Reviving Women’s Hockey: PWHL Vancouver Set to Debut in 2025–26

Vancouver is about to make a landmark addition to its sports landscape with the arrival of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). The league will expand to the city with its first western team—the Vancouver franchise—set to begin play in the 2025–26 season. The team, tentatively dubbed PWHL Vancouver, will don “Pacific blue” as its primary color and call the historic Pacific Coliseum home, a site rich with hockey heritage.

This move follows an overwhelming response to women’s hockey in Vancouver: during the PWHL’s Takeover Tour, a neutral-site game at Rogers Arena drew nearly 19,000 fans—the largest turnout of the tour, demonstrating strong local enthusiasm for the sport. The league already operates with momentum, setting attendance records in Montreal and expanding its reach across North America through six established teams before the Vancouver franchise.

PWHL Vancouver will become the league’s seventh team, joining Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto. Its inclusion marks a significant strategic step in fostering sustainable, high-profile women’s professional hockey in Canada’s westernmost province.