When the 2025-26 PWHL season started, the two new expansion teams seemed to have a huge advantage: their rosters. Through the Expansion Draft, the Free Agency Signings, and the Entry Draft, these two new teams had every opportunity to select top talent from existing teams and the new pool of players. And they did exactly that.

However, the Vancouver Goldeneyes currently sit in sixth place, and the Seattle Torrent in last place. As the league goes into the month-long Olympic break, it’s the perfect time for coaches and players alike to reflect on the first half of the season and look ahead to improvements for the last half.

“I’ve liked a lot of our structural play. That’s one of the hardest things to bring a whole group together and get them on the same page from the forecheck to the neutral zone to the d-zone. All those things, faceoffs, take time,” said Seattle Head Coach Steve O’Rourke. “I know these other teams had players removed, but that foundation is there. That culture is there. All those things are in place and that’s what we build every day. The thing that stands out to me is just the character and the people that we have in the room is the biggest thing that stands out.”

For the Torrent, it certainly isn’t a lack of talent that’s kept them near the bottom of the standings for the bulk of the season. To name just a few of the notable resume items among their top talent, the team has the most prolific goal scorer in women’s hockey in Hilary Knight, the goaltender with the first shutout in PWHL history in Corinne Schroeder, the first American player to hit 50 career points in Alex Carpenter, and six players headed to the Winter Olympics.

When everything is new – team, coach, teammates, linemates, facilities, location- a lot must come together for a successful season. Regarding that, the other six teams certainly have a leg up.

“A lot of us didn’t play on the same team last year, so coming together we need to really figure out each other,” said Seattle forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis. “Once we figure out each other and figure out our roles it’s so much easier to play with than everyone trying to do everyone else’s job.”

In looking at the little details over the first 14 games, the chemistry does seem to be building and lines gelling for Seattle.  Players are finding their roles, finding their spots, and defining their identities on their lines.

After a recent practice, Grant-Mentis spoke about the process of getting her first goal of the season as well as her linemate, Lexie Adzjia. “We’re such a heavy forechecking line that, no matter what game we’re playing, we will be in the offensive zone. We just have to make sure we take our time to get the goals in,” Grant-Mentis said. “We finally figured out our system to get those goals in. It’s more crashing the net. We’re not going to be looking pretty, putting it through our legs and all that. We know our role; we know what we need to do to get it to the net. That’s what we’ve been doing, and it seems to be working out for us. We know our spot- right in front of the net, that’s ours.”

Location, community, fans, and the organization as a whole factor into performance as well. An unwelcoming environment makes it difficult for a team to perform or want to give their all each and every night. Despite the record, the Torrent have never given up in a game, especially in front of the home crowd. Obviously, Seattle is a hockey town and was very ready for the PWHL, but it’s reassuring that the players also feel that as the season continues.

“It’s been unbelievable. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The way that people treat us with such respect and love and compassion and belonging. The power of shared experience is so wicked,” said Seattle goaltender Carly Jackson. “We go places and people recognize us and they say, ‘We’re so happy to see you.’ And we say, ‘No, we’re so happy to see you.’ It’s so easy to give back when we have such people giving to us.”

With the defenders finally joining the forwards in goal scoring, lines leaning into their strengths, and a break coming up to work on details, the second half of the season can be a game-changer for the Torrent. With three points on the line every game, standings can change quickly.

“There’s lots of things we like every single night. I think that we’re being tested is what it is — that’s the biggest thing. There are some bounces that could go our way, but again, I like the play. We step up in that neutral zone, we bust up that play, and it hits a skate, goes up in the air, hits their stick, and goes that way. It could go the other way...those are those bounces, and we’re going to earn those bounces,” said O’Rourke. “I think there’s lots of good things that we do night-in, night-out. We’ll just get ready for that second half. It’s a nice time for the break. We’ll go back to that foundation for a month here and get ready for that second half.”