Vancouver was one of two teams to get a PWHL expansion team after the 2024-25 Takeover Tour; now, their team will embark on five stops of their own.
Off the heels of a successful Takeover Tour stop that ultimately contributed to the making of their own team, the Vancouver Goldeneyes will be playing in five Takeover Tour games of their own in 2025–26. These five stops include two in Edmonton and one in Detroit, Québec City, and Denver.
Sarah Nurse is one of a few players who saw the immediate impact of the Takeover Tour last season, having played in the Toronto Sceptres’ stop in Vancouver back in January. Now, as a member of an expansion city that ended up with a team as a result of the tour, she’s reflecting on the impact that it has on growing women’s hockey markets.
“It’s proof that the Takeover Tour works and that they obviously put a lot of onus into Takeover Tour games, just seeing the markets, seeing the fan base, and seeing the real reception in the city,” she said after day one of the Goldeneyes’ training camp on Monday. “I’m just excited to be able to bring hockey to those new markets and see which ones are the best, see if they can compete with Vancouver.”
Vancouver’s first stop on the Takeover Tour is none other than Rogers Place in Edmonton, where they’ll take on the Minnesota Frost on December 27. This isn’t their last stop in Edmonton, however, as they’ll also return to Rogers Place on April 7 to face the Boston Fleet. While not directly from Edmonton, coming from Bruderheim, AB, Goldeneyes goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer has spent years around the game of women’s hockey and knows how meaningful growing the game in different communities is.
“There’s no bigger honor than to have this platform and be the voice and inspire others, and to be able to bring the game out here and and create a new fan base and hopefully inspire others to get in the game, whether that's on the ice, as a fan, as a coach, whatever it may be. It’s really just an honor to be in a position to do that.”
Edmonton is not the only Canadian city that the Goldeneyes will visit during the Takeover Tour, as Vancouver will face the Montréal Victoire in Québec City on January 11. While these are the only two Canadian cities that Vancouver will stop in, the Takeover Tour will also bring PWHL hockey to Hamilton, Halifax, Winnipeg, and Calgary.
The Goldeneyes will also take part in two Takeover Tour games in American cities with more than one stop: Detroit and Denver. These two markets have been heavy favourites to get their own PWHL teams via expansion since the first installment of the Takeover Tour — the fact that they’ll have two games in each of these cities are definitely something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
The 2024–25 Takeover Tour did wonders for the cities of Vancouver and Seattle in introducing their fanbases to the PWHL in-person; this year, it will look to do the same for many other markets.