play for their national teams. Some of them have played for their country already and they aspire to move up the ladder and continue that progression that they've started." 
 
Dara Greig
A forward from Lethbridge, Alberta, Greig suited up for Team Canada in 2017 in its U-18 summer series against the United States. Greig is an accomplished high school hockey player, winning the Detroit 2 Nations Cup Championship as the tournament's MVP her sophomore season. That same year, Greig was named a World School Sports Challenge first-team All-Star for a 29-point season (including playoffs), knocking in eight goals and 21 assists in only 25 games. During her junior year as a member of the Pursuit of Excellence, Greig won the Canadian Sport School Hockey League Championship, scoring a league-high 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists). As a senior, Greig led the Pursuit of Excellence to win the prestigious Stoney Creek Invitational Championship, finishing the season with 62 points (20 goals, 42 assists) in 25 games. 
 
Personal: Daughter of Cindy and Mark Greig … has a brother, Ridly, and a sister Kyra … currently undecided on her college major … played hockey since the age of six … is an honor roll student at George Elliot Secondary School in Winfield, British Columbia … also played basketball in high school and enjoys running and playing cards in her free time … enjoys eating BBQ Chicken, listening to Florida Georgia Line and watching Suits … her favorite thing about Madison is the beautiful lakes and overall scenery at UW.
 
Johnson on Greig: "She comes from a hockey family as her dad is an NHL scout and her brother also plays the game. I like her hockey IQ, the way she sees the ice and her ability to play with different people and make good passes and score. She's somebody that's responsible in all three zones and a lot of that is because of her intelligence on the ice. I think, for her, her hockey sense and her hockey IQ along with the skills that she has, she's going to be a good player for us for a long time. Similar with (Sam) Cogan, she's got a high IQ and just got better and better every year."
 
Grace Shirley
Grace is a forward from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the hometown of former Badger Emily Clark and sister Sophie Shirley. Like her sister, Grace Shirley has international experience skating for Team Canada, most recently being a crucial part of the gold-medal winning team at the 2019 IIHF U-18 World Championships in Obihiro, Japan. Shirley tallied a goal and an assist during the tournament, with her lone assist coming in in the 3-2 championship game victory over the United States. Shirley also played at the 2018 IIHF U-18 World Championships last year in Russia and has played for Canada in two summer series against the United States. She was an alternate captain for Canada in 2018. A veteran with the Saskatoon Stars, Shirley recorded 51 points her sophomore year on 31 goals and 20 assists. Her junior year, Shirley ranked third in the Saskatchewan Female Midget Hockey League with 56 points, helping the Saskatoon Stars win the SMFAAAHL League Championship as a first-team all-star. Shirley also guided the Stars to a silver medal finish at the 2018 Esso Cup. During her senior season, Shirley was second in the league in scoring with 48 points in 25 regular-season games and added 11 points in the playoffs.
 
Personal: Daughter of Carol and Tim Shirley …  has two brothers, Keenan and Collin, and one sister, Sophie … honor roll student at Holy Cross High School …  also competed in soccer and track and field … enjoys being active, playing sports, eating chicken and pasta, listening to Keith Urban, watching Friday Night Lights and spending time with family … intends to earn a Bachelor of Science ing physical education at UW-Madison … is excited to experience the positive atmosphere and community support for athletes at Wisconsin.
 
Johnson on Shirley: "When people watch Grace, they'll see a lot of her sister in her. She gets around the ice well, she's quick, got a nice stick. I'm anxious to get to work with her and see how she develops over her time here. She's already been exposed and done well and played at a high level. She comes with the experience of winning a gold medal at the U18's, being one of the leaders for that team. Her greatest asset is going to be her stick skills and her speed and we're looking for that at some points throughout the season."

Daryl Watts
A forward from Toronto, Ontario, Watts is a junior transfer to the program after spending two seasons at Boston College. Watts is coming off a sophomore season where she was named a Hockey East Second Team All-Star, NEHW All-New England Team and Hockey East All-Tournament Team. The junior skated in all 39 contests, leading the team with 48 points on of a team-high 22 goals, 26 assists, 16 multi-point outings and five game-winning goals. The Toronto native had one of the most decorated freshman campaigns in women's hockey history winning the 2018 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the national player of the year, the first-ever underclassman to win the award. Watts led the country in scoring as a freshman with 82 points in 38 games, posting a nation's best in points per game (2.16), goals (42) and power-play goals (10). Before college, Watts was a two-time member of Canada's Under-18 National Team where she represented Canada at the 2016 and 2017 IIHF Under-18 World Championships, winning silver both years. The junior played in Canada's last two Under-18 Summer Series (2015, 2016) against the U.S. While with the U18s, Watts was one of the youngest participants in Canada's 2016 Women's National Team's Fall Festival, leading Team Ontario Red to victories in the 2015 and 2016 Under-18 Canada Women's National Championships.

Personal: Daughter of Michael Watts and Barbara Karabin … she has an older brother Jackson … currently undecided on her college major ... favorite show to watch is Game of Thrones ... loves to eat steak and listen to Drake ... her favorite part about Madison is the beautiful city and campus ... when Watts isn't on the ice she likes to spend time golfing.

Johnson on Watts: "Her resume speaks volumes for who she is. Anytime you win the Patty Kazmaier as the only freshman to ever win it, it's huge. She's going to be able to come in and hopefully fill the void of last year's goal scorers who graduated. We're extremely excited to have her and she certainly adds depth to our lineup that may have not been there without her coming. She gets a chance to restart and start out fresh with us and get a whole different type of experience than what she's used to playing out East. It'll be fun to watch next year and I think everybody's excited to get on the ice and get going with it."

Chayla Edwards
A defenseman from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Chayla Edwards is a long-time participant of USA development camps. Edwards is a six-year player on the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite team, while also competing for her high school, Shady Side Academy. Edwards is a three-time first team All-WIHLMA conference player, helping Shady Side win the WIHLMA championship her freshman and sophomore seasons. Through her first three high school seasons, Edwards totaled 38 goals and 33 assists in three seasons as a defenseman, with her team posted a 24-3-3 record. Edwards also received national recognition on USA Today's 2017-18 American Family Insurance All-USA Preseason Girls Hockey Team. The blueliner also played varsity softball and competes in varsity crew at Shady Side Academy.
 
Personal: Daughter of Charone and Robert Edwards … has two sisters, Britney (30) and Laila (14), and two brothers, Bobby (20) and Colson (11) … intends to major in psychology at UW-Madison … a four-year honor and merit roll student, Edwards was a member of her school's Diversity Leadership Club, Gender Sexuality Alliance and Black Student Union … enjoys reading, dancing to music, creative writing, and likes eating Thai food.
 
Johnson on Edwards: "She has great size, very strong work habits, has competed at national camps for the U18's. She has the capabilities of getting up the ice to create some offense, she has a very heavy shot and I think her biggest thing will be to adapt to the speed of the college game. If she's able to do that, she'll be very successful."

Teagan Grant
A defenseman from New Liskeard, Ontario, Grant is a 2019 IIHF U-18 World Champion after helping lead Team Canada to a gold-medal victory over the United States, scoring a goal during the semifinal round over Russia along with future Badger teammate Grace Shirley. She also suited up for Canada's under-18 team in its annual series against the U.S. last summer and has attended several Team Canada camps, including the Team Canada U-18 Selection Camp in 2017 and the Team Canada U-18 Strength and Conditioning Camp in 2017 and 2018. In 2016-17, Grant won a silver medal at the Final Four Championship Weekend. In 2017-18 she led the Aeros to four tournament victories, winning the Stoney Case Showcase Tournament, the PWHL League Championship, the Final Four Tournament of Champions and the All-Ontario Tournament. Grant also posted 15 points off five goals and 10 assists her junior year with the Aeros. Grant led the Team Ontario Blue U-18 squad to silver at the 2017 U-18 Women's National Championships and has attended several Hockey Canada camps,  During her senior season, Grant tallied 15 points on eight goals and seven assists for the Aeros. 
 
Personal: Daughter of Tracy and Gord Grant… has two sisters, Vanessa and Breanne, who played hockey at Ohio State …intends to major in either law or business at UW-Madison … role models are her sister, Breanne, and former Badger and Olympic gold medalist Meaghan Mikkelson … competed in track and field and was an honor roll student at The Country Day School in King City, Ontario … likes watching "Vampire Diaries," listening to Khalid and eating ice cream … favorite thing about Madison is the winning and family-oriented culture of the Wisconsin Badgers and the beautiful city and lakes around UW-Madison.
 
Johnson on Grant: "She's a defenseman who we're going to need minutes from. Similar to (Grace) Shirley, her skill set is good -- she's a good skater, sees the ice well, passes well, has got a great feel for the game and I think the early part of her career she'll make improvements pretty quickly because of the way she moves around on the ice. She's seen her sister play (played at Ohio State), she knows our league, she's seen a bunch of the teams play in our league and I think she'll be comfortable doing that and playing at a higher level will help her confidence as she starts with us."

Kaitlyn (Katie) Kotlowski
A defenseman from Warroad, Minnesota, Katie Kotlowski has led Warroad High School to semifinals of the Minnesota state tournament in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. As a freshman, Kotlowski was named to the Greater Minnesota All-Conference Team and All-State Tournament Team, placing third overall at the state tournament. On the season, she had 23 points with nine goals and 14 assists. Kotlowski placed third again at the state tournament her sophomore season, scoring 34 points with 14 goals and 20 assists as honorable mention all-state. During her junior season, Kotlowski, an assistant captain, helped Warroad to a second-place finish at the state tournament and was named to the Minnesota Coaches Association All-State Team and All-State Tournament Team. Her junior year was her best statistically, scoring 38 points with 16 goals and 22 assists. This year, Kotlowski led the Warriors to an undefeated start. She also attended the USA Hockey U-15 National Camp in 2016 and the USA Hockey U-18 Selects Camp in 2017 and 2018. During her senior campaign, Kotlowski tallied an incredible 37 points on 10 goals and 27 assists, leading Warroad High to the Minnesota State Championship game and was named to the all-tournament team. 
 
Personal: Daughter of Sandra and Phillip Kotlowski ... has a brother, Jack and a sister, Cassie  … made the honor roll every trimester at Warroad High School and was inducted to the MHS (Minnesota Honors Society) in 2018 … is also an accomplished volleyball player, winning league MVP and all-conference in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 … a frequent volunteer of Special Olympics for Kids ... enjo­ys the outdoors, spending time with family and friends, listening to Maroon 5 and watching the TV show "Friends" … likes that Madison is close to her family and is excited to live out a lifelong dream of becoming a Badger.
 
Johnson on Kotlowski: "Like Edwards, she has great size. She has had a lot of leadership roles through her career at Warroad, She played there from eighth grade on and was in a leadership role her last two years and she helped lead her team to the state tournament her final four years. Similar to a lot of our defensive players, we are expecting them to create some offense but be responsible on their own end at the same time. I think that's the area where she'll have to work on the most, just some defensive aspects of the game, but she's got a great stick and working on her agility and I think after she gets accustomed to the speed of the game, she'll be very strong for us."