The Vancouver Goldeneyes will join the Vancouver Canucks, Abbotsford Canucks, and more teams in representing Vancouver hockey on the professional stage.
After lots of speculation, Vancouver’s PWHL team officially has their name — the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The name and logo were made public on Thursday, November 6, with both players and members of the organization in attendance. Here’s some more information Vancouver hockey fans should know about the city’s newest professional hockey team.
Rumours of a PWHL team arriving in Vancouver first emerged in April, with the official announcement occurring on April 23. From there, it was up to General Manager Cara Gardner Morey to construct a strong roster from the players made available from the original six teams. Throughout a thrilling exclusive-signing window, expansion draft, entry draft, and later free agency, Vancouver’s roster began to take shape.
On October 21, the Goldeneyes revealed the jerseys they’d be wearing during their inaugural season — a pacific blue wash featuring strokes of creamy white and earthy bronze. The palette, specifically the bronze, led many to guess that the team name would feature nature-like undertones. Only a couple of weeks later, the official name and logo dropped.
“It’s just another step closer to being for real and getting on the ice and getting after it,” Goldeneyes Head Coach Brian Idalski said of the team’s identity beginning to take shape. “As an expansion startup, these are some of the steps through, so we’re happy to have that. For me, it’s ‘let’s get on the ice and get after it.’”
The Goldeneyes are expected to be a force within the PWHL right off the bat. They’ll be icing a dominant goaltending tandem in Emerance Maschmeyer and Kristen Campbell, both of whom have trophy cases stocked with international medals.
Vancouver’s blueline is equally as dynamic, featuring names like Claire Thompson, Sophie Jaques, and Mellissa Channell-Watkins — all of whom have won Walter Cups with the Minnesota Frost. Former Ottawa Charge standout Ashton Bell is also included in this list of prolific defenders.
“We have an incredible group of people and players as well, and I think the chemistry and cohesiveness amongst us is going to be pretty strong right off the bat, we’re going to be able to rally together,” Bell said to the media on Thursday. “I’m super excited about the group that we have and the people that we have in the locker room. I know it’s going to be a tight-knit group, and we all have that one goal of bringing a Walter Cup here to Vancouver and just representing the city with so much pride.”
Rounding out the team will be a crop of speedy, skilled forwards featuring Canadian hockey icon Sarah Nurse and local talents Jenn Gardiner and Hannah Miller. The international accolades of this team’s PWHL and Olympic veterans will set the tone for what is shaping up to be a championship-calibre roster emerging from the city of Vancouver.
“The first thing that stands out is our depth. We’ve got a lot of experienced players throughout the lineup, from goaltending all the way through the forwards. That gives us the ability to have a lot of different looks, gives us the ability to play different ways,” Idalski said of how versatile the team’s playstyle could be. “People want to be physical, we can be physical. You want to skate and get up and down the ice, we can get up and down the ice. We can win a 7–4 shootout. We can lock someone down and win 1–0. So as a coach, those are always the best teams that you’re involved with, that you can do lots of different things and different people going on different days, and you’re riding a hot hand. You’re not counting on one or two people that carry you game in, game out. That’s going to be a super strength for us.”
The Goldeneyes will join a well-stocked Vancouver hockey market that includes the Vancouver Canucks, Abbotsford Canucks, Vancouver Giants, and more. With Abbotsford having won their first Calder Cup in franchise history in 2025, will the Goldeneyes be the next Vancouver hockey team to capture their league’s championship?
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