Professional Women's Hockey League Eyeing Slew of North American Cities for Expansion

Is your city on the upstart circuit's radar?

PWHL Montreal forward Laura Stacey. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

In the wake of a banner debut season in 2024, the Professional Women's Hockey League is thinking bigger.

The league is eyeing a potential expansion from six to eight teams as early as the 2026 season, PWHL higher-ups told John Wawrow of the AP Wednesday afternoon.

“I don’t think we rule out any market,” league senior vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford told Wawrow. “This is a good opportunity for us to learn and continue to explore. So everything’s on the table right now.”

Currently, the PWHL has six teams: the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres. All were formally named on Sept. 9 after a nameless inaugural season.

Wawrow—citing Hefford and senior VP for business operations Amy Scheer—named the following markets as potential destinations: Calgary, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Quebec, Seattle, Southern California and Washington. Those are just a few of what Scheer said via Wawrow is a list of "more than 20 markets" the league is courting.

“I think we want to be an open book, and I think we want to be open to things that we haven’t thought about or things that we haven’t considered,” Scheer said. “Until we have the data and the facts and the conversations, we might be surprised. So let’s go for it.”

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