PWHL notebook: Expansion teams announced for Vancouver and Seattle

NHL.com staff writer Anna Kulesa will be filing a biweekly notebook on all the happenings in the Professional Women’s Hockey League throughout the season. Today, a look at some of the top storylines, including the league’s expansion out west and the final playoff push.

PWHL Expands to Vancouver and Seattle

The PWHL is heading west. The league announced it will be adding two teams next season in Seattle and Vancouver. Both teams will debut in the 2025-26 season. The league will announce details of the Expansion Draft in the weeks to follow.

Vancouver will play its home games in a renovated Pacific Coliseum located at Hastings Park. The team’s colors will be pacific blue and cream. They will go by PWHL Vancouver until a name is chosen.

Seattle will play at Climate Pledge Arena and practice at the Kraken Community Iceplex, sharing with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. The team’s colors will be emerald green and cream. They will go by PWHL Seattle until a team name is announced.

PWHL announces 2025 Draft date

The 2025 PWHL Draft will be held on Tuesday, June 24 at 7 p.m. ET at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Ottawa. The deadline for prospects to declare eligibility for the draft is May 8. The league will announce more details about the event and how the Vancouver and Seattle expansion teams will be integrated in the draft next month.

Back from international break

The PWHL returned to action on Saturday after a two-and-a-half-week break for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in České Budějovice, Czechia. The United States took home gold after defeating Canada 4-3 in overtime on April 20. It was USA’s 11th world championship gold medal. Finland defeated Czechia 4-3 in overtime to win the bronze medal. There were 42 PWHL players who won medals at the event including 16 gold medal winners from the U.S. Twenty-three won silver for Canada and three won bronze for Finland. After Wednesday, only three regular season games remain on the schedule, each team playing once more.

Battle for the last two playoff spots

The PWHL playoffs will start in May and the last two spots are up for grabs. Currently, the Boston Fleet are in the third spot with 44 points and Ottawa Charge are in fourth with 42 points. The Minnesota Frost are in fifth place with 41 points. The Montreal Victoire and Toronto Sceptres punched their playoff tickets before the break and sit in the first two seeds, respectively. With a 3-0 Charge loss to Minnesota on Wednesday, the Sceptres clinched a top-two seed in the playoffs and home ice advantage for the semifinals. The PWHL’s top seed gets to choose its semifinals opponent from the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.

Minnesota receives their bling

Minnesota’s 2024 PWHL Walter Cup Championship ring was unveiled on Monday. The ring features “Minnesota” written in purple over the Walter Cup and 74 diamonds on the sides to represent the number of goals the team scored in the 2024 season. “2024” and “Champions” is engraved on the top and bottom of the ring. The championship game’s date “May 29, 2024” and the score “3-0” is written on the inside of the ring. Minnesota’s team motto “Win one game” is written below. On the side, the player’s name and number are engraved. Members of the 2024 PWHL Minnesota team received their rings in a private ceremony on Sunday.