Tue May 20 23:50:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text, followed by a rewritten version as a news article:

**Summary:**

The PWHL has announced the expansion process for Seattle and Vancouver, set to join the league for the 2025-26 season. The expansion process includes protected player lists from existing teams, an exclusive signing window for the new teams, an expansion draft, and the 2025 PWHL Draft. Each inaugural team will relinquish a total of four players. The goal is to provide a balanced and competitive start for the expansion teams. Fans can secure priority access to season tickets with a time-stamped deposit.

**News Article:**

**PWHL Unveils Expansion Plans for Seattle and Vancouver: New Teams to Debut in 2025-26**

**NEW YORK/TORONTO (May 19, 2025)** – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today laid out the roadmap for its expansion teams, Seattle and Vancouver, as they prepare to enter the league for the 2025-26 season.

The PWHL announced key dates, rules, and procedures for building the expansion team rosters, designed to promote competitive balance and provide the new franchises with a solid foundation.

The expansion process consists of several crucial stages. Each of the six existing PWHL teams will initially protect three players, later increasing to four after losing two players, from their current rosters from the Exclusive Signing Window and the Expansion Draft. Seattle and Vancouver will then have a five-day window to exclusively sign up to five unprotected players.

The Expansion Draft, presented by Upper Deck, will see each expansion team select a minimum of seven players, continuing until they reach a 12-player roster. If one team has fewer signed players entering the draft, they will receive additional selections to equalize the roster sizes. The selection order for the draft will be announced later.

Following the Expansion Draft, all eight PWHL teams will participate in the 2025 PWHL Draft, presented by Upper Deck. This six-round draft allows teams to select from a pool of eligible players, including recent college graduates and talent from other professional leagues. New York Sirens will have the first overall pick, determined by the ‘Gold Plan’ system.

Fans eager to support the new teams can place a time-stamped deposit for PWHL Seattle and PWHL Vancouver to secure priority access to season tickets when they become available. Interested individuals can subscribe to the team newsletters for the latest updates.

Read More