NEW YORK AND TORONTO – The Skilled Girls’s Hockey League (PWHL) had an unprecedented affect on the Olympic Winter Video games Milano Cortina 2026, pushed by greater than 100 athletes, coaches, workers, officers, and media personnel delivering “The Final Away Recreation” that may launch the league’s second half with a wave of momentum. The race for the Walter Cup is in full swing with simply 59 video games remaining within the 2025-26 common season, with motion set to return tonight.
ALL EIGHT PWHL TEAMS CELEBRATE OLYMPIC MEDALISTS
Olympic medals have been gained by 41 PWHL gamers, and all eight PWHL groups had gamers win Olympic medals, together with the Boston Fleet (3 Gold, 1 Bronze); Minnesota Frost (6 Gold); Montréal Victoire (1 Gold, 5 Silver); New York Sirens (3 Silver, 1 Bronze); Ottawa Cost (2 Gold, 3 Silver); Seattle Torrent (4 Gold, 1 Silver); Toronto Sceptres (6 Silver); and the Vancouver Goldeneyes (5 Silver). The league now counts greater than 1 / 4 of its 207 gamers as Olympic medalists. For extra Olympic information and content material, go to the PWHL’s Milano Cortina 2026 Hub right here.
WELCOME HOME
On Wednesday afternoon, the Torrent hosted a celebratory press convention for the group’s Olympic gold medalists on the Seattle Area Needle, with particular friends together with U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Soccer Workforce Olympic gold medalist Megan Rapinoe. On Monday, the Fleet will host a particular Olympic celebration with followers at View Boston. After internet hosting greater than 40 Watch Events of their respective markets, bringing PWHL gamers and hundreds of followers of all ages collectively to have a good time the Olympic spirit, all PWHL groups will welcome again their Olympians and have a good time their achievements throughout their first house video games of the second half: New York (tonight at Prudential Middle); Seattle (Friday at Local weather Pledge Area); Ottawa (Saturday at TD Place); Montréal (Sunday at Place Bell); Vancouver (Sunday at Pacific Coliseum); Toronto (Mar. 3 at Coca-Cola Coliseum); Minnesota (Mar. 13 at Grand On line casino Area); Boston (Mar. 17 at Agganis Area). Click on right here for the total PWHL schedule and right here for the standings.
CLOSING IN ON 2 MILLION PWHL FANS
When the PWHL paused following motion on Jan. 28, attendance via 61 video games of the 2025-26 season reached 527,663 followers, rising 17% from final season, with a per-game common of 8,650. Together with playoffs, all-time PWHL attendance is at the moment 1,748,648 for the reason that league launched on Jan. 1, 2024, placing the milestone of two million followers inside attain earlier than playoffs.
BIG GAMES STILL TO COME
The ultimate stage of the PWHL Takeover Tour™ will interact followers in markets exterior the league’s present complement of cities with the final six of the Tour’s 16 video games to be performed in Denver (Mar. 15 at Ball Area); Winnipeg (Mar. 22 at Canada Life Centre); Chicago (Mar. 25 at Allstate Area); Detroit (Mar. 28 at Little Caesars Area); Calgary (Apr. 1 at Scotiabank Saddledome); and Edmonton (Apr. 7 at Rogers Place). Three groups may also showcase the PWHL to bigger audiences in house video games at non-primary house venues: Ottawa (Apr. 3 at Canadian Tire Centre); New York (Apr. 4 at Madison Sq. Backyard); and Boston (Apr. 11 at TD Backyard). Click on right here for tickets.
HEFFORD AND SCHEER NAMED 2026 CNBC CHANGEMAKERS
On Wednesday morning, the third annual CNBC Changemakers listing was introduced with Jayna Hefford, PWHL Govt Vice President of Hockey Operations, and Amy Scheer, PWHL Govt Vice President of Enterprise Operations, honored for main significant achievements throughout the PWHL in 2025. The listing acknowledges ladies remodeling enterprise and philanthropy throughout sectors together with vitality, monetary providers, well being care, media, retail, sports activities and expertise. Click on right here for extra.
CYNOPSIS NAMES PWHL ITS 2026 SPORTS LEAGUE OF THE YEAR
Cynopsis lately introduced the PWHL as the primary Luminary Award recipient for the 2026 Cynopsis Sports activities Awards, recognizing the PWHL as Sports activities League of the Yr. Stephanie Cronk, Model Director of Cynopsis Sports activities Awards, mentioned “What units the PWHL aside is not only the pace of its progress, however the intention behind it. In a remarkably brief time period, the league has constructed belief with followers, companions, and gamers by prioritizing long-term imaginative and prescient over short-term wins. The result’s a league that feels established, genuine, and culturally related, not aspirational. The PWHL is redefining what a contemporary sports activities league can seem like, and its affect will prolong effectively past ladies’s hockey.” The PWHL shall be formally honored alongside different trade leaders in a stay awards gala on June 4 in New York. Click on right here for extra.
BELL NAMED JANUARY’S INTACT IMPACT AWARD RECIPIENT
Goldeneyes captain Ashton Bell is the Intact Impression Award recipient for the month of January, honored for her selfless management, dedication to her teammates, and unwavering assist each on and off the ice. By way of the PWHL’s partnership with Intact Insurance coverage, a $5,000 donation shall be made on her behalf to HEROS Hockey (Hockey Schooling Reaching Out Society), which delivers free hockey and life expertise programming to marginalized youth throughout Canada.
KNIGHT AND MÜLLER HISTORIC FLAG BEARERS
When the Olympic Winter Video games formally got here to an finish on Sunday, historical past was made by Seattle captain Hilary Knight of the USA and Boston alternate captain Alina Müller of Switzerland who grew to become the first-ever PWHL gamers named flag bearers for a closing ceremony. Knight set all-time U.S. Olympic data for objectives (15) and factors (33) together with her game-tying tally within the gold medal closing, tied the all-time Olympic ladies’s hockey document for profession video games performed (29), and is considered one of solely 4 hockey gamers to win 5 Olympic medals. Müller scored the bronze-medal successful purpose in time beyond regulation to maneuver into fourth all-time in Olympic objectives (16), additionally set the all-time Swiss Olympic document for assists (13), and was named a Event All-Star for the second time in her profession.
POULIN SURPASSES UNIQUE CENTURY MARK
Montréal and Workforce Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin notably set a brand new all-time Olympic document together with her nineteenth after which twentieth profession objectives in her memorable semifinal efficiency and, within the course of, established a brand new milestone to measure affect on ladies’s hockey’s best levels. She is the primary participant to surpass 100 profession factors (102) recorded between the Olympics, the place she ranks second all-time with 39 factors, and the PWHL, the place she is at the moment the league’s all-time chief with 63 factors. Like Knight, Poulin is considered one of 4 gamers with 5 Olympic medals alongside fellow Canadians Hefford and Hayley Wickenheiser. She was additionally named the match’s Greatest Ahead and acquired her third Olympic All-Star recognition. See PWHL all-time leaders right here.
FAMILIAR FRANKEL
Boston’s Aerin Frankel was almost unbeatable in her Olympic debut, which ought to come as no shock given her standout play for the first-place Fleet. Her 5 straight Olympic wins tied a match document, which mirrors her 5 straight wins to open the 2025-26 PWHL season, posting three shutouts in each circumstances. Her three Olympic shutouts set a brand new match document, and in tandem with Ottawa’s Gwyneth Philips, set an Olympic document shutout streak of 352:17. Her Olympic goals-against-average of 0.39 and save proportion of .980 are new benchmarks for goaltenders with at the least 5 video games performed. Whereas these numbers are stronger than her present 1.35 GAA and .946 SV% within the PWHL, her save proportion within the first 5 video games for the Fleet was .985 and an enormous motive why they sit on the prime of the league standings.
STAR SPANGLED DANGLE
Fleet captain Megan Keller leads all PWHL defenders with 5 objectives and 11 factors this season and was the one defender in Milan to attain three objectives, whereas tying for the match lead with 9 factors. It’s secure to say her most memorable play was scoring the highlight-reel golden purpose for Workforce USA, which, curiously, is her first time beyond regulation purpose in almost a decade. Keller’s final time beyond regulation purpose got here on Dec. 7, 2018, as a senior for Boston School in a 4-3 win in opposition to Merrimack, assisted by Eagles teammate Daryl Watts of the Sceptres, who led Canada in Olympic scoring. Keller has performed in 26 PWHL video games which have gone to time beyond regulation, together with playoffs, and her golden purpose got here within the tenth time beyond regulation recreation she’s performed in throughout her Workforce USA profession between three Olympics and 9 Girls’s Worlds.
FIVE OLYMPIC BREAKOUTS
Among the many most notable offensive performances on the Olympic stage got here from 5 gamers whose manufacturing exceeded their PWHL statistics so far. Laura Kluge had one help in 13 PWHL video games with Boston earlier than setting a German document with seven factors (3G, 4A), main the preliminary spherical in scoring. Sara Hjalmarsson has been held and not using a level in her first 16 video games with Toronto however scored two objectives and three assists with Sweden. Fellow Sceptres ahead Kristin Della Rovere, who has been a Reserve Participant to this point this season, set a match document for Italy with two objectives and two assists. Montréal’s Lina Ljungblom, who’s and not using a level in six video games to this point this season for the Victoire, recorded two objectives and one help for Sweden. On protection, Vancouver’s Nina Jobst-Smith continues to be searching for her first profession PWHL purpose however returns house having set a document for a German defender with two tallies.
THE NEXT TRIPLE GOLD CLUB CANDIDATES
The PWHL’s Triple Gold Membership consists of 9 gamers who’ve gained Olympic gold, World Championship gold, and the Walter Cup, in Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield, Britta Curl-Salemme, Taylor Heise, Nicole Hensley, Kelly Pannek, Maddie Rooney, Lee Stecklein, Grace Zumwinkle and Vancouver’s Claire Thompson. Based mostly on present PWHL rosters, the listing will keep at 9 if the Frost three-peat; in any other case, the listing will develop by at the least two, with as much as six names being added when the Walter Cup is awarded this spring. Right here’s an inventory of who’s eligible primarily based on gold medals on the Olympics and Girls’s Worlds:
BOS (6): Frankel, Keller, Hannah Brandt, Jamie Lee Rattray, Jill Saulnier, Haley Winn
MTL (5): Poulin, Erin Ambrose, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Hayley Scamurra, Laura Stacey
NY (2): Sarah Fillier, Micah Zandee-Hart
OTT (5): Philips, Emily Clark, Rory Guilday, Brianne Jenner, Jocelyne Larocque
SEA (4): Knight, Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, Alex Carpenter
TOR (6): Renata Quick, Kali Flanagan, Emma Maltais, Ella Shelton, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull
VAN (4): Bell, Kristen Campbell, Emerance Maschmeyer, Sarah Nurse
LESLIE HEADLINES FIRST HALF’S MOST IMPROVED
Ottawa’s Rebecca Leslie is at the moment tied for sixth in PWHL scoring with 14 factors (8G, 6A) in 16 video games, which represents the very best points-per-game improve (0.77) amongst gamers within the first half relative to their full 2024-25 season manufacturing. 5 different gamers have to this point elevated their points-per-game averages by greater than a half level, together with the Frost’s Pannek (0.63), Mae Batherson (0.55) and Curl-Salemme (0.53), together with Seattle’s Julia Gosling (0.53) and Vancouver’s Nurse (0.53). Click on right here for PWHL leaders.
CHARGE AND VICTOIRE JOIN NHL SKILLS EVENTS
On Sunday, members of the Cost joined the Ottawa Senators and the Victoire joined the Montreal Canadiens for his or her annual expertise competitions. Leslie was considered one of 4 Cost gamers within the occasion and recorded the most effective end result within the accuracy contest, hitting all 4 targets on 5 photographs in 9.54 seconds. She was joined by Gabbie Hughes, Ronja Savolainen and Sarah Wozniewicz. In Montréal, Maureen Murphy additionally exceled within the accuracy capturing (12.357 seconds) and was joined within the occasion by Jade Downie-Landry, Nicole Gosling and Alexandra Labelle.
FUTURE PWHL TALENT
On Sunday, Mar. 1, the Draft Declaration Window opens for potential PWHL gamers to declare their eligibility for the 2026 PWHL Draft. 5 U.S. Olympic gold medalists are amongst a gifted group of collegiate seniors who may declare: Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, and Kirsten Simms; Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy; and Penn State’s Tessa Janecke.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
All eight groups are in motion this week because the PWHL welcomes again its Olympians throughout 5 video games, starting tonight with New York’s Black Historical past Celebration Unity Recreation, because the Sirens host Montréal at Prudential Middle at 7 p.m. ET. On Friday night time, Seattle hosts Toronto at Local weather Pledge Area at 10 p.m. ET, then on Saturday afternoon, it’s Ottawa’s Black Historical past Celebration Unity Recreation when the Cost host Boston at 2 p.m. ET at TD Place. On Sunday, the Victoire host Minnesota at 1 p.m. ET at Place Bell, the place the primary 6,000 followers will obtain a Victoire Collectible Automobile Plate, whereas portions final. Then at 4 p.m. ET, Vancouver hosts Toronto at Pacific Coliseum to shut out the week. Full broadcast particulars are beneath and obtainable on-line right here.
Thursday, February 26 – 7 PM ETMontréal Victoire at New York Sirens (Prudential Middle)
Canada: TSN, RDS
U.S. (In-Market): MSGSN 2
Friday, February 27 – 10 PM ETToronto Sceptres at Seattle Torrent (Local weather Pledge Area)
Canada: TSN
U.S. (In-Market): FOX 13+
U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports activities Community (Detroit, Florida, Midwest Additional, North Additional, Ohio, South, Southwest, West), Final Frontier Sports activities & Leisure Community (Alaska), NESN (Boston), SNP (Pittsburgh)
Saturday, February 28 – 2 PM ETBoston Fleet at Ottawa Cost (TD Place)
Canada: CBC and CBC Gem
U.S. (In-Market): NESN, NESN+
U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports activities Community (Detroit Additional, Florida, Midwest Additional, North, Ohio, South, Southwest, West, Wisconsin), FOX 10 Xtra Phoenix, SNP (Pittsburgh)
Sunday, March 1 – 1 PM ETMinnesota Frost at Montréal Victoire (Place Bell)
Canada: Sportsnet ONE, RDS
U.S. (In-Market): FanDuel Sports activities Community North, FOX 9+
U.S. (Out of Market): FanDuel Sports activities Community Wisconsin Additional, FOX 10 Xtra Phoenix, Matrix Midwest (St. Louis), Scripps Sports activities (excludes Denver)
Sunday, March 1 – 4 PM ETToronto Sceptres at Vancouver Goldeneyes (Pacific Coliseum)
Canada: TSN
U.S. (Out of Market): FOX 11+ Los Angeles, Matrix Midwest (St. Louis), NESN (Boston), SNP (Pittsburgh)
Followers all over the world can proceed to observe each recreation stay by way of the PWHL YouTube channel and thepwhl.com, except Canada, and in Czechia and Slovakia — the place Nova Sport will proceed to hold video games regionally.
