PWHL’s expansion into Detroit brings pro women’s hockey close to Windsor, Ont.

Detroit is getting a Professional Women’s Hockey League team. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru reports.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is coming to Detroit — and for women’s hockey players and fans in Windsor, the announcement is being felt on this side of the border too.

The PWHL announced Wednesday that Detroit will join the league for the 2026-27 season, with home games to be played at Little Caesars Arena.

The new team will bring the league to nine clubs, joining Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver.

For 19-year-old hockey player Paige Poland, the news is about more than adding another team to the schedule.

“It is super exciting. It shows how fast the women’s game is growing and how much demand there is for it,” Poland said. “Adding a team in a big market like Detroit only makes the league stronger.”

Poland, who has been playing hockey since she was four years old, knows a thing or two about making history in the sport.

Earlier this year, she was part of St. Clair College’s first-ever women’s extramural hockey team — and scored the first goal in the team’s history.

Now, with a professional women’s team set to play just across the border, Poland said the sport feels more visible for young girls who want to keep playing.

“It’s huge. Just knowing there’s a professional league nearby where everyone can go watch their favourite players that are going to be there, it’s super inspiring,” she said.

The PWHL said Detroit has played a major role in the league’s growth.

The city hosted the PWHL’s first neutral-site game during its inaugural season in 2024, a stop that helped inspire the league’s multi-city Takeover Tour.

Since then, Little Caesars Arena has hosted four PWHL neutral-site games, drawing a combined attendance of 53,626 fans.

Those games helped convince the league there was enough demand in Detroit for a permanent team.

“The energy, the attendance, the engagement, the passion, you have set the bar for what hockey fans can be and should be,” said Amy Scheer, the PWHL’s executive vice president of business operations, during a press conference Wednesday. “Each visit left us with that same feeling: this market is ready for its own team. The fans told us so. The fans are always right.”

Windsor mother-of-three Alicia Higgison, who took her daughters to a PWHL Takeover Tour game in Detroit, said everyone in her home was excited when rumours that a PWHL expansion team would be announced began to swirl online.

Higgison said her daughters are bigger hockey fans than she is, but the atmosphere at the game won her over.

“We were hooked from the minute we walked in. The excitement from the fans. The vibes were so great,” she said.

For Higgison, having a women’s professional hockey team in Detroit adds another layer to the region’s sports identity — including Windsor.

“It’s really nice to be able to kind of pop into downtown Detroit and have all those sports teams right there, right at our fingertips, and to have women’s sports as part of it,” she said. “It feels really special and the right time to be doing it.”

Higgison said the announcement also gives her family a chance to say they were there from the beginning.

“How great is that going to be when we’re older and talking to our kids about that team and that we were there from the start?” she said.

The expansion comes as the PWHL reports growing momentum across women’s hockey.

The league’s 120-game regular season drew more than 1.1 million fans — a 28 per cent jump over last year — while online merchandise sales also climbed.

For Chloe McCann, who played goalie on St. Clair’s inaugural women’s extramural hockey team, Detroit’s addition gives local girls something closer and more tangible to look up to.

“I think it’s great because it really brings attention to not just the women in that area, but women in general,” McCann said. “It provides people with easier access to women’s hockey on a professional level which is really cool.”

McCann, 19, said the team could help create a clearer path for young players in Windsor-Essex.

“Now, it’s no longer just universities where you either pay to play or you get a scholarship, but you can actually pursue it as kind of a career,” said McCann, adding the presence of a nearby pro team could also help grow youth leagues and girls’ hockey locally.

Poland agreed the impact could reach younger players who are only just starting in the sport.

“It’s a great opportunity for young girls to go watch and look up to the players,” Poland said.

“It could open up opportunities for them to maybe join the team if they keep working at it.”

Detroit will also host the 2026 PWHL Awards Ceremony on June 16 and the 2026 PWHL Draft on June 17 at the Fox Theatre. Fans can now place deposits for priority access to season tickets for Detroit’s inaugural season.

The team’s permanent name and logo will be announced at a later date. The PWHL said Detroit’s primary colours will be black and silver, with a red accent meant to nod to the city’s hockey history.

For Poland, the announcement is another sign the game is moving in the right direction.

“I don’t think that there’s going to be anything that’s stopping them from growing the league,” she said. “It’s just stronger now.”