Feb 1, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CANADA; Team King forward Kendall Coyne Schofield (26) celebrates her goal against Team Kloss goaltender Nicole Hensley (29) during the PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase during NHL All-Star Thursday at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

PWHL Announces Expansion to Vancouver

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Jacob Punturi | Last updated Apr 23, 2025 2:22 PM ET

The PWHL is expanding. In an official league announcement from Vancouver, the league shared that a new organization is coming to Western Canada for the 2025-2026 season.

With the addition of a Vancouver franchise, the PWHL expanded from six to seven franchises. The new organization joins the Montreal Victoire, Toronto Sceptres, Boston Fleet, Ottawa Charge, Minnesota Frost, and New York Sirens to fill out the PWHL.

Vancouver, we’re coming to you! ️ pic.twitter.com/IRzhyXKPDz
— PWHL Vancouver (@PWHL__Vancouver) April 23, 2025

The Vancouver franchise will integrate into the league for the upcoming season. The details of their roster construction and their place in the upcoming entry draft will be released in the coming weeks. The league also shared that the team will play its home games at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, an arena with a capacity of roughly 15,000 people.

The expansion has been a work in progress in the PWHL for some time. Since the league's inception in 2023-2024, the goal has been to bring professional women's hockey to more cities. Their proof of concepts have gone excellently. The league itself is thriving, and their pop-up matches in big hockey cities like Vancouver, Detroit, and Pittsburgh have yielded huge crowds. The PWHL's takeover of the Canucks' arena earlier this season drew a crowd of over 19,000. It's a sign of the growing demand for the sport, and the PWHL is capitalizing on that demand with this latest announcement.

2023 IIFH Female Player of the Year, Hilary Knight of the Boston Fleet, is leading the PWHL in scoring. The American-born forward has 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points in 27 games. The Fleet sits in the middle of the standings as they enter the final stretch of the regular season.

Now that the PWHL has seven teams, it feels like a certainty that an eighth organization will be added soon. Hockey analyst Jeff Marek speculated that the announcement from the league would be for two new clubs: Vancouver and Seattle.