The PWHL officially confirmed expansion to Las Vegas and Hamilton, Ontario on Tuesday, as the league adds its 10th and 11th teams ahead of the 2026/27 season.
PWHL Las Vegas will play home games at T-Mobile Arena with support from the Vegas Golden Knights. PWHL Hamilton will call TD Coliseum home, in partnership with Oak View Group and the City of Hamilton.
The two markets follow Detroit as part of the 2026 expansion class. The teams join eight existing franchises in Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Hamilton showcased its hockey appetite when 16,012 fans attended a PWHL Takeover Tour game January 3rd. The crowd marked the third-largest Takeover Tour attendance, with more than 70% of the audience attending their first PWHL event. The turnout demonstrated the league can reach new audiences despite the Canadian province's two existing teams.
The Hamilton region additionally produces more than 15% of current PWHL players. This ranks among the world's strongest areas for women's hockey.
“Hamilton is proud to welcome women’s professional hockey to our city,” said Hamilton mayor Andrea Horwath. “Bringing a PWHL team to Hamilton will inspire young women and girls, bring new energy to our downtown, and create incredible experiences for fans and families across our community.”
Las Vegas has seen a 600% surge in girls and women's hockey participation since the Golden Knights' 2017 arrival. The league also cited the Las Vegas Aces' overwhelming WNBA success, indicating strong support for pro women's sports.
“While professional women’s hockey may be new to the market, we know Las Vegas is ready to welcome and champion a PWHL team of its own,” said PWHL EVP of Business Operations Amy Scheer.
“This new team will be Las Vegas Valley-born and reflect the identity of its bold, welcoming, and resilient community, with athletes ready to put on a show and build a passionate following across the region.”
Hamilton will wear gold, maroon and cream — paying tribute to the Tiger-Cats and the area's steel-producing past. Las Vegas chose green and gold, inspired by southern Nevada's desert landscape.
Detroit is all in on women’s hockey, as the PWHL announced plans to stage next month’s entry draft and awards ceremony in the incoming expansion city.
The news accompanies the third-year league’s decision to launch its ninth team in the Motor City. PWHL Detroit will hit the ice later this year.
“We’re excited that we’ll give this community an early chance to get involved and to watch your team be built,” PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said.
2025/26 addition Vancouver secured this year’s top PWHL draft pick, with Wisconsin and Team USA standout Caroline Harvey projected to go No. 1.
Seattle, New York, and Toronto also have lottery picks after missing the PWHL playoffs. However, introducing more teams could disrupt the draft order via the league’s Gold Plan system.
“I’m so excited Hockeytown is now home to the newest team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, and to welcome the 2026 PWHL Draft and Awards Ceremony to Michigan next month,” said Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
“We’re ready to build on Michigan’s hockey momentum.”
The 2026 PWHL Draft kicks off June 17th at Detroit’s historic Fox Theater.
Pro women’s hockey is coming to Detroit, as the PWHL made its expansion plans official at this morning’s press conference.
Joining as the third-year league’s ninth team, Detroit shot out as an early frontrunner after hosting four Takeover Tour matchups over the past two years — and setting a US women’s hockey attendance record in 2025.
“Detroit has been part of PWHL history since the beginning,” said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer in a league statement.
“From the support shown at our first-ever neutral site game at Little Caesars Arena, the city and fans have helped lead the way for the future of pro women’s hockey.”
Nearing the end of another successful season, the PWHL is pairing an aggressive expansion phase with next month’s college draft — also held in Detroit.
The league is already preparing to roll out new roster-building rules, forgoing a traditional expansion draft in favor of multiple signing windows as a means of prioritizing player choice.
“Detroit sports fans are the best in the world,” said Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. “From selling out arenas to setting attendance records, our fans show out when women’s hockey shows up.”
How to Reserve Tickets for the 2026/27 PHWL Detroit Season
Detroit PHWL fans can secure priority access to season tickets for Detroit’s historic inaugural season by placing a time-stamped deposit now.
The PWHL is continuing to break records, as Sunday's 2025/26 Takeover Tour stop in Washington, DC, saw 17,228 fans pack into Capital One Arena to see the No. 2 New York Sirens top the No. 4 Montréal Victoire 2-1 — setting a new US women's hockey attendance record in the process.
The benchmark surpasses the previous US record set this past November, when the Seattle Torrent welcomed 16,014 fans to their inaugural home opener.
Sunday's DC crowd also sees the US mark inch closer to the overall professional women's hockey attendance record, set in April 2024 when 21,105 PWHL fans sold out Montréal's Bell Centre to watch the Victoire take on the Toronto Sceptres.
"Washington, DC, showed up in such a big way, and the energy our fans brought into the arena turned this game into something truly special," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said of the first-ever PWHL game in the nation's capital. "Moments like this capture the joy of our sport and the momentum behind the league."
The third-year league is currently racing through its best-attended month on record, drawing more than 154,000 fans across the last 16 games while averaging crowds of 8,726 across all 49 games so far this season.
The PWHL is rapidly looking to ramp up expansion, with EVP of business operations Amy Scheer saying this week that the third-year pro hockey league could welcome "two to four" new teams as soon as next year.
"If I was a betting woman, I'd say it'd be four teams. And then I think we'll hold at 12 for a bit," she told CNBC Sport, noting the league's immediate success with 2025/26 expansion sides the Vancouver Goldeneyes and the Seattle Torrent — the latter of which shattered the US women's hockey attendance record in their Friday home opener.
Accordingly, the PWHL will continue testing possible new markets using the league's historically packed Takeover Tour, with this season's 11-city route expanding to feature seven new host venues.
"What does the support of women's sports look like there?" Scheer said, outlining the league's criteria for assessing potential markets. "If there's an NHL team, what does that look like? Or from the building, is there government support there? How does it impact travel? So there's a lot of factors."
As for the league's notably speedy expansion pace, Scheer told Front Office Sports that the PWHL has "proven that time is overrated."
"The more our numbers grow, the more value we have as a league, the more value we have against our partnerships we sell, the more merchandise we sell," Scheer explained. "Those two things — growth and profitability — are not separate."
With the puck dropping on the expanded third PWHL season on Friday, the league announced its 2025/26 broadcast schedule on Tuesday — with games now set to reach more than 96 million homes.
While all US games will continue to stream on the league's YouTube channel, national coverage will now also be available across FOX, Paramount, Scripps Sports, Gray Media, and TEGNA this season, in addition to previous regional partners like NESN, MSG Networks, KONG, and FanDuel Sports Network.
"The PWHL's broadcast strategy isn't about exclusivity — it's about accessibility," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer in a league statement.
"We're ensuring fans everywhere can experience the speed, skill, and intensity of PWHL hockey. This approach allows us to continue expanding our audience, strengthen local connections, and showcase our world-class athletes on the biggest possible stage."
The expanded broadcast footprint of the PWHL mirrors the league's growth, with the 2025/26 season seeing both the addition of two franchises — the Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes — as well as an increase of 30 games, bringing the third campaign's total to 120 contests.
How to watch the 2025/26 PWHL season openers this week
The puck drops on the 2025/26 PWHL season with two games on Friday, beginning when the Toronto Sceptres visit the two-time defending champion Minnesota Frost at 7 PM ET, airing live across FOX9+, FDSN, NESN, TSN, and YouTube.
The nightcap pits the league's incoming expansion teams against each other, with the Vancouver Goldeneyes hosting the Seattle Torrent at 10 PM ET, with live coverage across KONG, NESN, TSN, and YouTube.
The PWHL is hitting the road once again, with the newly expanded third-year league adding seven new markets to the 2025/26 season's neutral-site Takeover Tour.
Across 16 regular-season matchups running from December 17th through April 7th, the pro hockey upstart will visit Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Halifax, Hamilton, Winnipeg, and Washington, DC, for the first time, with Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, and Québec City returning to this season's lineup.
"The passion and support from fans, and the enthusiasm from cities eager to engage with our league, have fueled our ambition to grow the Tour for Season Three," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said in Monday's league statement.
The inaugural 2024/25 PWHL Takeover Tour drew 123,601 fans across nine games, setting a new US pro women's hockey single-game attendance record when a crowd of 14,288 packed Detroit's Little Caesars Arena in March.
The success underlines the sport's booming popularity, with PWHL expansion teams Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes joining the league's founding six clubs later this month after serving as Takeover Tour stops last season — setting a precedent for potential future markets.
"We're going to expand at least two to four teams next year," Scheer recently told members at an Ottawa City Council meeting. "We are in growth mode, and this league is exploding."
How to attend the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour
The 2025/26 Takeover Tour ticket pre-sale kicks off on Thursday, with host markets opening general sales to all tour dates via thepwhl.com at 10 AM local time on Friday.
The two newest PWHL teams are re-introducing themselves this week, as the third-year league officially revealed the team names and branding for 2025/26 expansion sides Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes on Thursday.
"The Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes are bold, distinctive, and true to who we are as a league," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer said in a league statement. "Each team identity is deeply connected to its home — Seattle draws inspiration from the waterways that shape its landscape, and Vancouver from its abundance of unique wildlife."
While the Torrent's letter "S" evokes Seattle's waterways, Vancouver's branding utilizes a local city bird — the "fiercely protective Common Goldeneye" — for "its speed, strength, and precision in flight."
"The Goldeneyes name is powerful, bold, and tough," said Vancouver forward and local product Jenn Gardiner. "This identity is a perfect reflection of who we are, where we come from, and that we will be relentless to play against every single night."
While the PWHL always planned to unveil the expansion sides' individual identities ahead of the 2025/26 season, both teams will still follow suit from the league's inaugural year by sporting generic PWHL branding throughout their debut campaigns.
In what Scheer calls "the start of an incredible Pacific Northwest rivalry," both the visiting Seattle Torrent and host Vancouver Goldeneyes will make their PWHL debuts against each other when the puck drops on the league's third season on Friday, November 21st.
How to purchase Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes merch
While the Torrent and Goldeneyes will don generic jerseys this season, fully branded merchandise for the 2025/26 PWHL expansion teams hit the league's online shop for fans to purchase on Thursday.
With the first-ever eight-team PWHL season fast approaching next month, the pro women’s hockey league unveiled the inaugural jerseys for incoming 2025/26 expansion sides Seattle and Vancouver on Tuesday.
The new teams will wear jerseys displaying their city names across the front, following suit after the six founding PWHL franchises debuted without original names or branding during their inaugural 2023/24 campaign.
Per this week's press release, Seattle's colors are "deep slate green and cream with a river blue accent," while Vancouver will sport "pacific blue and cream with an earthy bronze accent."
In addition to "allowing fans to immediately identify with their hometown's newest professional team," PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer explained in a Tuesday statement that "These designs also connect our expansion teams to the league's foundation while they continue building their own traditions and ties to the community."
While the PWHL will reveal the full team identities — complete with names and logos — before the puck drops on the 2025/26 season on November 21st, Seattle and Vancouver will play in their generic branding until next season.
How to purchase PWHL Seattle and Vancouver jerseys
The dark-colored replica home jerseys for both Seattle and Vancouver are currently available for purchase alongside all PWHL merch at the league's online shop.
The PWHL officially announced Seattle as the league's newest expansion franchise early Wednesday morning, bringing the total number of teams taking the 2025/26 season's ice to eight.
The move comes exactly one week after the second-year league tapped Vancouver as its seventh market, capitalizing on the natural rivalry between the cross-border Pacific Northwest neighbors.
While Seattle's bid was led by Climate Pledge Arena's Oak View Group alongside the NHL's Seattle Kraken, both new teams will fall under the league's single-entity structure, with the Walter Group continuing to operate as the PWHL's sole owner.
Rising hockey fervor set up Seattle for PWHL bid success
The West Coast ice hockey hubs join the league's original six teams, as demand for women’s hockey continues to escalate throughout North America following the PWHL's 2024 launch.
Minnesota, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, New York, and Montreal have all seen fanbases grow over the PWHL's first two seasons, in which the league tested interest in additional markets via very successful Takeover Tours across North America.
As for the factors that tipped the scales in the Seattle's favor, the PWHL cites both the city's enthusiastic Takeover Tour turnout — 12,608 fans showed up for this year's January 5th matchup — as well as its long history as a hub for pro women's sports.
"We are looking forward to returning the love, energy, and excitement the Seattle sports community shared with us during the PWHL Takeover Tour," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer in the league's announcement.
"It's a joy to have PWHL Seattle join the WNBA's Storm and the NWSL's Reign, who are skyscrapers in the city's towering sports landscape."
With two new teams officially on board, the league next plans to release details regarding both an expansion draft and the roles Seattle and Vancouver will play in June 24th's PWHL Draft in the coming weeks.