Three new teams have already been announced for the PWHL’s 2026-27 season, with a fourth likely coming to provide an even number of clubs. So far, Detroit, Hamilton and Las Vegas have been confirmed for next season, giving the league 11 teams overall.
All three have several strengths, and all three have a few question marks. The consensus buzz is that Detroit is a perfect choice, while Hamilton and Vegas are viewed as slightly more questionable.
When the league gets to 12 teams, it’s likely going to need a new playoff format. Most like to have at least half of their teams make the playoffs, and currently, just four teams qualify. But that’s a conversation for another day. For now, it’s a good idea to look closely at each city and what it brings to the table.
Detroit
In a sports sense, Detroit straddles the line between the eastern and western halves of the country. That’s badly needed now that the PWHL has chosen to establish a western presence. For the first two years, the westernmost team was Minnesota. Now that Seattle, Vancouver and Vegas have joined, the league needs more teams in between them.
Detroit is a great decision for that purpose. A team traveling east to west, or vice versa, now has two options for a stopover game before reaching the other coast. That significantly helps scheduling.
Plus, Detroit fans have filled up Little Caesars Arena during the Takeover Tour. Three of the four games in Detroit drew five-digit crowds, and the fourth still pulled a respectable 9,624 fans just two days after New Year’s.
If there’s a criticism, it’s that Michigan doesn’t have any women’s Division I college hockey programs anywhere in the state. But that’s more about the state itself than the market as a whole. Michigan is beyond ready for a PWHL team of its own. This was a no-brainer expansion city.
Las Vegas
The big knock on Vegas is obvious: the PWHL never visited the city at all. Cities like Denver and Washington proved themselves during the Takeover Tour, but the league never staged a game in Las Vegas. So this remains a very unproven market, and it’s the PWHL’s first real attempt to place a team in a non-traditional hockey city.
That said, Vegas fans have shown they will support the Golden Knights. And they’ve shown they’ll support women’s sports. The Aces have been one of the WNBA’s model franchises, leading in attendance.
The biggest question is, have Vegas fans become hockey fans, or just Golden Knights fans? Nobody questions Vegas as an NHL market anymore, but the Golden Knights occupy a unique place as the first major professional team to call Vegas home. Whether that transfers to the PWHL is far less certain.
If it does, however, Vegas would be great for the PWHL. Seattle and Vancouver now have a regional rival besides each other, which should ease travel considerably. As the Torrent and the Goldeneyes improve, that regional setup will start to matter even more.
Hamilton
Hamilton has hoped for a professional hockey team for decades. And this team has something nobody else in the PWHL has: complete control of an NHL-ready arena.
The TD Coliseum was built in the 1980s in hopes of attracting the NHL to Hamilton, but the top brass always said it was too close to both Toronto and Buffalo. The PWHL, however, has no team in Buffalo, and Toronto could easily sustain a second team with seven million residents. Hamilton, Kitchener and Waterloo are home to about 1.5 million people, more than enough to sustain a PWHL franchise.
With no NHL tenant, the PWHL will get first priority for scheduling. Hamilton has an AHL team moving in, but the PWHL is a top-level professional league. This could become a first step toward opening up other non-NHL markets, something they have yet to try.
Hamilton also showed up for the Takeover Tour, putting 16,000 fans in the Coliseum. As long as the market doesn’t become too crowded, this makes a lot of sense.
Team No. 12
Where Team No. 12 lands depends on a couple factors. First, does the PWHL want to split into conferences or divisions? If so, Denver or San Jose will almost certainly be the choice. Adding either would create a clean split between Eastern and Western conferences, or potentially East, Central and West divisions.
In a three-division format, Seattle, Vancouver, Vegas and the 12th team would make up the West, while Toronto, Minnesota, Detroit and Hamilton would make up the Central. Ottawa, Montreal, New York and Boston would make up the East. If opting for two conferences instead, Minnesota and Detroit would likely join the West, while Hamilton and Toronto would shift east.
If the league keeps a single table, Washington could become a strong option. Capital One Arena saw 17,000 fans attend the Takeover Tour, and it feels like only a matter of time before the city gets a chance.
The fact the league has multiple strong candidates is a great sign for the future. The PWHL has already doubled in size from its first two seasons, and that’s because there’s a major market for women’s hockey. It’s fast-paced, well-played and innovative. And each of these markets looks like it has a legitimate chance to succeed.
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