The PWHL “is mushrooming,” as it started with six teams in 2023 and is now at 11 -- and the “obvious question ... is whether this is happening too fast,” according to Bruce Arthur of the TORONTO STAR. The “answer might be no.” PWHL EVP/Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford said, “When we launched, the league probably wouldn’t have expected the growth and the success as quick as we’ve seen it.” But Hefford doesn’t think the expansion is coming on too fast, and she “has a list of reasons why.” The league’s 2025 expansion clubs in Seattle and Vancouver were first and second in the league in total attendance in their inaugural seasons. The Takeover Tour, which played 16 games in 11 markets, “was full of successes” and multiple attendance records. Arthur noted there are “big gaps” in league attendance, to be sure. The Toronto Sceptres played to “rapturous above-capacity crowds” at Coca-Cola Coliseum this season, while the N.Y. Sirens saw “just over 4,000 fans per game at the 16,514-seat Prudential Center.” Hefford said, “Women’s hockey continues to grow, and I think we’re ready to meet the demand for both the players and our fans.” Hefford “doesn’t want to put a number on” what the right number of PWHL teams should be. Hefford: “We’re really happy with where we are right now. It’s going to be different in five years. But I think the path that we’re on right now feels right, and I think we’re right where we need to be” (TORONTO STAR, 5/14).
TAKEOVER SUCCESS: In Hamilton, Scott Radley wrote there is “a belief in many corners that it was the overwhelming success” of a Takeover Tour game in January that led to the PWHL expanding to the Ontario city. Hefford said on the sold-out stop, “We learned a lot about the market. We learned a lot about partners. We learned a lot about infrastructure.” Hefford added that event alone did not “do it,” as Hamilton was “already on the league’s radar, which is why a game was brought here in the first place.” Hefford said, “That’s not the only piece of determining what new markets are for us. But it was a great Takeover game here” (HAMILTON SPECTATOR, 5/15).
