PWHL players, GMs waiting to hear how expansion draft will affect existing teams

Karissa Donkin · CBC Sports

· Posted: May 14, 2025 12:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

In the adjacent month, the caller Professional Women's Hockey League teams successful Vancouver and Seattle volition commencement to capable retired their rosters. 

The teams, who begin play adjacent season, volition prime players astatine the introduction draught acceptable for June 24 successful Ottawa, and volition besides person the accidental to adhd players from different teams successful an enlargement draught that volition hap astatine immoderate constituent earlier the introduction draft. The league is successful the process of hiring wide managers for the Vancouver and Seattle teams.

With the timepiece ticking, overmuch remains chartless astir that enlargement draft, including however galore players each squad volition person to exposure and who tin beryllium protected.

That has been weighing connected players, particularly those who are signed to contracts adjacent play and could find themselves connected the move, according to New York Sirens skipper Micah Zandee-Hart.

She is New York's typical with the league's players' relation (PWHLPA), and said she's been getting texts from players who are anxious for information.

"As overmuch arsenic that's exciting, I deliberation it besides brings a batch of chartless to the players and benignant of wondering what's going to hap and erstwhile it's going to happen," Zandee-Hart said.

More than 20 markets showed involvement successful becoming location to a PWHL squad during an enlargement process that lasted respective months. League officials looked astatine economical opportunity, younker hockey, infrastructure and geography, among different things.

The league yet chose to grow its footprint westbound arsenic it looks to pull a nationalist U.S. broadcast rights deal. Expansion to Vancouver and Seattle was confirmed successful April.

A league spokesperson didn't person immoderate caller details to stock connected the enlargement draught process connected Monday.

"The anticipation is that immoderate caller teams that participate the league would beryllium competitory successful twelvemonth one," Jayna Hefford, the league's enforcement vice president of hockey operations, said successful April. "That's the precedence arsenic we look astatine however we would disperse players."

'It's what we wanted successful our sport'

Zandee-Hart, who is from Saanichton, B.C., is excited astir the interaction a PWHL squad could person connected a increasing girls' and women's hockey assemblage successful her location province, particularly for young players who volition person the accidental to interact with pros.

She had to permission location young to prosecute her hockey dreams, accepting that opportunities successful her athletics were ever going to instrumentality her east.

"I really retrieve feeling a spot affectional conscionable due to the fact that I deliberation increasing up connected the westbound coast, I had ever told myself that that was conscionable ne'er gonna beryllium thing that happened successful my beingness successful hockey," she said.

While Zandee-Hart was the archetypal B.C.-born subordinate to marque Canada's women's Olympic hockey team, determination are respective up-and-coming players from the province.

The enlargement besides means astatine slightest 46 much jobs successful the league. That could make accidental for players who person had to spell to Europe to find playing clip oregon who have been portion of the PWHL connected a team's reserve list, wherever players aren't entitled to afloat salaries and the aforesaid benefits arsenic players signed to afloat contracts.

"As benignant of possibly scary arsenic enlargement is for immoderate players oregon arsenic uncertain arsenic it is, it is what we wanted successful our sport," Zandee-Hart said. "We wanted to proceed to turn the sport. We wanted to summation the viewership."

GMs request to beryllium 'open minded' with rosters successful flux

Players aren't the lone ones waiting for much details.

Boston Fleet GM Danielle Marmer is looking for puck-moving defence and extent scoring this off-season, aft her squad conscionable missed retired connected a playoff spot by a tiebreaker.

She said past week that she's not yet definite however enlargement could impact her roster.

"I deliberation these conversations are happening betwixt the league and the players' association," she said.

The Fleet finished second-last successful the six-team league. But due to the fact that they were eliminated from playoff contention connected the last time of the regular season, the Fleet didn't gain immoderate Gold points. They're earned by winning games aft being eliminated, and meant to discourage teams from "tanking" for the apical draught pick.

Based connected the 2024 draught rules, the Fleet would prime 2nd successful the introduction draught order. But it's not wide wherever the Fleet volition prime this year, fixed the enlargement teams volition besides beryllium picking successful the draft.

But GM Pascal Daoust also didn't person details astir the enlargement draught connected Monday. He described having 10 to 12 antithetic scenarios that could play retired for his squad this off-season, depending connected what happens.

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"The minute we're going to person each the [expansion draft] rules, past the adjacent question volition be, however tin we physique the champion squad not lone for the coming play but years to come." Daoust said connected Monday.

One benefit? The teams crossed the league are truthful adjacent that everyone is acceptable to suffer players done expansion.

"To beryllium honest, I would emotion to person an answer, a last strategy," Daoust said. "We request to beryllium open-minded. We request to screen each the angles, and that's wherefore we're going to person to beryllium unit unneurotic and find what are the angles we request to screen earlier we beryllium astatine that table."