PWHL's 3rd season features growth and Olympics as league grows to 8 teams
CBC
The puck drops on the PWHL's third season on Friday, officially beginning the league's eight-team era.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent were built from scratch through an expansion draft process that pulled stars from the existing six teams.
But will the riches gleaned through generous expansion rules, designed to maintain the league's competitive balance, yield fruit for Vancouver and Seattle right away? Or will it take some time to build a foundation?
Each PWHL team will play 30 regular-season games, with a lengthy break in the middle for the Olympics. Friday night's games feature the Toronto Sceptres visiting the Walter Cup champions Minnesota Frost (7 p.m. ET), while the Goldeneyes host the Torrent (10 a.m.).
You can watch 17 games across this season on CBC and CBC Gem, including weekly Saturday games. The first CBC game will air on Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. ET, when the Toronto Sceptres host the Boston Fleet.
There's lots of hockey ahead, so let's look at how the PWHL's eight teams rank heading into the new season. For existing teams, there's also a list of who's in and who's out after the busiest PWHL off-season yet.
In: Abby Roque (F), Shiann Darkangelo (F), Hayley Scamurra (F), Jade Downie-Landry (F), Nicole Gosling (D), Jessica DiGirolamo (D), Maggie Flaherty (D)
Out: Kristin O’Neill (F), Jenn Gardiner (F), Abby Boreen (F), Claire Dalton (F), Clair DeGeorge (F), Mikyla Grant-Mentis (F), Cayla Barnes (D), Anna Wilgren (D), Mariah Keopple (D), Dominika Lásková (D), Elaine Chuli (G)
Unsigned 2025 draft picks: Natálie Mlýnková (F), Skylar Irving (F), Maya Labad (F), Tamara Giaquinto (D)
No team weathered the blow of expansion better than the Victoire. That was partly because Montreal has become a destination across the league, but also because the team’s stars took less so the Victoire could add depth.
On the same day she got the call to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder, GM Danièle Sauvageau drafted Nicole Gosling, a smart, multi-dimensional defender who can take some of the load off Erin Ambrose (and will help fill the gap left by Cayla Barnes, who now plays for Seattle). Sauvageau also added depth on the blue line with Jessica DiGirolamo and two-time Walter Cup champion, Maggie Flaherty.
The Victoire's centre depth was also a focus this off-season. Behind the best player in the world, Marie-Philip Poulin, Montreal could roll out Abby Roque, Shiann Darkangelo and Jade Downie-Landry.
Hayley Scamurra will make the team harder to play against and adds another strong power forward behind Laura Stacey, while draft pick Natálie Mlýnková could be the playmaker to fit on Poulin's left side.
“We’re very privileged that based on what the players have built, to be chosen that way [in free agency],” Sauvageau said about her team’s off-season additions.
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