There was reason for excitement among fans of PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle, while fans from the rest of the league felt the air knocked out of them repeatedly on the opening day of the PWHL expansion roster building process.
The reason was the exodus of stars moving from existing teams to the PWHL's two newest teams.
Here's a look at all the action from day one, and what we're hearing ahead of day two.
Thompson and Jaques Stick Together
Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques had the first deals done in the PWHL expansion process. They wasted no time signing in Vancouver with Thompson inking for a single season and Jaques signing a whopping three-year deal making her the first member of the PWHL signed through the 2027-28 season.
Thompson and Jaques were roomates with the Minnesota Frost where they were also both named finalists for the PWHL's Defender of the Year this season. Jaques tied for the league lead in scoring by a defender while Thompson was third.
Thompson was expected to join Vancouver ever since her former Princeton coach Cara Gardner Morey was named general manager.
Nurse and Maschmeyer Add Veteran Punch To Vancouver
Both Vancouver and Seattle certainly wanted to have a factor of name recognition in Vancouver and they got it with long time Canadian national team members Sarah Nurse and Emerance Maschmeyer who were foundational signings with the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge respectively.
The league has yet to officially announce either signing.
Hilary Knight Joins Seattle saying “I’m incredibly proud to be part of bringing professional women’s hockey to the Pacific Northwest."
As much as her impact on the ice is expected, Knight will be crucial to Seattle's marketing and efforts to build a fan base.
Danielle Serdachny Makes Her Choice
Danielle Serdachny was going to sign with one of the PWHL's two new teams and there were conversations with both. The 2024 second overall pick eventually chose PWHL Seattle. She's expected to be a breakout player in 2025-26.
What can we expect next?
PWHL Seattle isn't done.
Fans should expect to see them announce the signing of another player, or two, this morning.
Seattle has already agreed to terms with another player, believed to be Cayla Barnes from Montreal, but they were also in on Hannah Bilka and other players. Seattle is still believed to be targeting Alex Carpenter.
Next Round of Protections
The Minnesota Frost used their fourth protection on Britta Curl-Salemme. It was a bit of a perplexing move by the Frost given the common sentiment that neither Seattle nor Vancouver had serious intent to sign or select Curl-Salemme. It's a missed opportunity to protect another player.
The Ottawa Charge are next to protect another player, but that won't become public until after Maschmeyer's signing with Vancouver is formally announced.
Ottawa is most likely to protect one of Gabbie Hughes, Ashton Bell, or Aneta Tejralova next.
Making Calls To Free Agents
As expected, both teams have avoided the "free agents" in the exclusive signing window knowing they can use this time to negotiate, and still sign them later.
Dozens of players across the league received calls on the opening day of the exclusive signing window. Some of those included players like Hannah Miller and Tereza Vanisova.
It was more tire kicking on day one as Seattle and Vancouver got down to business in terms of actual signings, but both GMs are laying the foundation for what's to come.