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PWHL adds women's hockey franchise in San Jose to complete four-team expansion process.
PWHL adds women's hockey franchise in San Jose, California, to complete four-team expansion process.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Professional Women's Hockey League on Tuesday announced an expansion team to San Jose.
Women's hockey
What we know:
The new team's colors – orange, blue and white, inspired by the San Jose flag and representing the Bay Area's "optimistic energy," the PWHL said in a statement. Orange is also a nod to the San Jose Sharks men's hockey team and the region’s historic orange groves, while blue evokes the beauty of California’s ocean coastline and sky, the league said.
What we don't know:
The team's future name has not yet been determined. But they will play at the SAP Center in San Jose.
The league said that while Northern California is a new market for pro women’s hockey, the San Jose Sharks have helped build a strong local hockey community in the Bay Area, which boasts one of the largest ice facilities in the Western United States.
Incredible momentum
Big picture view:
The addition of a women's professional hockey team comes at a time of incredible momentum for the sport.
Both the U.S. men's and women's national hockey teams captured gold medals just a few months ago at the Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, the NHL's San Jose Sharks have injected fresh energy into the local market behind a wave of exciting young players, including top prospect Macklin Celebrini.
Even before the Olympic victories, hockey participation was already on a steep rise across the country. There are currently more than half a million registered players in the United States, including just shy of 32,000 players in California.
According to USA Hockey registration numbers comparing the last two seasons, youth hockey saw a 2% increase in players nationwide. Strikingly, girls' youth hockey saw a participation increase across every single age group in the country. In the Golden State, 3,841 of the registered players are female, ranking California sixth in the nation for female hockey participation.
Local organizers are seeing that enthusiasm firsthand.
Representatives for the San Jose Sharks noted that their community "Learn to Skate" programs consistently draw between 30 and 35 girls to each session.
What they're saying:
Cathy Andrade, a local youth hockey coach of 40 years, reflected on how much the landscape has evolved, recalling the days when a single girl had to play on an all-boys team just to participate. Today, robust youth girls' leagues are flourishing.
"Just at the rate the league is already growing and the numbers they are pulling, I think that people are going to be impressed when they come and they see the speed and the skill and what they are in for with women’s hockey—and it’s only going to get better," Andrade said. "It’s going to be super exciting for these girls on the West Coast to visually see pro players, to see there is a pathway, there is a clear destination for where they can grow and go into and have a career path."
The addition of a hockey team highlights how uniquely positioned the Bay Area is to support professional women's sports franchises in rapid succession. The region has recently welcomed Bay FC soccer in San Jose, which was founded in 2023, and the Golden State Valkyries basketball team, which is playing its inaugural season. A professional women's volleyball team is also slated to begin play in 2027.
4-team expansion
The new Bay Area franchise will join Detroit, Las Vegas, and Hamilton as the league's newest members, bringing the total number of teams to 12 for the upcoming season. In addition to a natural regional rivalry with Las Vegas, local fans could look forward to establishing a potential Pacific Northwest rivalry with Seattle.
Fans will not have to wait long to see the action. The 2026-2027 PWHL season is scheduled to begin in November, with the league's player draft coming up quickly in June.