PWHL announces Seattle expansion franchise

The PWHL is heading to Seattle.

An expansion franchise in the Emerald City will begin play in the 2025-26 season, the league announced Wednesday.

The team will play its home games at Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the NHL's Seattle Kraken. Its primary color will be emerald green and its secondary color will be cream. The club will be known as PWHL Seattle until a permanent team name is announced.

Seattle marks the PWHL's second expansion franchise in the Pacific Northwest. The league announced last week it was expanding to Vancouver.

"There is so much passion from women's and girls' hockey organizations in Seattle, and our players thrived on that energy during their Takeover Tour visit," PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said. "Women's teams from Seattle and Vancouver played against each other as early as 1921, and, given the proximity of our two newest cities - Vancouver is barely 140 miles away - I cannot wait for the first game in what I'm sure will be one of our fiercest rivalries."

Vancouver and Seattle will mark the league's seventh and eighth franchises, joining teams in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York, and Minnesota.

The PWHL plans to expand to 10 teams by the 2026-27 campaign, a source told The Associated Press' John Wawrow.

Details regarding an expansion draft for Vancouver and Seattle, and how the new clubs will be incorporated into the 2025 draft June 24, will be revealed in the coming weeks.