VANCOUVER - For Hannah Miller, playing professional hockey in her hometown of Vancouver has been a dream come true.
Just over 12 months ago, it was only a dream.
Miller was playing for the Toronto Sceptres last April when the Professional Women's Hockey League announced its first expansion team, the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
鈥淭his is where I grew up. This is where I fell in love with the game. I started playing hockey here, and I've been overseas, I've been away for a long time. So even at that time, when expansion was announced last year, I didn't know what my situation was going to be," Miller said Thursday.
"But just knowing that I would get to at least come back here to potentially play games or just be in the area, it was exciting. And I have a lot of pride for the city and hockey in the city.鈥
The veteran forward went on to sign a three-year deal with the Goldeneyes and become a core piece of the franchise's first-ever roster.
The way Vancouver has embraced the team has been extraordinary, Miller said.
鈥淚 still kind of have to pinch myself," she said. "I'm shocked when I'm kind of out on an off day at a coffee shop and you see a jersey, or someone comes up to you. That's what we worked really hard for. And it's surreal, it's unbelievable.鈥
The prospect of being part of growing women's hockey in Vancouver was an exciting one for Sarah Nurse.聽
鈥淚 knew that after expansion was announced last year and I was left unprotected, I knew that Vancouver was definitely a destination that I wanted to explore," said the star forward, who scored the club's first ever goal.
"And so I'm very grateful for the opportunity to have done that. And I'll never forget that first goal. I've never felt like energy like that in a building before. And since then, the energy has been absolutely incredible, too.鈥
The Goldeneyes regularly draw more than 10,000 fans to games at Vancouver's historic Pacific Coliseum, above the average of 9,229 fans at games across the league this season.
A battle with the league-leading Montreal Victoire on Tuesday night saw a crowd of 10,946. Though the home side was eliminated from playoff contention days before the puck dropped, fans 鈥 the vast majority clad in Goldeneyes gear 鈥 remained boisterous, cheering and singing until the final whistle on Vancouver's 4-3 victory.
鈥淚 think Vancouver truly has the best fans," said captain Ashton Bell. "I knew the support was going to be incredible right off the bat, from being here this summer and just hearing all the talk about getting a team and how excited they were.
"And then, this season, they just showed up every single night, every single game. They brought the energy, you could feel it on the ice. No matter what the situation was, they were there supporting us, and we definitely build off it and feed off their energy.鈥
The 2025-26 season hasn't always been easy for the Goldeneyes.
Injuries to key players, including Nurse, hurt the team's offensive output. The league took an extended break for the Olympics. Travel proved challenging for Vancouver and their fellow expansion club, the Seattle Torrent.
The Goldeneyes have one game left on their schedule, a battle with two-time PWHL champions the Minnesota Frost on Saturday. Vancouver goes in with a 9-2-4-14 record, good for seventh place in the eight-team league.
Building cohesion with an expansion team is tough, Nurse said.聽
鈥淚t's completely different, coming into a space where there's really no structure, infrastructure, systems, anything in place, no standards," she said. "And so you kind of have to create that and cultivate that yourself, obviously, as a group, but as staff as well. And so it's been a completely unique and different experience.鈥
The PWHL is expected to expand again next season, though no announcements have yet been made.
Adding teams in Vancouver and Seattle showed that the league knows what they're doing, Bell said.
"Just getting the representation and seeing it grow so quickly is pretty, pretty spectacular," she said. "And the support has been incredible. So I think, I don't know if they're expanding two teams or four teams, but just kudos to the league for handling it so well, and managing it and putting it in markets that are going to succeed.鈥
Expansion does take a toll, though, Nurse noted.
Players get uprooted. Fans are disappointed to see their favourite stars moved across the continent. The uncertainty of what next season will look like can be difficult for everyone.
鈥淚t's such a privilege to play professional hockey, and that's not something that we take lightly. We are so grateful to be able to play this sport at this level," Nurse said. "But just going into every season, coming out of every season with that uncertainty, as a player, you ultimately want to be a part of a team and be a part of a franchise and build something.
"So we want to help build a franchise in Vancouver. Hopefully we have a lot of the team together next year, but we'll have to see.鈥
This report by 国产诱惑福利 was first published April 23, 2026.
