The Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League (PWHL) will introduce expansion teams in Hamilton, Ontario, and Las Vegas ahead of the 2026-27 season, further accelerating its rapid growth. The announcement was made Wednesday, adding to the league\u2019s rising profile.<\/p>\n
Hamilton and Las Vegas will increase the league to 11 teams, with a 12th team expected to be announced soon. Detroit was confirmed last week as the ninth PWHL franchise. This expansion aligns with the league\u2019s pursuit of a significant U.S. broadcast rights deal and more corporate partnerships\u2014a strategy league officials believe will be easier to execute with 12 teams instead of eight.<\/p>\n
Hamilton showed strong fan support in January when more than 16,000 spectators attended a game between the Toronto Sceptres and Seattle Torrent at TD Coliseum, where the new Hamilton team will play home games. Data indicated that 70 percent of attendees were first-time PWHL viewers, easing concerns that a Hamilton team would draw fans away from the Toronto Sceptres.<\/p>\n
Jayna Hefford, PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations, praised Hamilton\u2019s rich hockey heritage, saying, \u201cHamilton and its surrounding communities have long been central to the growth of girls\u2019 and women\u2019s hockey, producing generations of talented players and passionate fans.\u201d She added that the strong response during the Takeover Tour game at TD Coliseum confirmed local enthusiasm for a dedicated team.<\/p>\n
Hamilton is recognized as having one of the world\u2019s largest concentrations of girls\u2019 hockey players and is positioned to attract fans from surrounding Ontario regions such as Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Niagara, and London. Notable PWHL players like Sarah Nurse, Renata Fast, and Emma Maltais hail from the Hamilton area.<\/p>\n
A key advantage for Hamilton was its recently renovated TD Coliseum arena, which can accommodate professional tenants without NHL scheduling conflicts. The venue will also host an American Hockey League team next season. Oak View Group, TD Coliseum\u2019s operator, cooperated with the PWHL to establish the Hamilton franchise. With Hamilton joining, Canada will have five PWHL teams, alongside Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver.<\/p>\n
Las Vegas represents new territory for the league, which has never played there before. The PWHL is counting on the city\u2019s burgeoning interest in girls\u2019 and women\u2019s hockey, fueled by the success of the NHL\u2019s Vegas Golden Knights. The Las Vegas team will play at the Golden Knights\u2019 home venue, T-Mobile Arena.<\/p>\n
Since the Golden Knights began play in 2017, hockey participation among girls and women in Nevada has grown by 600 percent, though numbers remain smaller than in many Canadian regions. According to USA Hockey, 532 females were registered to play hockey in Nevada in the 2024-25 season.<\/p>\n
Las Vegas has become a hub for new professional sports franchises recently. The PWHL cited the WNBA\u2019s Las Vegas Aces, who averaged over 11,500 fans per game last season, as evidence of strong local support for women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n
Amy Scheer, the league\u2019s executive vice president of business operations, said, \u201cFrom the staggering growth of youth hockey participation to the passionate support for the Golden Knights and Aces, the Las Vegas community has enthusiastically embraced both hockey and women\u2019s sports. While professional women\u2019s hockey may be new to the market, we know Las Vegas is ready to welcome and champion a PWHL team of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n
Las Vegas will be the league\u2019s first team in the American Southwest, which could ease travel challenges for teams in Vancouver and Seattle. The league is reportedly considering splitting into two conferences.<\/p>\n
The PWHL chose Las Vegas over more traditional hockey markets, viewing it as a strategic investment for a league operating under a single-entity ownership. All 11 PWHL teams, including the new ones, are owned by The Walter Group. The Golden Knights and MGM Resorts International, co-owners of T-Mobile Arena, supported the Las Vegas bid.<\/p>\n
Team names and logos for Hamilton and Las Vegas will be revealed later. The Las Vegas team\u2019s colors will be green and golden yellow, with green symbolizing the desert and surrounding mountains, and gold representing the city\u2019s glamour and nodding to the Golden Knights. Hamilton\u2019s colors will be gold, maroon, and cream; gold reflecting the CFL\u2019s Hamilton Tiger-Cats and maroon symbolizing the city\u2019s steel heritage.<\/p>\n
The new teams will add players through an expansion process, though the league has yet to finalize the details. It\u2019s unclear how they will be positioned in the upcoming entry draft. A memo from the PWHL Players Association indicated the league will not hold an expansion draft this season, unlike the last season\u2019s process in Seattle and Vancouver. The abundance of players with expiring contracts complicates such a draft.<\/p>\n
Instead, the league may use a multi-phase approach starting with teams protecting three players, aiming to maintain competitive balance while giving players input, according to Hefford. \u201cThose are difficult things sometimes to match, so it\u2019s been ongoing collaborative work with the [players’ association],\u201d she told CBC Sports. \u201cOnce we have certainty on number of teams and location, then there will be more certainty in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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