A standout alumnus of the York University Lions women's hockey team headlines a group of signings for the new Toronto-based National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) franchise.They announcedas one of Toronto's five inaugural signings in an introductory press release for the team's inaugural season.Barbara, a defender from Mount Hope, Ont., spent all five years of her U SPORTS eligibility with the Lions. She posted a career-high in points (20) during her fourth season as a Lion, in which she ranked second on the team with seven goals and 13 assists.Throughout her career, she earned U SPORTS all-Canadian honours once, was a U SPORTS all-rookie team member in her first year and earned three OUA all-star awards – including once on the first team – as well as conference all-rookie recognition.Her career post-university took her to the now-defunct CWHL, where she spent three campaigns with the Brampton/Markham Thunder. The offensive-minded defender's last two years in Markham were full 28-game seasons – 2017-18 saw Barbara post a career-high 12 points, finishing in a tie for fifth in team scoring.Toronto's new NWHL franchise is also receiving a player with championship pedigree – the 27-year-old won her first professional championship last season in the CWHL as a member of Markham.The NWHL is a six-team league established in 2015. The Toronto expansion franchise is its first outside of the United States, where it currently has five teams located in Boston, Mass., Amherst, N.Y., Danbury, Conn., Monmouth Junction, N.J., and Saint Paul, Minn.Digit Murphy, former women's hockey head coach at Brown University, will act as Toronto's team president.