By Christina Neville, Assistant Athletic Trainer, Minnesota Frost
As Spring arrives, the PWHL rolls into the final third of our regular season. With only 5 weeks remaining, there is a tight race at the top of the standings between Boston, Montreal, and Minnesota, with all 8 teams still mathematically in the hunt for a Walter Cup playoff spot.
In February, the PWHL took a pause from game play for the Olympics. We proudly had 30% of our league’s players participating in the Olympic Games, specifically, 61 athletes across 8 national teams. Similarly, we had 20 PWHL staff and contractors at the games. PHATS, SPHEM, and PHPO members included:
- Alana Goulden, Equipment Manager – Hockey Canada & Toronto Sceptres
- Katie Homan, Athletic Trainer – USA Hockey & Minnesota Frost
- Sis Paulson, Equipment Manager – USA Hockey & Minnesota Frost
- Vicky Bendus, Strength and Conditioning Coach – Hockey Canada & Montreal Victoire
Overall, this season has been a year of continued growth for our league. We expanded to the West Coast by adding two new teams, the Vancouver Goldeneyes and the Seattle Torrent. We have hit major milestones including 2 million ticket sales, an average attendance growth of 23% over last year, and played 16 Take Over Tour games in 11 cities across North America. We continue to develop and grow our league committees which focus on safety, education, and standardization. Finally, plans for more expansion in Season 4 are underway!,038. We are excited to see where our Take Over Tour Takes us in 2026!
By Christina Neville, Assistant Athletic Trainer, Minnesota Frost
As another autumn rolls in, the PWHL is gearing up for training camp and games to start in November. We would like to congratulate the Minnesota Frost on being back-to-back Walter Cup Champions.
As we embark on our third season, we are excited to welcome two new teams to the league. PWHL Vancouver will be playing out of The Pacific Coliseum and PWHL Seattle will be playing out of Climate Pledge Arena. With expansion comes movement of current staff and new colleagues joining the ranks. Congratulations to the following individuals in their new roles within the league:
- Greg Angus – Head Equipment Manager, New York
- Kara Fulawka – Head Equipment Manager, Ottawa
- Aisha Visram – Head Athletic Trainer, Seattle
- Gabrielle Warwick – Head Equipment Manager, Seattle
- Gordon Hamilton – Head Equipment Manager, Vancouver
- Matina Landstad – Assistant Equipment Manager, Vancouver
- Lydia Maxwell – Head Athletic Therapist, Vancouver
- Sukhjit (SJ) Sanghera – Assistant Athletic Therapist, Vancouver
We would like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to all the equipment staff, athletic trainers, team physicians, and venue staff in the NHL that have opened their doors during our Take Over Tour Games in 2024 and 2025. Their provided support, advocacy, and efforts have been invaluable as we continue to grow our league and fan base. Last season we played 9 neutral site games across North America with total attendance reaching 123,601 fans and single game attendance peaking at 19,038. We are excited to see where our Take Over Tour Takes us in 2026!