The Professional Women’s Hockey League expansion team recently announced for Vancouver will have a Pacific Northwest rival when both clubs enter the league in 2025-26.

The PWHL announced on Wednesday, April 30, that it had awarded a second expansion franchise for next season to Seattle, Washington. The team will play its home games in Climate Pledge Arena, alongside the NHL’s Kraken and the WNBA’s Storm.

To perhaps no one’s surprise, the league announced that the Seattle team’s primary colour would be “Emerald Green,” while its secondary colour would be cream (the same secondary colour as the Vancouver franchise). The team will operate as “PWHL Seattle” until a permanent brand identity is unveiled.

A placeholder logo accompanying Wednesday’s announcement featured many of the same elements as the Vancouver placeholder logo from last week, including a cream PWHL logo in a green circle in the middle of a roundel. “SEATTLE” is written out in green on a cream background on the top half of the roundel, while the league name runs in reverse colours on the bottom half.

Seattle cemented its position as an expansion candidate thanks to the turnout for the PWHL Takeover Tour game between the Montréal Victoire and the Boston Fleet on January 5, 2025. A crowd of 12,608 came out to Climate Pledge Arena for that game.

“We are looking forward to returning the love, energy and excitement the Seattle sports community shared with us during the PWHL Takeover Tour. The opportunity to start a new chapter of women’s hockey in the Pacific Northwest, combined with calling the world-class Climate Pledge Arena home has so much meaning for our league. The Kraken already have been unbelievably supportive, and it’s a joy to have PWHL Seattle join the WNBA’s Storm and the NWSL’s Reign, who are skyscrapers in the city’s towering sports landscape.”

— Amy Scheer, PWHL Executive Vice President of Business Operations

Details around an expansion draft and how both the Seattle and Vancouver teams will be integrated into the 2025 PWHL Draft will be announced in the coming weeks. The 2025 PWHL Draft is scheduled for June 24.