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.
The PWHL is officially expanding, with the second-year pro women's hockey league awarding Vancouver its seventh franchise on Wednesday.
The league's first-ever expansion squad faces a short run-up, joining the current six-team roster when the puck drops on the 2025/26 PWHL season.
"To be able to grow this fast is just a testament to the great sport, our great athletes, and how people feel about the work that we’re doing and what our players are putting out on the ice," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer.
Vancouver fanbase bolstered city's PWHL bid
Commenting on the eight-month expansion evaluation process, Scheer called Vancouver's bid "unbelievably robust," and noted that the city's "engaged, vibrant, fun" fanbase and its "remarkable commitment to growing the game of hockey" helped earn the Canadian community a team.
That commitment was on display at the PWHL's recent 2025 Takeover Tour, which drew major crowds as the league tested expansion prospects in non-market cities across North America.
Vancouver stood out, notching the the fourth-largest crowd in PWHL history when 19,038 fans showed up on January 8th — and claiming the highest social media engagement across all nine Tour stops.
That fan enthusiasm helped push Vancouver across the PWHL's expansion line, with the new team already making league history.
Besides marking the league's first-ever footprint on the the West Coast, Vancouver will become the first PWHL team to serve as the primary tenant in its home venue at the Pacific Coliseum.
The 17,713-seat arena and its adjacent PNE Agrodome — PWHL Vancouver's main training facility — will undergo extensive upgrades for the incoming franchise.
"The expansion brings greater visibility to the West Coast, expands out geographic footprint, and, most importantly, grows the game," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.
League eyes next steps for expansion team
While the PWHL still has over 20 proposals from markets requesting a team — and rumors swirling that Seattle could join Vancouver as a 2025/26 season expansion contingent — the league is currently making more concrete plans for its official seventh squad.
"With this team comes more opportunities for the best women's hockey players in the world to continue competing in one league," remarked Hefford. "The talent pool has never been deeper, and with a strong 2025 draft class ahead, we're pleased that even more women are going to be able to play at the professional level."
Details for an upcoming expansion draft to begin stocking Vancouver's roster will be announced shortly, and the team will also take part in the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24th.
"The PWHL is setting a new standard for women's hockey. The game has never been faster, more physical, or more skilled," Hefford added. "We're so excited for this city to experience the parity and the competitiveness that our league has every single game."
The 2025 PWHL Takeover Tour was a smash hit, with the second-year league’s nine-game out-of-market series drawing record-breaking crowds across North America.
Built as both a marketing push and a way to size up cities for future expansion, the Takeover Tour has given hockey fans access to the PWHL from Seattle to Québec City.
"The PWHL Takeover Tour has been one of the most rewarding initiatives since our inception — for our fans, our athletes, and our staff," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.
Record-setting crowds packed PWHL Tour stops
According to a Friday press release, a total of 123,601 fans visited the Tour, setting a new US attendance record for professional women’s hockey with 14,018 cheering in Denver on January 12th — a mark that fell just over two months later when 14,288 fans filled Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on March 16th.
More than half the games rank in the PWHL’s Top-10 most attended matchups, with the Takeover Tour's January 8th Vancouver stop registering fourth on the list with its 19,038-strong sellout crowd.
Even more, the league estimates that 80% of the Tour's attendees witnessed their first-ever PWHL game, making the series a rousing success in expanding the league's reach and growing the game beyond its six home markets.
"Across the nine stops, we connected with new fans, grew the game, and gave audiences the opportunity to experience the unparalleled excitement of a PWHL game live," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer.
"This Tour created core memories for our fans and players and its success is a true testament to the passion and support we’re seeing across North America."
Already looking deep into the future, the Tour also gave 945 hockey-playing girls access to clinics and meetings with PWHL stars — a move that Hefford hopes inspires the young athletes to aim for pro careers of their own, now that the league has paved the path into "an achievable goal."