We’re well into the second half of the PWHL’s third season, and the first season for the Vancouver Goldeneyes and the Seattle Torrent. While PWHL fans have not been surprised by the popularity of the two new teams, what does success on and off the ice actually look like for Vancouver and Seattle?

While not franchises, as the PWHL is league-owned, both Vancouver and Seattle have had the tough task this season. That is, of carving out an identity for themselves as new teams in new cities. Of course, neither Seattle nor Vancouver is new to women’s hockey. Even within the PWHL, both cities hosted Takeover Tour games that were incredibly well sold, just over a year ago.

Seattle

If the Torrent’s success this year is being measured in fan attendance, they are crushing. At their first home game back from the Olympic break, the team sold out the Climate Pledge Arena for the first time. This broke the US women’s hockey attendance record. The Olympics, the number of gold medalists on the team, and the resulting PWHL and NHL discourse surrounding both the men’s and women’s US hockey teams may have boosted attendance; the Torrent also broke the existing US record at their home opener back in November.

On the ice, the Torrent are having a tough first year. They haven’t sat in the top half of the league’s standings at all this season, and have been flip-flopping and tying with Vancouver for last place. Seattle is stacked with star players, and as I mentioned the other week, it has the most 2026 gold medalists on one team. They have Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, and Alex Carpenter, in addition to their (now injured) captain, Hilary Knight. At this point in the season, however, a stacked Olympic roster also means a very tired roster.

Going Forward in Seattle

I’m not saying the Torrent are necessarily doomed to miss the postseason. They still have basically half a season of hockey left to play. Wednesday’s regulation win against Boston was huge. They killed Boston’s six-game win streak; Grant-Mentis’ shorthanded goal against the best power play in the league was beautiful. The three points from a regulation win can be a major difference maker in this league. If Seattle wins tonight against Minnesota, one more regulation win could (maybe) get them back into a playoff race.

Wednesday’s win also reminded us that the Torrent’s difference makers do not have to be the big star players, with Mikyla Grant-Mentis (5 points) and Danielle Serdachny (6 points) scoring the third-period goals. Combined, these two players have fewer points than Alex Carpenter’s 13, who scored the first for Seattle last night.

To carry on this momentum, the Torrent will have to beat Minnesota tonight, who, while on less of a streak than the Fleet were, will be fighting hard to keep their third-place spot. The Frost plays New York next game on Sunday. Here, New York could jump three points and tie with Minnesota. That’s if Minnesota does not win against Seattle tonight. The Torrent has not been able to beat the Frost yet. The Torrent have just won their first game since January 20th, before the Olympic break.

Realistic Goals

If I’m the Torrent, I’m using the remainder of the season to give more ice time to my underrated players. They must carve out an on-ice identity as they might be without their star captain for the remainder of the season. Wednesday’s regulation win against the Fleet should be incredible momentum. Seattle hadn’t beaten the top-ranked team yet in their three previous meetings, but the last time before this win, the Torrent only lost in shootouts. It may not be as dire as it seems for the Torrent.

Vancouver

Vancouver had a similarly grand welcome to the league as Seattle’s. The Goldeneyes are the only PWHL team that is the main tenant of their arena, with a permanent centre ice logo to boot. On the ice, the Goldeneyes and the Torrent are also, unfortunately, having very similar seasons. Despite a star-studded roster filled with Canadian Olympians and the favourite Sceptres players of seasons past, Vancouver just can’t seem to stick to the top half of the standings.

To me, Vancouver seems less poised to make a comeback this season compared to Seattle. Although Tuesday’s OT loss against the Boston Fleet could have truly gone either way, Vancouver could’ve won if it had a stronger power play. Vancouver has had no goals in their last 17 power plays and had four power plays in that last game. On the bright side, they were strong in penalty kills.

While having similar overall goal numbers, Seattle has four players with double-digit points this season. Meanwhile, the Goldeneyes do not have any. Claire Thompson, Vancouver’s points leader, sits close at nine points. Julia Gosling leads Seattle with 15. Although last night reminded us that the players with lower numbers can dominate games when given the chance.

Sarah Nurse could have, in theory, been in one of those top spots for the Goldeneyes. She had 23 regular-season points in the first season with Toronto, and 14 last season. She was, of course, out for 11 games this season after being injured in her first game as a Goldeneye, after scoring the first-ever Goldeneyes goal. However, after returning just before the Olympic break, she has already scored four goals in six games, just two under her six (in 21 regular-season games) for the Sceptres last season. Her total points sit more realistically at seven so far as a Goldeneye.

Realistic Goldeneyes Goals

Back in January, Vancouver and Ottawa had a major trade by PWHL standards. If I’m the Goldeneyes, I’m focusing on building the chemistry of the team with these new and returning-from-injury faces. If the Goldeneyes had won Tuesday’s game against Boston, I would have felt the way about them that I do the Torrent. Maybe a couple more regulation wins could put them back in the conversation for that fourth playoff spot. However, a regulation loss to the Fleet and only scoring once does not give me confidence in this team. Their next game is against the Ottawa Charge, who are currently only one point out of a playoff spot. They will also be desperate for a regulation win.

The Goldeneyes are not completely out of contention. A regulation win against the Charge on Saturday would bump Toronto into the 7th place slot ahead of Toronto’s Sunday game. Especially as Toronto has already played 20 games, any demotion for the Sceptres could really help the Goldeneye’s make a comeback.

Crazy Comebacks

From a league standpoint, both these teams must be seen as total successes. The Expansion Draft gave these teams incredible fan-favourite rosters in West Coast cities anxious for PWHL hockey. At a glance, it’s a bummer that both our expansion teams are struggling in their first season. Both these fan-favourite teams could make crazy comebacks over the next two months. This week’s games against Boston for both these West Coast teams were going to be major deciding factors. Seattle dominated that third period. Who’s to say they won’t dominate the next three?

Unfortunately, Seattle and Vancouver combined only have one more regulation win, as both the dominating Boston Fleet and Montreal Victoire have individually. What feels more realistic is seeing how close these expansion teams can get to the postseason. After all, there is still a lot to be won in terms of draft picks this summer.