Rivalry in the Making
The PWHL schedule is likely to run from November to May. Details about an expansion draft and how Seattle will be integrated into the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24 will be revealed in the coming weeks. The guess here and among the PWHL brain trust is that the Seattle-Vancouver rivalry won’t take long to percolate as the third season rolls out this fall.
“There’s so much passion from women’s and girls’ hockey organizations in Seattle, and our players thrived on that energy during their ‘Takeover Tour’ visit,” said Jayna Hafford, a four-time Olympic gold medalist with Team Canada and PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations. “Women’s teams from Seattle and Vancouver played against each other as early as 1921 in an international women’s tournament staged by the [Seattle Metropolitan]. Given the proximity of our two newest cities, I cannot wait for the first game in what I’m sure will be one of our fiercest rivalries.”
Scoping Schedule, Tickets, and Fitting in All Sports Events
Each team in the league will play 30 games next season, home and away. For fans looking to obtain season tickets, you can get in the digital line here for PWHL Seattle tickets starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Kraken Season Ticket Members will have the first opportunity to select their season ticket plans for the PWHL via a link sent by email Wednesday morning.
One more fan question to answer: Whether the PWHL team affects the potential need for an NBA expansion team to play 41 home dates, plus any preseason or playoff games in seasons ahead. The emphatic answer is no, and that Climate Pledge Arena executives and the PWHL have worked through all possible scenarios (adding in a plentiful concert schedule) to the positive. One fun possibility would be a doubleheader date with both PWHL and NHL games.
Growing the Women’s and Girls’ Game Here in the PNW
Seattle and the Pacific Northwest region’s avid interest and action in growing women’s and girls’ hockey at the grassroots level is a major reason why Seattle was on the expansion short list for the burgeoning professional league. PWHL attendance this season is up by 34 percent with more than a million fans, 58 Olympians on rosters, 57 players competed in this year’s IIHF Women’s World Championship and, not to be underestimated, PWHL players and teams became an official feature in EA Sports’ highly popular NHL 25 video game.
“The opportunity to start a new chapter of women’s hockey in the Pacific Northwest, combined with calling the world-class Climate Pledge Arena home, has so much meaning for our league,” said Amy Scheer, PWHL executive vice president of business operations who has deep experience in NBA, WNBA, MLS and NFL. “The Kraken have already been unbelievably supportive. It’s a joy to have PWHL Seattle join the WNBA’s Storm and NWSL’s Reign, both skyscrapers in the city’s towering sports landscape.”
From the earliest days of the Kraken franchise, the team has made a full-on commitment to expanding opportunities for girls and women to play hockey and have ample and regular access to ice time, the latter being more of a challenge before the three rinks at Kraken Community Iceplex were completed. According to USA Hockey statistics, female members in Washington state grew 34 percent since the Kraken’s inaugural and it’s worth noting the latest stats are from the 2023-24 season. Equally promising is that the Kraken Youth Hockey Association now operates seven all-girls teams in a competitive league and has a robust all-girls Learn-to-Play program. No doubt some of those hockey players were heading to Climate Pledge Arena for that January “Takeover Tour” game.
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