Meet the First Five of the PWHL’s Expansion Teams

Courtesy of the PWHL

The PWHL is growing as two new teams are joining the league for the start of the 2025-26 season. PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle have started building their rosters ahead of the upcoming Expansion Draft on Monday and have already signed some of the best available players the league has to offer. During the exclusive signing period, Vancouver and Seattle had the opportunity to sign players who weren’t protected by their teams. In turn, the first five on the roster for both clubs are quite stunning so let’s meet the players who are bringing women’s hockey to the West Coast.

PWHL Vancouver

Claire Thompson (D), Sophie Jaques (D), Emerance Maschmeyer (G), Sarah Nurse (F), Jenn Gardiner (F)

At first glance, the PWHL Vancouver First Five looks lethal. The team secured two fantastic defenders, two strong forwards and a goaltender who can steal games when necessary.

Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques both leave the Minnesota Frost to join Vancouver. Jaques, a two-time Walter Cup Champion with Minnesota, finished the regular season as the highest scoring defender with 22 points (7G, 15) in 25 games. Thompson, a rookie, finished the regular season with 18 points (4G, 14A) in 30 games, good for the third most among all defenders and won the Walter Cup with the Frost this past season. Having both Thompson and Jaques on the blueline sets Vancouver up to be majorly successful 

Emerance Maschmeyer was a steady goaltender for the Ottawa Charge in her two seasons with the team, but due to injury, she only played 18 games this season. In the 2024 season, she posted a 9-9-4 record with a 2.30 GAA and .915 SV% in 23 games. Although having a good backup goaltender would help make a strong duo for Vancouver, Maschmeyer is reliable and a great start for the team in net.

Courtesy of Christopher Katsarov

Even if you aren’t a women’s hockey or PWHL fan, you know who Sarah Nurse is. She’s an icon off the ice for her arrival outfits and for everything she’s done to help pave the way for girls and women in hockey, but she’s also a great skater and offensive contributor. She was surprisingly left unprotected by the Toronto Sceptres and Vancouver wasted no time in getting her to the West Coast. In the 2024-25 regular season, Nurse had a bit of a down year as she only recorded six goals and eight assists (14 PTS) in 21 games, but she was also struggling with injuries. In the PWHL’s inaugural season, she posted 23 points (11G, 12A) in 24 games with Toronto. Although she’s one of the most recognizable faces and names in women’s hockey, she is going to bring an offensive strength to Vancouver that is hard to find.

Jenn Gardiner joins PWHL Vancouver fresh off a rookie season to remember. As one of the 2025 Rookie of the Year Finalists, Gardiner posted five goals and 13 assists in 30 regular season games with the Montreal Victoire. She finished second behind only New York’s Sarah Fillier for the most points among all rookies in the 2024-25 season. Gardiner was selected 11th overall by the Victoire in the 2024 Draft and is from Surrey, British Columbia so she will now be playing for her hometown team.

PWHL Seattle

Hilary Knight (F), Danielle Serdachny (F), Cayla Barnes (D), Alex Carpenter (F), Corinne Schroeder (G)

PWHL Seattle didn’t waste any time signing five players that not only hold an elite level of talent, but are also incredibly well known within women’s hockey and beyond.

Courtesy of the PWHL

Hilary Knight, the face of Team USA for many years and captain of the Boston Fleet for the last two seasons, is arguably Seattle’s biggest pull of the signing window. Knight is a household name in the PWHL and women’s hockey as a whole so fans will be filling the seats to see her take the ice at Climate Pledge Arena, but her game is still at an elite level. Knight finished the regular season with 29 points (15G, 14A) in 30 games which was tied with Fillier for the most in the PWHL. Her 15 goals were behind only Marie-Philip Poulin for the most by any player as well. No doubt she will be named captain in Seattle and lead the team to success both with her great leadership and offensive abilities.

Seattle scooped up two rookies of their own in Danielle Serdachny and Cayla Barnes. Serdachny, the 2024 second overall pick who played her rookie season with the Charge, posted just eight points (2G, 6A) in 30 games. Barnes was the 2024 fifth overall pick to the Victoire and recorded two goals and 11 assists in 30 games played in her rookie year. She’s the only defender Seattle has signed so far, but she’s a great start for building a solid D-core.

Alex Carpenter and Corinne Schroeder, both original members of the New York Sirens roster, join PWHL Seattle and make this team dangerous. Carpenter had been one of New York’s strongest forwards in her time there, leading the team in points in the inaugural season and then playing more of a supportive role this year when Fillier arrived. This season, Carpenter put up 11 goals and nine assists in 26 games which was good for the third most points on the Sirens. Carpenter also has serious chemistry with Knight from all the times they’ve played together on Team USA.

Schroeder is arguably one of, if not the best, goaltender in the PWHL despite the Sirens missing the playoffs in the first two years of the league’s existence. Schroeder went 10-8-1-1 in the 2024-25 regular season with a 2.43 GAA and .919 SV%. She also posted four shutouts which led all goaltenders this year and her career five shutouts are the most in PWHL history. She will be a brick wall in the net for Seattle which is one step in the recipe for winning.

Although both PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle only have five players each right now, the two expansion teams are off to a great start in terms of building their rosters to be successful. With the PWHL Expansion Draft happening on Monday at 8:30 PM EST, it will be interesting to see how each team fills the remaining seven open spots from the players available from the other six franchises.