Vancouver joins the PWHL as the league’s first expansion team

The PWHL is growing, adding a seventh team to its ranks for its 2025-26 season.

News of the expansion broke early last week when a source with the PWHL told the Associated Press that Vancouver would be the next team.

The news was confirmed by the PWHL on Wednesday when they announced the addition of Vancouver for the PWHL’s third season.

According to the league, Vancouver was selected as the first expansion city due to its engagement during the PWHL’s “Takeover Tour,” being the highest of all nine games, the city’s “robust response” to the league’s Request for Proposal and the city’s commitment to growing the sport of hockey.

For the upcoming season, the team will simply be known as “Vancouver PWHL” until a permanent brand identity is announced.

The team also revealed its primary color, “pacific blue”, and secondary color, “cream”, and announced they would play in Pacific Coliseum, becoming the arena’s prime tenant.

Details about an Expansion Draft to fill their team’s roster and how Vancouver will be integrated into the 2025 PWHL Draft are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

The expansion announcement comes as the league has grown in popularity, breaking multiple attendance records set in its inaugural 2024 season.

A match in Detroit featuring the Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens drew 14,288 fans, breaking the league’s U.S. attendance record previously set in January (14,018).

A worldwide record was also set in Toronto with 19,285 fans in attendance, the all-time record for a women’s hockey game.

Currently, the PWHL is made up of six teams located in Boston, Minnesota, Montréal, New York, Ottawa and Toronto.

The league did not state which regions it was spying on for potential future expansion, but speculation can be made based on the PWHL’s “Takeover Tour,” where games took place in areas without a PWHL team.

The 2024-25 season saw the PWHL travel to nine separate cities on the tour, including the aforementioned Vancouver in addition to Seattle, Denver, Québec, Edmonton, Buffalo, Raleigh, Detroit and St. Louis.