PWHL Seattle Schedule: What to Watch in Year One For Expansion Franchise
Still yet to announce the team’s mascot name, Seattle PWHL will kick off their first season in late November.
Bringing another hockey franchise to the Pacific Northwest, still-to-be-named Seattle PWHL will kick off their first 30-game schedule starting on November 21.
Here’s what hockey fans need to know about the expansion squad’s first official schedule:
A coast-to-coast beginning
The PWHL’s third season opens November 21 and Seattle will make its league debut on the road in Vancouver, pitting two expansion franchises against one another to launch the league’s first foray into the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle’s home opener comes a week later, Friday, November 28 at Climate Pledge Arena, hosting the reigning champion Minnesota Frost in what promises to be a showcase moment for the franchise. From December 3 through December 23, Seattle will ride its longest homestand of the season, hosting Boston, Montreal, New York, and Ottawa.
Schedule structure & quirks
The regular season is 30 games per team.
Seattle is slated for 13 home games at Climate Pledge Arena, including a mix of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday matchups.
The schedule is not perfectly balanced: Seattle gets one extra home game vs. Boston and one additional road game vs. Ottawa.
Some “home” matchups — notably Vancouver (January 25) and New York (March 25) — are still pending venue confirmation due to conflicts with Kraken/NHL scheduling at the arena.
Peaks, valleys & key stretches
Early season tests: Seattle hits the ground running, facing tough opponents out of the gate. After the Vancouver opener, they’ll host Minnesota and then battle through a stretch of non-conference games in December.
Road marathon: From December 28 to January 11, Seattle will embark on a four-game road trip in just 15 days, visiting New York, Toronto, Boston, and Minnesota.
Olympic pause impact: The league halts play from January 29 to February 25 for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Seattle will wrap up the first half with an away game in Ottawa on January 28, then resume on February 27 at home vs. Toronto.
March grind and April finish: The season’s busiest month is March, with eight games and two at home. Seattle finishes with four straight road games, then ends the year with a three-game home stretch, including Vancouver’s first trip to Seattle on April 18.
Rivalries & storylines
Seattle vs. Vancouver will instantly become a natural rivalry given geographic proximity and shared status as expansion peers.
Games vs. Minnesota Frost carry extra weight — the defending Walter Cup champion is Seattle’s first home opponent and one of its early road tests.
What Seattle’s aiming for
This season’s schedule is no cakewalk — Seattle will be tested by travel, tough opponents, and key stretches before and after the Olympic break. But the structure also offers opportunities: a strong stretch at home early, building momentum, and carving out home-ice advantage in a new market.
If Seattle can hold serve at Climate Pledge Arena and steal a few road splits (especially in that December to January trip), they’ll thread into playoff contention in Year One. It will be worth watching how they manage roster depth through long stretches, how the Olympics hiatus impacts conditioning and chemistry, and how they respond when the road gets rough.
