The PWHL will soon be dropping the puck in Vancouver on a regular basis. The league announced this week they're officially expanding to Vancouver, British Columbia in time for next season.

The league already has a handful of British Columbia products competing, including Jennifer Gardiner, Rylind MacKinnon, and Hannah Miller who all took part in Vancouver's stop on the PWHL Takeover Tour.

While the league is rumoured to be adding another team, likely Seattle, for season three, the league must also devise a plan for an expansion draft, the PWHL entry draft, and free agency.

During that process, there's a chance that PWHL Vancouver, could become the hometown team for a handful of existing PWHL players.

What existing PWHL players could go to PWHL Vancouver?

Unless it's via the expansion draft, Montreal Victoire forward Jennifer Gardiner (Surrey, BC) and New York Sirens captain Micah Zandee-Hart (Victoria, BC) aren't going anywhere, as they're under contract. Zandee-Hart only has a single season left on her contract and could be a prime target to anchor Vancouver's blueline once her contract in New York expires.

There are however, a trio of current PWHL players who could target Vancouver.

Hannah Miller of the Toronto Sceptres has been a top five scorer in the PWHL all season and is one of the top available free agents in the PWHL this offseason.

Fellow Toronto Sceptres player Rylind MacKinnon (Cranbrook, BC) could also head west. The defender played for the University of British Columbia for several seasons before signing with the Toronto Sceptres as a free agent camp invite last year. She'll hit the market this year and could be a defender the new team targets.

The final BC product in the PWHL is Olivia Knowles (Campbell River, BC) who has bounced between teams this season moving from Toronto to the New York Sirens. 

Could more UBC players make the jump?

The University of British Columbia is one of Canada's top U Sports programs and there are a handful of prospects to watch in their organization. Chanreet Bassi is likely the top prospect coming from the program this season who will likely declare for the PWHL Draft, while big and physical forward Mackenzie Kordic could impress in a depth physical role. UBC forward Grace Elliott was named the U Sports Player of the Year this season. The 6-foot-2 forward led Canadian university hockey in scoring this season and is one of women's hockey's truly unique prospects. She's likely to declare after next season, although in Canadian university hockey it's not uncommon to see top players return for a sixth season as well.

The future of British Columbia women's hockey players looks bright

Chloe Primerano is one of the bright young stars of women's hockey, but she's certainly not alone in the category of future PWHL players from British Columbia.

A pair of PWHL Draft prospects slated to go somewhere in the top three rounds, Anne Cherkowski and Jenna Buglioni, will join the PWHL this season and could find themselves selected by PWHL Vancouver in the second or third round of the draft.

Others from British Columbia expected to declare for this year's PWHL Draft include Chanreet Bassi, Katie Chan, and potentially Reece Hunt.

Beyond this group, future draft cohorts are likely to include British Columbia prospects like Sarah Paul, Gracie Graham, Morgan Jackson and Brooke Disher.