With the recent announcement of the PWHL expanding to Detroit, here is everything you need to know about the new addition. That includes comments from Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield, support from the Detroit Red Wings and Little Caesars Arena, and more.
Detroit is Hockeytown. But for the first time in the city’s robust professional hockey history, that will include being known as women’s Hockeytown too, after the PWHL announced expansion to Michigan this week.
Detroit had consistent attendance at their four PWHL Takeover Tour stops, including setting multiple American attendance records, and when the market was announced as the PWHL’s ninth franchise, all involved touted Detroit as a necessary and deserving market for the growth of women’s hockey.
Red Wings Support Clear
In other NHL markets, the PWHL has not been able to strike a tenancy deal with NHL ownership and venue management. At times, it was the PWHL’s specific asks, and at times, it was a simple refusal from NHL management to accommodate the PWHL in scheduling and promotion needs.
In Detroit, this situation could not be farther from the truth, as the Detroit Red Wings’ ownership, Ilitch Sports & Entertainment, was a willing partner from the beginning.
Not only will PWHL Detroit share Little Caesars Arena and BELFOR Training Center with the Red Wings, but they’ll also share many cross-promoted home dates.
"There definitely will be some doubleheaders coming off of Red Wings games either before or after, but there'll be some single games as well, like on single event days and we're gonna be great partners in making sure that the schedule aligns with the needs of the PWHL,” said Chris Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings at the expansion announcement.
The PWHL and Ilitch Sports & Entertainment will also be constructing dedicated spaces, including a new locker room for PWHL Detroit at Little Caesars Arena in time for the 2026-27 season.
Women’s Sports Booming In Detroit
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield believes her city isn’t just celebrating women’s sport, they’re now actively investing in women’s sport. Since Sheffield, the first woman to hold office as mayor of Detroit in the city’s more than 300-year history, took office in January, the city has announced both WNBA and now PWHL expansion.
"I'm just proud of the forward movement that women's sports is making in general, and again, Detroit is not celebrating it, we're actually leading, we're investing in it," Sheffield said. "I'm just very honored again as the woman mayor of the city to bring this league here to Detroit.
"This is a slap shot and one-timer win for our city and for women's sports, and I cannot be more honored to be here, as we celebrate a powerful moment in our city's history as we bring the PWHL to Detroit.”
There is still a significant gap for the sport in the state of Michigan. While the state is producing national team stars like Megan Keller and Kirsten Simms, and PWHL stars like Abby Roque, it’s doing so without a single NCAA Div. 1 program compared to the seven men’s hockey programs in Michigan.
Denise Ilitch, who was present at Detroit’s PWHL announcement, has been at the forefront of pushing for NCAA women’s hockey at the University of Michigan, but it’s a prospect that remains years away as hurdles and roadblocks continue to be thrown at collegiate women’s hockey in Michigan.
There are currently 13 Michiganders in the PWHL. That number will grow at the 2026 PWHL Draft, which will also be held in Detroit, with top prospects including Simms, who will be a first-round pick, and Elyssa Biederman, who could go in the top 20.
Draft And Awards Headed To Detroit
The 2026 PWHL draft will take place on June 17 at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. It marks the first time the PWHL has awarded the draft to an expansion franchise, having held the event in Minnesota, Ottawa and Toronto in their first three seasons.
The night before the draft, the league will hold their annual award ceremony in Detroit as well. It will be an opportunity for all of the league superstars to converge on Detroit. Michigan’s Keller, who scored the golden goal for Team USA at the 2026 Olympics in Milan, is expected to be in attendance as a potential finalist for the league’s Defender of the Year.
At the draft, 2026 Olympic MVP Caroline Harvey will be on hand as she’s expected to go first overall. She’ll be followed closely by fellow American gold medalists Laila Edwards, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, and Simms.
Other Olympians, including Swiss netminder Andrea Brandli, voted Best Goaltender at the Olympics, Sweden’s Josefin Bouveng and Thea Johansson, and Finland’s Nelli Laitinen, Viivi Vainikka, and Petra Nieminen, among others, are all expected to join the PWHL through the stacked 2026 Draft.
What’s Next For PWHL Detroit?
The PWHL this year is moving away from a traditional expansion draft format and is instead planning a multi-phase process focusing on signing windows. The first phase opens May 28, with Phase 2 of the expansion process, scheduled to begin June 1, to bring Detroit’s first five players to Hockeytown.
Ahead of the 2026 PWHL draft, Detroit will have signed or selected 10 players from across the PWHL to form the core of its roster. Following the conclusion of Phase 4, tentatively scheduled to end June 12, Detroit and the league’s other expansion teams will wait until the June 17 Draft to add more players, and will then begin free agency alongside the rest of the league on June 19.
While no other markets have been announced, PWHL expansion will continue in the coming months with San Jose, Las Vegas, and Hamilton as front-runners, and other markets, including Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Calgary, and Edmonton, are still considered top candidates for future expansion.
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