Opinion: As The Talent Pool Continues To Drain, The PWHL's Aggressive Expansion Plans Will Be Put To The Test

When the PWHL looked at the incoming wave of talent in the 2026 PWHL Draft, the opportunity appeared ripe for expansion. The league capitalized on that moment and took the aggressive path to add four teams ahead of the league's fourth season of operation.

Ultimately however, it's set to result in a significantly watered down product across the PWHL, one that as more players announce they'll be unavailable for the 2026-27 season due to injury and pregnancy, is only getting more diluted.

Retirement has not been a significant issue for the league to date, but this offseason watching Claire Thompson, Hannah Brandt, and Savannah Harmon announce their retirement, followed by injuries to players like Marie-Philip Poulin and Corinne Schroeder that will impact their seasons, and the pregnancy announcements of Blayre Turnbull, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Britta Curl-Salemme, and Jincy Roese, and the league has lost as much or more top end talent than the 2026 PWHL Draft brought in, and that's before talent was dispersed across four additional rosters. And the announcements regarding players who will miss time this season, may not be done.

The PWHL took a gamble expanding as quickly as they did, and to have the capacity to continue accepting top players from across the globe over the coming seasons, more roster spots were needed. But the league didn't bet on the number of elite players including three team captains, a starting goalie, and multiple past and present league All-Stars who would not be in the lineup this season. They'll provide a significant boost next year, which will be much needed as the PWHL also couldn't have anticipated the NCAA shifting to a five-year eligibility system that will undoubtedly thin out the 2027 PWHL Draft.

On the ice, the result will see almost every team in the league fielding a weaker roster than last season. The Toronto Sceptres, for example, are entering this season with only 21 goals returning to their roster. They finished last in the PWHL last season in goals for with only 51, a number that fell 40 behind Minnesota, and 27 behind the Walter Cup champion Montreal Victoire in a 30 game season.

While the expansion teams were able to hand pick players from across the league, some were more successful than others in their build. On paper, PWHL San Jose managed to find only 20 goals scored to bring to their roster, the lowest of any PWHL team heading into this season, and only four ahead of Kelly Pannek, who scored 16 goals last season for the Minnesota Frost across their entire roster. San Jose's projected number one center, Kristin O'Neill, had only five points in 30 games last season finishing 99th in league scoring. 

Many teams will still be capable of fielding one line of elite players this season, but positionally, the depth in the league drops off a cliff quickly. There are teams like Montreal, Ottawa, and New York who managed to maintain pro experienced depth, but each lost talent at the top.

The Walter Cup champion Montreal Victoire were one of the more successful teams in the offseason. Montreal managed to refill their forward group with additions like Jessie Eldridge, Emma Maltais, and Michelle Karvinen, but it came at the cost of a depleted blueline losing Nicole Gosling, Erin Ambrose, and Amanda Boulier. 

Overall, teams in the PWHL will continue to field strong top six forward units, top four defensive units, and starting goalies. Beyond this however, the calibre will be closer to most college programs than the pro ranks.

With any luck, the PWHL will rectify this gap next season with each team grabbing a player or two in the 2027 PWHL Draft, as well as seeing the return of Poulin, Coyne Schofield, Turnbull, Curl-Salemme and others to the league.

This season however, there will be noticeable issues in the league's skill level and talent pool. 

Without expansion, dozens of capable players would have been forced into retirement following their collegiate careers this season, but the league's risk of adding six teams over the past two seasons has now been pushed to the limit of what the global talent pool can handle. 

Some might argue that there remains an abundance of players in Europe capable of joining the PWHL. There is some truth in this, although those players would almost exclusively factor into the bottom half of rosters, which is not what the league needs. 

The PWHL expanded aggressively to preserve opportunities for players and reach new markets. This season however, the product the league will sell to their newest fans, will be a shadow of the on-ice product of seasons past.

Most teams in the PWHL last 3-4 impactful players in expansion, while only finding a replacement for one of those in the draft. Toronto enters the season without Blayre Turnbull, Daryl Watts, Jesse Compher, and Emma Maltais up front. It's a group they replaced with Kirsten Simms, and Jamie Lee Rattray who was playing bottom six minutes in Boston.

Boston lost Alina Muller, Jessie Eldridge, and Rattray. They did not find a replacement for any.

Minnesota lost Curl-Salemme, Coyne Schofield, Kendall Cooper, Abby Hustler, Mae Batherson, Nicole Hensley, Katy Knoll and others. They brought in draft picks Sara Swiderski and Viivi Vainikka in return, who despite being skilled, are a significant downgrade to the losses.

Ottawa saw captain Brianne Jenner and assistant Emily Clark leave in expansion, along with defender Rory Guilday. They brought in new faces like Vivian Jungels and Jenna Buglioni, but they're another team that lost more than they gained.

The same exercise could be repeated with every PWHL team this season, where the loss in talent was not recouped via the draft or free agency. 

Vancouver likely came the closest to maintaining their roster, but still lost Claire Thompson, Nina Jobst-Smith, Mellissa Channell-Watkins, and Sydney Bard from their blueline. Bringing in Caroline Harvey is a tremendous win, but their depth remains depleted. 

Overall, the PWHL is set to hit the ice in 2026-27 with reduced depth across the league. There may be equal talent compared to last season with the additions of Harvey, Abbey Murphy, Tessa Janecke, Laila Edwards, and others through the draft, but those players are spread more thinly across the league. 

The league has stated they'll pause expansion, but few believe that will last beyond the 2027-28 season as the league has goals of reaching 16 teams by the conclusion of their current collective bargaining agreement in 2031. At some point the PWHL will need to allow their talent pool to refill, particularly as many founding members will look at retirement over the next 3-4 seasons. Until then, the PWHL will be walking a fine line with fans on how far they're willing to accept the competition level to fall in the name of financial gain via expansion for league ownership.

It's a test to the league's expansion plans that is already showing on the ice, and will continue to impact the quality of the PWHL's product with each added team.