Edmonton is one of the PWHL's expansion frontrunners for a variety of reasons; the city's performance during the Rivalry Series and Takeover Tour will be instrumental in their quest for a PWHL team.
Professional women’s hockey is developing a major presence in Alberta — particularly the city of Edmonton. As the host of both of Canada’s home games during the Rivalry Series, as well as home to two Takeover Tour stops during the 2025–26 season, the idea of Edmonton becoming one of the next PWHL expansion teams has never been more popular.
With the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent in the swing of the regular season, eyes have shifted to where the PWHL will expand to next. It appears anywhere from 2–4 teams are expected to join the league as soon as at the start of the 2026–27 season, with Edmonton being one of the frontrunners in this race.
Logistically speaking, expansion to Edmonton makes sense. The PWHL is represented on both coasts of Canada and the U.S., with the midwest only housing the two-time champion Minnesota Frost. Many have noted that expansion to both Edmonton and Denver would make the most sense in terms of travel — but this decision doesn’t just come down to what works best with the rest of the league. At the end of the day, the PWHL will expand to cities that they believe will bring the best reception to their new teams.
One only needs to look at last season’s Takeover Tour stop in Edmonton to see how significant women’s hockey has become in the city. 17,518 fans flocked to Rogers Place to watch the Toronto Sceptres defeat the Ottawa Charge 3–2 in overtime on February 16. This marked the third-highest attendance rate of all nine stops in 2024–25.
Hailing from Bruderheim, Alberta, Goldeneyes goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer has a unique plethora of experience when it comes to both PWHL expansion and understanding the women’s hockey scene in Edmonton. She was one of four players to play in their home province during this particular Takeover Tour stop, joined by Stephanie Markowski (Ottawa), Danielle Serdachny (Seattle Torrent, Ottawa at the time), and Jessica Kondas (Toronto). They were joined by Charge Head Coach Carla MacLeod, who hails from Calgary.
“I thought that was my one-and-done,” Maschmeyer said of getting to play in Edmonton again after last year’s Takeover Tour stop. “[I thought] I would only get to play in Edmonton once, and here I am playing in Edmonton four times a season.”
As mentioned, the first two games she’ll take part in will occur as early as December 10, when Canada and the U.S. face off in the second leg of the 2025–26 Rivalry Series. After those two games, Edmonton will welcome in Maschmeyer’s Goldeneyes and the Frost on December 27th for the first of their two Takeover Tour stops. Vancouver will return to Edmonton once more on April 7th to take on the Boston Fleet.
Already, ticket sales for Edmonton’s Takeover Tour games are trending in a positive direction. Big portions of the lower bowl have already been sold for both December and January’s matchups. On the other hand, the lower bowl of the December 13th Rivalry Series game is very nearly sold-out. December 10th’s game still has an ample share of tickets on sale, though this game does take place on a Wednesday night.
At the end of the day, when looking at what factored into bringing professional women’s hockey to Vancouver and Seattle, the turnout of these four games will likely play a big part in whether Edmonton ends up being one of the PWHL’s next expansion teams. With this outcome undetermined for now, returning to Edmonton is an opportunity that Albertan PWHL players like Maschmeyer will relish as they come along — especially considering the impact they have on growing the game.
“We don’t even realize the impact that we have,” Maschmeyer said. “When you see all the butts in the seats and people coming and cheering — it’s so exciting, and we inspire them, but they honestly inspire us. I’m very excited to get back into Edmonton and put on a show.”