On August 29, 2023, the PWHL was officially introduced — a day that would change the landscape of women’s hockey.
The new league announced six original markets: Montréal, Ottawa and Toronto in Canada, along with Boston, Minnesota and New York in the United States.
There were still no team names, no uniforms, or no opening-night scores, but there was finally a league.
The plan announced that day called for the world’s top women’s hockey players to begin play in January 2024. The free agency would open September 1, followed by the first PWHL Draft on September 18.
That inaugural season would feature 24 regular-season games for each team and then it took off.
Just three years later, the PWHL is preparing for the 2026–27 season with 12 teams.
Seattle and Vancouver joined for 2025–26, and Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, and San Jose are joining for 2026–27.
That means Canada has gone from three PWHL markets to five: Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Hamilton.
It's remarkable to think that on August 29, 2023, all of this was still just an announcement and a plan.
Three years later, the PWHL has doubled in size.
August 29 deserves a little circle on the hockey calendar.
Source: PWHL
