The Premier Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced that its two latest expansion teams, Seattle and Vancouver, will soon start assembling their squads. This process will unfold through an exclusive initial free agency phase followed by an expansion draft scheduled for early next month.
Under the guidelines unveiled on Monday, the existing six teams in the league will each part ways with four players in this two-stage procedure. The signing period, where the new teams can sign players, will run from June 4-8. Following this, the expansion draft will occur on June 9.
Teams have a deadline of June 3 to decide on three players they wish to shield from the expansion draft. Additionally, they have the option to protect a fourth player once they have lost two players from their rosters. There will be no limitations on the positions of the players protected.
Throughout the signing period, Seattle and Vancouver have the opportunity to each recruit up to five free agents, which includes those players whose contracts expire at the end of this season. Subsequently, the teams will fill their rosters through the expansion draft to ensure a total roster size of 12 players.
Following this expansion process, the new teams will join the existing PWHL teams as they continue to complete their rosters via the PWHL draft, taking place on June 24. This will be followed by the start of the league’s general free agency period.
The league has structured these expansion guidelines to “promote competitive balance and provide the two new PWHL teams with the opportunity to build a strong foundational roster.” This will help ensure that the new franchises can compete effectively over time.
Details on how these expansion teams will fit into the league’s six-round draft order have yet to be revealed. Additionally, the PWHL is in the process of recruiting general managers and coaching personnel for the two new teams.
Seattle and Vancouver were officially chosen as the first PWHL expansion teams in announcements made within the past month.
Currently, the league is concluding its second season, with defending champions Minnesota Frost set to clash with Ottawa Charge in the thrilling best-of-five championship final series beginning Tuesday.