The Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League is back for its third season \u2014 this time with eight franchises after expansion to Seattle and Vancouver.<\/p>\n
The Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes each look poised for success ahead of their inaugural seasons after generous expansion rules stacked the deck to make its newest teams competitive from Day 1.<\/p>\n
There will be more new players this season arriving from top college teams across the United States and from professional leagues in Europe. There will also be more neutral-site games and a lengthy break for the highly anticipated 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.<\/p>\n
Year 3 officially begins on Friday afternoon with two games, starting with the Toronto Sceptres visiting the back-to-back reigning champion Minnesota Frost (7 p.m. ET), followed by the first-ever game between Vancouver and Seattle at the Pacific Coliseum (10 p.m. ET).<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s everything you need to know before puck drop in The Athletic\u2019s comprehensive guide to the PWHL.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s new this year?<\/p>\n
The league announced back in April that it would add teams in Vancouver and Seattle, the league\u2019s first wave of expansion less than two years after its launch in January 2024.<\/p>\n
Each of the PWHL\u2019s six existing franchises \u2014 in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York and Minnesota \u2014 were only able to initially protect three players from being selected in the draft or signing during the pre-draft window. That led to tough decisions, and highly skilled players from all six teams were on the move.<\/p>\n
Seattle snagged Hilary Knight, one of the greatest women\u2019s hockey players of all time, from Boston, along with her Team USA running mate Alex Carpenter from New York, and four of the six first-round picks from the 2024 draft, including second-overall pick Danielle Serdachny.<\/p>\n
Vancouver started its franchise with a pair of elite defenders from the Minnesota Frost in Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques, then added star forward Sarah Nurse. They added more to the haul in free agency, signing top forwards Hannah Miller, Tereza Vanisov\u00e1 and Michela Cava to a lineup that looks championship-caliber the moment it takes the ice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel like we have established strong teams across this league with star power in each city for the inaugural seasons,\u201d said PWHL executive vice-president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.<\/p>\n
The league unveiled the names and logos for the two expansion teams on Nov. 6<\/a>. Due to manufacturing timelines, players in each market will wear jerseys with their city\u2019s name stitched diagonally across the front of the sweater, paying homage to the designs worn by the PWHL\u2019s inaugural six teams in 2024.<\/p>\n The Torrent will play at Climate Pledge Arena, with the NHL\u2019s Seattle Kraken acting in a supporting role. The Goldeneyes will play at Pacific Coliseum, which has undergone more than $6 million in renovations to revamp the historic former home of the NHL\u2019s Vancouver Canucks.<\/p>\n Home Sweet Home \ud83c\udfe1 pic.twitter.com\/FYP1sYIniu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Vancouver Goldeneyes (@PWHL__Vancouver) November 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Most original six teams will return to their Year 2 venues: Coca-Cola Coliseum (Toronto), Place Bell (Montreal), TD Place Arena (Ottawa), Tsongas Center (Boston), Prudential Center (New York), and Grand Casino Arena (Minnesota).<\/p>\n Boston will play four games at Agganis Arena at Boston University and Montreal will return to the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens, for a third-straight season on Dec. 27. During its inaugural season, Montreal set a new record for attendance at a women\u2019s hockey game with 21,105 at the Bell Centre.<\/p>\n The PWHL will also expand its \u201cTakeover Tour\u201d to 16 games across the United States and Canada. The barnstorming tour will make seven new stops in Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Halifax, Hamilton, Washington, D.C., and Winnipeg, and return to Denver, Detroit, Edmonton and Quebec City.<\/p>\n Finally, the league\u2019s third season will feature 120 games \u2014 up from 90 last year \u2014 with each of the league\u2019s eight teams playing 30 regular-season games from Nov. 21 to April 25. The PWHL will take a nearly month-long pause from Jan. 29 to Feb. 25 for the Milan Olympics.<\/p>\n \u201cThe opportunity that exists around global eyeballs that\u2019ll be able to follow our players as they come back to PWHL seasons and potentially even in advance of the Olympics is really valuable to us,\u201d Hefford said.<\/p>\n PWHL rules<\/p>\n Ahead of its debut season, the PWHL opted for a 3-2-1 points system over the standard 2-1-0 that the NHL has used. In the PWHL, regulation wins are worth the most at three points, while overtime and shootout wins earn two points. A loss in overtime or the shootout results in one point, and a regulation loss is worth nothing.<\/p>\n The league also introduced a \u201cjailbreak\u201d rule in 2024 that means if a team scores short-handed, they get to free their player from the penalty box.<\/p>\n Last year, the PWHL debuted a \u201cno escape rule,\u201d which means that when a team takes a penalty, players on the ice must stay out for the first penalty-kill faceoff, rather than letting coaches immediately put out their top penalty killers. The rule led to a 3 percent increase in power play efficiency last season, which the league was \u201creally happy with,\u201d Hefford said.<\/p>\n There are only two rule changes coming in 2025-26. The league now requires each team to have three goalies on its roster \u2014 Minnesota carried two at one point last season \u2014 and there will be no more coaches\u2019 challenges for video review. All reviews will now be initiated by the league, either via on-ice officials or the situation room.<\/p>\n The playoff format will remain the same in 2025-26, with the top four teams making it to the postseason. The \u201cGold Plan\u201d draft order system will also be back with even more teams now fighting for the No. 1 overall pick.<\/p>\n Instead of a lottery system that encourages losing by awarding the best odds to the worst teams, the PWHL determines its draft order based on the number of points each team earns after being eliminated from the playoffs. New York won the lottery in back-to-back years after accumulating the most points, post-elimination.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an incredibly strong draft class coming next year that we expect in the PWHL,\u201d Hefford said. \u201cSo this race may be more valuable than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Top storylines<\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty of intrigue across the league\u2019s eight teams this season, from the loaded expansion rosters to Abby Roque \u2014 a highly skilled, in-your-face American forward \u2014 joining the Montreal Victoire alongside Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin. The two-time champions in Minnesota will try to remain competitive after major blue-line losses over the summer, while the retooling New York Sirens will look to take the next step with another No. 1 pick on the roster.<\/p>\n You can read more about each team in The Athletic\u2019s 2025-26 PWHL season previews, which offer a look at each team\u2019s roster and outlook for the season.<\/p>\n Vancouver Goldeneyes<\/a><\/p>\n Seattle Torrent<\/a><\/p>\n Minnesota Frost<\/a><\/p>\n Ottawa Charge<\/a><\/p>\n Toronto Sceptres<\/a><\/p>\n Montreal Victoire<\/a><\/p>\n Boston Fleet<\/a><\/p>\n New York Sirens<\/a><\/p>\n How to watch<\/p>\n You can watch PWHL games from the U.S. and Canada on Fubo (Stream Free Now!<\/a>)<\/p>\n Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Canada, broadcast rights for all 120 games are split between TSN and RDS, CBC\/Radio-Canada, Sportsnet and Prime Video.<\/p>\n CBC will broadcast 17 games on Saturday afternoons. Prime Video will air all 19 Tuesday night games. TSN will carry 54 games throughout the season. Sportsnet, which returns as a broadcast partner, will have 30.<\/p>\n All 30 Montreal Victoire games will be available in French across RDS (17), Radio-Canada (7) and Prime Video (6).<\/p>\n In the United States, games will be available regionally, with some national U.S. partners \u2014 such as FOX and Paramount \u2014 televising games. Regional partners include:<\/p>\n Boston: NESN and TV 38 Everywhere to watch PWHL games, now in one place \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n Our 2025-26 broadcast schedule is here! Visit our where to watch page to find us in your area.\u00a0 \u2014 PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) November 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Games will still be produced by the PWHL and available on YouTube in the United States and internationally.<\/p>\n Key dates<\/p>\n Nov. 21: PWHL opening day<\/p>\n Dec. 8-15: International break for Women\u2019s Hockey Tour and Rivalry Series<\/p>\n Jan. 29-Feb. 25: International break for 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics<\/p>\n March 30: Trade deadline<\/p>\n March 31: Roster freeze date<\/p>\n April 25: PWHL regular season ends<\/p>\n View the full PWHL 2025-26 schedule here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Streaming and ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.<\/p>\n
\nMinnesota: FDSN North and FOX 9+
\nNew York: MSG Networks and WWOR MY9
\nSeattle: KONG and FOX 13+<\/p>\n
Where to watch \u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/l877TMqAwv<\/a>
Read more \ud83d\udcf0 https:\/\/t.co\/rhe4BwbG9n<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/DN2jiP0dJG<\/a><\/p>\n