The Professional Women’s Hockey League is expanding to Hamilton, Ontario according to the Canadian Press on Wednesday. Hamilton is one of three new expansion franchises in the PWHL for the 2026-27 season. The other two are located in Detroit and Las Vegas.
Hamilton will be the fifth Canadian franchise in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. The other four are the Montreal Victoire, the Ottawa Charge, the Toronto Sceptres and the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
What is unique about the PWHL expanding to Hamilton is the fact that Hamilton will be the first Canadian city that has a PWHL franchise and not a National Hockey League franchise. However, the Hamilton Tigers were in the NHL from 1920 to 1925.
Hamilton’s PWHL franchise will play at Hamilton’s Toronto Dominion Coliseum. They will share the venue with the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League and a new American Hockey League franchise. On April 4 it was announced the New York Islanders were moving its top minor league affiliate from Bridgeport, Connecticut to north of the border.
The Rock play in Hamilton even though their franchise name has Toronto. It is sort of like the Los Angeles Angels playing Major League Baseball in Anaheim. The Rock have made sports headlines lately as they are in the 2026 National Lacrosse League Final against the Halifax Thunderbirds.
