Welcome to my first women’s hockey news roundup! With the first two Rivalry Series games in the rear view mirror and PWHL camps in full swing, we have a few things to get caught up on!
Ottawa Arena Update
Ottawa unfortunately got some very unwelcome news last week, with the Ottawa City Council approving the Lansdowne 2.0 arena project. This won’t impact this coming season, or even the following season, but after that, it means that the city is asking the Charge to play in an arena with 3,000 fewer seats than in TD Place Arena, where they currently play. This is a huge step back for the Charge, will understandably lead to angst among their passionate and incredible fan base as they await the long-term decision by the PWHL regarding a new arena agreement for the Charge to play in. The league has publicly opposed the Lansdowne 2.0 project and says that it will mean the team would lose at least $1M per season with the reduced capacity. Much more to come on this, but it’s definitely an unfortunate outcome and will be a concern for the coming months, and possibly longer, until a resolution is decided on.
Expansion Team Names & Logos!
Last week, the 2 new expansion franchises announced their team names and logos.
We can now officially welcome to the league to the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes!
What do you think of the names and logos? I have split opinions on both; I like the name Torrent, but think their logo is very generic and boring (much the same feelings that I have for the Frost’s logo). And for Vancouver, I like the logo quite a bit, but the name is a bit long for my taste, and the reference is a bit of a stretch – the name is after a duck that is native to the Vancouver area, but a lot of people didn’t understand the reference when the name was announced. Goldeneyes also feels like too long of a name to be able to easily cheer during a game, but I’m sure the fans will come up with something clever! It will be interesting to see what the team’s jerseys look like in the next season.
Hockey Hall of Fame Inductions
On Saturday, the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted 3 notable women: players Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker, and builder Danièle Sauvageau.
Brianna Decker will be starting her first season as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Frost, and Danièle Sauvageau is the GM for the Montréal Victoire, so there are also strong ties to the PWHL among this year’s inductees. Congrats to all 3 women for the well deserved and long overdue recognition!
Takeover Tour 2025-2026 Dates & Locations Announced
Earlier this week, the PWHL announced the dates, teams, and locations for this season’s Takeover Tour. If you’re not familiar, this is when the PWHL teams play at neutral sites in cities and states without a current PWHL franchise, and the games have gotten great responses in the past. The league also seems to use these games as auditions of sorts for expansion, as both Seattle & Vancouver hosted Takeover Tour games last season before being announced as the new expansion cities. More to come on this sometime later, but these games will be a great opportunity to showcase the PWHL to new markets, allow new fans to watch the games, and so much more.
The Takeover Tour will visit seven new cities, including Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Halifax, Hamilton, Washington, D.C. and Winnipeg, and will return to Denver, Detroit, Edmonton and Québec City.
Signings & Announcements
- Vancouver signed draft picks Nina Jobst-Smith (2 years), Brianna Brooks (1 year), and Madison Samoskevich (1 year) prior to the start of training camp
- The New York Sirens extended Micah Zandee-Hart through the 2026-2027 season
- The Ottawa Charge have named Jocelyne Laroque as an assistant captain, taking over the role from Jincy Roese who left the Charge this offseason.
PWHL Preseason Scrimmages
Preseason scrimmages start today (11/13), with Minnesota and New York squaring off in the first match up. Scrimmages continue through the 17th. They are not going to be open to the public or streamed online, so we will read about the results and find out the impacts as camp wraps up.
With final rosters due on 11/19 and the first games happening on 11/21, the season is so nearly here! After feeling like the wait was forever long, it’s almost over! I’m looking forward to the start of the season and to see all of these new look teams actually on the ice and competing.
In Closing
Those were the big news items from the past couple of weeks! The Rivalry Series was of course great and full of notable moments and plays, but since I wasn’t able to watch the games, and there are some great sources that already did a great job covering the games, I will leave the coverage of those games to others. Please look for coverage if you want more information on the games.
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