PWHL continues West Coast expansion, adding franchise in Seattle

The Professional Women’s Hockey League will add a franchise in Seattle ahead of next season.

Seattle joins Vancouver as the PWHL’s first two expansion teams, bringing the growing league to eight teams now spanning west to east across North America. The other teams are located in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, the New York Area and Minnesota.

The long-rumoured expansion to Seattle was confirmed on Wednesday morning.

Jayna Hefford, the league’s executive vice president of hockey operations, pointed to Seattle’s rich history of supporting women’s sports, a growing youth hockey community and access to top facilities as a few reasons why the city was appealing.

“Seattle has been incredible in supporting women’s hockey, whether that be at the international level with the Rivalry Series, and then of course our [Takeover Tour] game,” Hefford told CBC Sports in an interview.

“I think Seattle has really stood up for women’s sports. We can’t wait to be part of that women’s sports community here.” 

More than 12,600 people attended a PWHL game between the Montreal Victoire and Boston Fleet inside Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the NHL’s Kraken, on Jan. 5 as part of the league’s Takeover Tour.

Before that, in November 2022, more than 14,500 fans watched a Rivalry Series game between Canada and the United States at the same location.

The PWHL team will join the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and NWSL’s Seattle Reign FC as major women’s professional teams based in the city.

“The opportunity to start a new chapter of women’s hockey in the Pacific Northwest, combined with calling the world-class Climate Pledge Arena home has so much meaning for our league,” Amy Scheer, the league’s executive vice president of business operations, said. 

“The Kraken already have been unbelievably supportive, and 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.”

Team to play in NHL arena

Like Vancouver, the Seattle team will initially be called PWHL Seattle while the league develops a new name and logo. The team’s colours will be emerald green and cream.

The team will play at Climate Pledge Arena and train at the Kraken Community Iceplex. Climate Pledge Arena is also home to the WNBA’s Storm.

While the Seattle franchise will be owned by Mark and Kimbra Walter, along with the other seven PWHL teams, the bid for a Seattle franchise was led by the Kraken and the Oak View Group that developed and operates Climate Pledge Arena.

“We continually want to raise the bar for our athletes and ensure that the experience that they have in this league is professional and it’s of the highest standards,” Hefford said. 

“When we have the ability to go into a building that has the space they need, that has the capacity for our fanbase, that has the ability to broadcast in a professional way, there’s just so many elements to being in a building like Climate Pledge.”

The league has renovations to do at its facilities in Vancouver. But the nearly-brand new Climate Pledge Arena and Iceplex won’t require much, aside from adding PWHL branding in the training facilities.

Having two teams on the west coast will certainly make it easier for the league to pitch that fact to potential U.S. broadcast partners, as the league searches for a national U.S. TV deal.

“I think that’s just one check in the box that we covered a geographic footprint with this west coast expansion,” Hefford said. “But that couldn’t be the only reason we did it. It had to check all of the other boxes.”

Only a short drive across the border from one another, Seattle and Vancouver should have a natural rivalry from day one in the PWHL. Women’s teams from the two cities have played each other as early as 1921, according to the league, and this is the next chapter.

Expansion, entry draft to come

With the league’s first round of expansion now announced, attention turns to the off-season and everything that needs to happen to get two new franchises up and running ahead of a new season next fall.

The league needs to finalize rules for an expansion draft that will help fill out the rosters of both new teams. Hefford said that’s in the “final stages.”

Also to come is an announcement on where the new teams might pick in the entry draft, which is set to be held in Ottawa on June 24. The league has already said the number one pick will go to the existing team that’s accumulated the most Gold Points, which a team earns by winning games after being eliminated from playoff contention.

Behind the scenes, both teams need hockey operations and business staff, including general managers, who will ideally need to be in place before the expansion and entry drafts.

Playoff format likely to stay, despite expansion

The league is also piecing together the puzzle of scheduling next season. The collective bargaining agreement requires a 30- to 32-game season for each team, and the PWHL will now have to schedule eight teams around international breaks, including one for the Olympics in February and one for the world championship in April.

“Lots of work to do but the good news is we’ve done this before,” Hefford said. “We’ve done this with more teams. I think we’re well positioned to ensure these teams are successful on day one.”

Hefford expects the league to match or surpass the 167 players who declared for last year’s entry draft in Minnesota, with at least 26 more full-time contracts available via expansion.

Top players who have declared so far include Wisconsin forward Casey O’Brien, who won the Patty Kazmaier Award for the top female NCAA hockey player this season, Canadian defender Nicole Gosling and Haley Winn, who just won a world championship with the Americans.

Several high-profile players from Europe have also declared, including the Czech Republic’s Natálie Mlýnková and Kristýna Kaltounková, as well as Finnish veteran Michelle Karvinen. Players have until May 8 to declare.

Four games remain on the PWHL’s regular-season calendar before the Walter Cup playoffs begin next week.

Four teams will make the cut for the playoffs, a format that could continue into next season, even as the league expands from six to eight.

“At this point in time, we’re not looking for a change in format,” Hefford said.

“But again, there’s a lot to still work through as we look at building availability and scheduling, and the international events schedule.”