PWHL expansion: Where will the league go next?

As a hockey-obsessed preteen in Edmonton, you might think 11-year-old Julia Raillo would ask for her birthday party theme to feature the Oilers - especially given the local NHL team marched all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last year, with once-in-a-generation star Connor McDavid at the helm.

But while Raillo respects the NHL, its players haven't captivated her the way the women's game has; since the PWHL debuted two years ago, it's been all she's thought about.

"I was really excited to see the girls when the league started," Julia said.

"I think that she could relate to these strong, powerful women clearly made an impression on her," said her mom, Kayla Wyntjes. "She's watched Oilers games, but she's never said she wanted an Oilers party. With the PWHL, she was like, those girls are cool. Let's do a PWHL party."

For the last two years, Wyntjes has handmade decorations, party favors, and even a PWHL-themed cake to fulfill her daughter's birthday wish. This despite the fact Julia hadn't seen a PWHL game in person until this February, when the league staged a matchup between the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge at Rogers Place in Edmonton as part of its coast-to-coast Takeover Tour.

The sold-out game drew a crowd of more than 17,000 in Alberta's capital. Among them were Julia, her mom, and other women and girls who they both play hockey with. "The athletes were even bigger and stronger than I could have imagined," Wyntjes said. "I haven't seen the Canadian women's team play in person for a long time. So, it was really something to see that level of hockey from these amazing women."

The game served to invigorate one of its far-flung fan bases. "We need some season tickets," Wyntjes said. She's not the only person thinking that. Amy Scheer, the league's executive vice president of business operations, told reporters recently an announcement about expansion would be forthcoming in four-to-six weeks. The league requested proposals from interested cities in fall 2024 for as many as two new teams.

"Now that there's a little bit of information dropping in the media, I think more and more people are talking about when expansion is going to happen," Sceptres veteran Natalie Spooner said. "There are markets that are excited to have PWHL hockey in their area, and when the league decides it's time to expand, I think it'll be great because - as you can tell - the depth is continuing to evolve."

What is the league considering as it eyes markets for its next teams? The nine-city Takeover Tour, concluding March 29 in St. Louis, could offer some clues.

Expansion criteria

The PWHL's immediate impact proved what women's hockey proponents were asserting for years: there's a market for the women's game across North America. As momentum for the league built, so has talk of expansion.

How often do players get asked about expansion by their family and friends? "It's pretty much every conversation," Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight said. "Everyone wants to know where the expansion markets are and if I know anything. I think it's awesome from the standpoint that people are super interested in where the PWHL's next step is."

The league has a model that includes elements like geography, strength of market, and TV rights considerations, and those are weighted equally, Scheer said. Most important, though, is each location's infrastructure.

"Where will we play the games? Is the arena and the building up to the level of professionalism that we would like for our athletes?" Scheer said. Practice facilities are second on the list. Are they "up to the level in terms of locker room amenities and all the things that our athletes deserve as professionals?"

When it comes to geography, five of the six teams are in the Eastern time zone. The Takeover Tour, which already stopped in Quebec City and Buffalo, has March dates in Raleigh, Detroit, and St. Louis. Adding two more teams within the current footprint would make sense for travel but ignores growth potential out west. The league also said it isn't considering adding charter flights, so any location would need to be easily accessible commercially.

Scheer also said the size of local media is another part of the puzzle, which goes together with economic opportunity in the market.

"I love to dive into the game and the details of it - everything that goes into a win or loss," Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull said. "It's important to have that in the media, too."

Adding American teams could sweeten the league's broadcast rights value stateside, as a U.S. national broadcaster is yet to be secured (most games in Canada are shown on TSN or CBC).

"What is the economic opportunity there - from ticket sales, from partnerships? What does the hockey community and hockey culture in that city look like? What impact can we have on the community? Those are several of the factors that we are looking at around expansion," Scheer said.

Once expansion locations are determined, the league will hold an expansion draft to fill out the new rosters.

"Adding two teams adds logistics," Scheer said. "But we've got great people here who will make a schedule that makes sense for the players and will coordinate travel that makes sense for the players. So, we're prepared if the decision is made to expand. We are 100% prepared to get in those markets and tackle everything that we need to do to stand up a couple of teams to be as successful as our current six."

Potential markets

It's been 15 years since Marie-Philip Poulin burst into the national spotlight as an 18-year-old forward for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She contributed five goals and two assists during the team's podium-topping campaign, including both goals in the 2-0 gold-medal victory against the U.S.

A lot has changed in women's hockey since then. When Poulin was in Vancouver for the PWHL's first Canadian stop on the Takeover Tour - which drew an audience of more than 19,000 - she couldn't help thinking about how the game's evolved.

"When I jumped on the ice for warmups, I remembered the last time I was here was in 2010. It was a sea of red and white. Now, it's seas of different jerseys across the PWHL," the Montreal Victoire captain said. "To see these crowds was once every four years - during the Olympic year. Now, it's every week. Every day of the week has potential to have sold-out crowds, to have a full house behind us."

Geographically, Vancouver and Seattle may meet the league's selection criteria. They're close enough that players could take a bus between the two, cutting down on travel expenses during potential western road trips. And women's and girl's hockey is thriving in the Pacific Northwest.

"We want girls' hockey in Vancouver," said Kelly Koch, who drove 45 miles (70 kilometers) from Abbotsford, British Columbia, to watch the PWHL in person with her two girls, who both play hockey. "Our girls' team immediately bought a huge section. I think it's good to have women to aspire to and see something they can identify with."

NHLers also noted the PWHL's growing success and the appetite for women's hockey in the area. "I don't think there's any surprise (about the league's growth)," defenseman Vincent Desharnais said while he was a member of the Vancouver Canucks earlier this season. "I know a few of the PWHL players and everything they've been doing: the salaries, their work ethic, going to the gym every day, going to work after at a regular job. Meanwhile, I'm complaining about this and that and we're flying charter everywhere. All credit goes to them. With their work ethic and determination, I wouldn't be surprised to see the league get bigger and bigger."

Edmonton doesn't have Vancouver's geographic advantage, but the city rolled out the red carpet for the PWHL when the Sceptres and Charge arrived at Rogers Place for the Takeover Tour. Tickets sold out quickly, and fans made signs and even fashioned PWHL Edmonton jerseys to watch the Feb. 16 game. Familiar faces were in the crowd: Stuart Skinner and Corey Perry watched from a box, and Darnell Nurse took in the game with his kids, even though his cousin Sarah missed the game with a lower-body injury.

The city also staged several welcome events for the league and its supporters, including a women in sport breakfast attended by mayor Amarjeet Sohi and the province's minister of tourism and sport, Joseph Schow - a good indicator that a team in the region could receive both local and provincial support.

Charge netminder Emerance Maschmeyer, an Edmonton-area native, called the contest a "home game" in her postgame press conference. "I could never imagine myself playing a pro game here in Edmonton," she said. "So, I mean, how special." Charge forward Danielle Serdachny, a fellow Edmonton native, said: "Just getting on the ice and seeing all of the support across Edmonton - we heard of people flying in, driving in, just to come and watch our game."

Finding a home for a new team in Edmonton could prove challenging. Rogers Place already has the Oilers and the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings as tenants; splitting a facility between three teams could be difficult, but not unprecedented. It may be the only option in Edmonton as the University of Alberta's Clare Drake Arena only has 2,600 seats, likely not enough for a PWHL team.

But there's certainly an appetite for women's hockey. Fans showed their support Feb. 16 with signs bearing slogans like "Girls are players too," "Edmonton watches women's sports," and "Proud to witness these hockey legends." Youth teams showed up in droves, and so did former players like Bethan Wilson, Elle Boyko, and Kirsten Chamberlin, who were responsible for the homemade PWHL Edmonton jerseys.

"There's a lot of young women's teams coming to Edmonton, and a lot of those teams are expanding," Wilson said. The trio all played hockey for the University of Alberta, and their team boasted the highest fan count in the Canada West division. That proves the appetite for women's hockey in Edmonton, they say. And, Chamberlin adds, it gives players the chance to play at a new level. "Growing up, professional hockey wasn't really an option," she says. "It was Olympics or nothing. University hockey was your highest goal. It's cool to see that there are options for girls and women beyond that."

While Canadian markets may have the most overt demand for a team, it's almost certain the league will add one new team in the U.S., if not both, given the fact the PWHL's still searching for a national broadcaster to carry its games there. Adding additional markets to that package could strengthen their negotiations.

The Colorado Avalanche, for their part, are ensuring the women's hockey community remains strong and that could make Denver a contender, especially given the city's distance to Edmonton - the cities are only a three-hour flight apart with several nonstop commercial flights between them daily.

A team in Denver would also likely have the support of NHL greats in the city. Among the record-setting crowd at Ball Arena for the Takeover Tour's Denver stop was one of the NHL's most familiar faces: defenseman Cale Makar. The 26-year-old and his wife, Tracy, watched the game between Montreal and Minnesota on Jan. 12, which drew 14,018 fans - the largest crowd for a professional women's hockey game in the U.S. Chants of "We want a team!" erupted from the stands, which were full of women's hockey players.

The sport's thriving in Colorado's capital: there's a women's team at nearly every level; a Denver Women's Hockey League; and even the Women's Association of Colorado hockey, which boasts 40 teams across four skill divisions. Statewide, 3,401 players signed up for women's hockey in the 2023-24 season, according to a USA Hockey report, representing one of the country's highest totals. Nearly 700 of those players were aged 10 and under.

"Girls' hockey has grown quite a bit since I was playing when I was young," said Minnesota Frost netminder Nicole Hensley, a Colorado native. "There was only one girls' association in the entire state when I started playing. My family didn't know about it, so I just started playing with the boys. Now there's an abundance of options for girls to play either with the boys or with the girls. The numbers have been rising steadily for a long time."

After winning the Walter Cup last season, Hensley brought the trophy back to Colorado and staged a meet and greet with local hockey teams. "To see the excitement - and that was after the news of expansion, so all of them kept asking if Colorado was an option. It's definitely grown a lot since I was a kid and continues to grow. I've gotten a lot of excited texts from coaches and people involved in youth hockey out there."

Avalanche diehard Marshaa Robinson believes Colorado-based fans could carry the passion they have for Makar and Co. to a PWHL franchise. "I think there's a big market for it here, especially with the younger audiences," she says. "Avs fans would be excited for even more hockey. The potential PWHL expansion in Denver would benefit and build the future of professional women's hockey."

Ball Arena already hosts the Avalanche and the NBA's Denver Nuggets, so a PWHL franchise would likely have to look for an alternative home. The Denver Coliseum, which boasts roughly 10,000 seats, could be a viable option, while the college arena could serve as a viable practice facility. Denver's proximity to Minnesota and central U.S. location opens up western expansion and team-friendly travel schedules.

Expansion of opportunities

Two more teams would also mean about 50 new spots for players in the league.

Emily Rickwood, a 25-year-old Brantford, Ontario, native, played five seasons at the University of New Hampshire and currently plays professional hockey in Shenzhen, China. She would consider an offer if the PWHL approached her. "I've really been enjoying playing hockey, traveling, and living in different countries, but it would obviously be amazing to play in the top league and be back in North America again," she said. "It's impressive how many people I encounter who have more understanding and exposure to women's hockey now, and so people talk about it and ask questions and engage in real conversations around it.

"Seeing all the support that people are giving to women's hockey just makes me as a player want to continue to play well and be a part of the growing popularity of the sport, no matter where I'm playing. Watching the process through college and knowing the challenges that needed to be overcome and then seeing the league finally come together is incredible."

Jolene Latimer is a feature writer at theScore. Erica Commisso is a copy editor at theScore