The PWHL has drawn a lot of attention over the past month while it announced four expansion teams for the 2026-27 season. Why did those cities get a team, and what is the domino effect?
The PWHL has doubled the number of teams since starting as a six-team loop in 2023.
Some believe such rapid expansion is risky, but by every metric, whether it's attendance, merchandise sales, sponsorship or broadcasting, the PWHL can barely keep up with the demand for its product.
That demand was the impetus for continued expansion. As PWHL advisory board member and Los Angeles Dodgers' president Stan Kasten said: "there is a line of cities eager to have us…"
As it turns out, he was right. Cities across North America are lining up to host PWHL Takeover Tour games, which continue to draw record crowds and to host permanent PWHL franchises.
PWHL Heads West To Non-Takeover Markets
The PWHL Takeover Tour was not designed specifically for the PWHL to test drive expansion markets. The league has always asserted the tour was designed to give "fans across North America the chance to experience the excitement of a regular-season game in their home venues."
The PWHL Takeover Tour has worked for that, and two of this year's expansion markets – PWHL Detroit and PWHL Hamilton – did host stops.
Las Vegas and San Jose never appeared on the Takeover Tour, however. That said, those markets were Day 1 supporters of the PWHL, and both have expressed interest in PWHL franchises prior to this season. San Jose even attempted to get an expansion team last year when Seattle and Vancouver were awarded squads.
One thing was clear: the PWHL wanted to continue its westward expansion, adding Las Vegas and San Jose in the Pacific Time Zone and including Detroit as a bridge.
Many questioned the omission of Denver and Edmonton, which both had multiple stops on the PWHL Takeover Tour this season. Despite fan support and interest, the NHL teams and markets themselves couldn't come up with the basic requirements the PWHL needed for expansion.
Detroit (Little Caesars Arena), San Jose (SAP Center) and Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena) opened the doors to their venues.
The PWHL also does not currently offer team ownership. It operates on a single-entity ownership model with the Mark Walter Group, owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers, owning all teams.
Some markets did not want to commit without control as a result. The expansion markets offered to build partnerships.
Hirings Underway
With the PWHL expected to open its expansion roster-building process on June 2, GMs have little to no time to prepare a list of targets in what is set to be a highly unique expansion process for professional sport.
The focus is on various signing windows and not a traditional expansion draft, although it could revert to that in various phases.
The expansion process isn't the only task for new GMs, as the PWHL draft is slated for June 17 in Detroit. It's likely teams will want coaches and some form of hockey operations staff in place prior to those events.
In Detroit, the league tapped women's hockey legend Manon Rheaume as the team's first GM.
It was a match made in heaven, not only for Rheaume's women's hockey connections but also for her connections to Detroit. Rheaume has lived in Michigan for more than a decade, serving as the longtime girls program co-ordinator for Little Caesars Hockey, whose parent ownership is, of course, Ilitch Sports and Entertainment, the PWHL's partner at Little Caesars Arena.
Las Vegas went another route with CAA Sports agent Dominique DiDia, who was the organization's co-head for women's hockey. She represented many of the game's top stars, such as Olympians Cayla Barnes, Alex Carpenter, Hannah Bilka, Sophie Jaques, Jesse Compher, Aerin Frankel, Brianne Jenner, Hayley Scamurra, Claire Thompson, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull, Haley Winn and Tessa Janecke. With many of those players as potential expansion targets, DiDia's connections could pay off.
The other two markets, San Jose and Hamilton, reportedly have staff in place, but with the PWHL's Walter Cup finals underway, timing of announcements is being worked around not only expansion news and the final games between the Montreal Victoire and Ottawa Charge.
12 Teams For Now
While the PWHL has no intention of staying as a 12-team league, officials have said the league will pause expansion for a season or two to enable the player pool and fan base to settle.
The issue of future expansion will be exacerbated by the NCAA's recent ruling to add a fifth year of eligibility for players. It means the 2027 PWHL draft could be void of top players. The next wave of incoming talent would then be shifted to 2028, with the 2029 draft setting up to be a standout class, much like the incoming 2026 class.
For now, the PWHL will rest with Boston, Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, San Jose, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver.
It wouldn't, however, be shocking to see the PWHL reach 16 teams before the expiration of their current collective bargaining agreement in 2031.
The 2026-27 PWHL season will begin immediately following the completion of the 2026 World Championship, which is scheduled to take place in November in Denmark.
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