PHWL announce four new expansion franchises, including a team in Hamilton

Toronto won’t be the only city in the Greater Toronto Area with a PWHL team anymore. Starting this winter, the Hamilton Havoc will take the ice.

On Tuesday morning, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) announced four new expansion teams that are set to  join the existing eight franchises. The Hamilton Havoc, Detroit Clutch, San Jose Sea Lions and Vegas Vanguards will start their inaugural seasons on Dec. 5. 

League officials say the teams’ names were carefully selected based on what’s important to each city and the communities with it.

“Each team’s unique identity was built with the spirit and legacy of its community at the center. While expansion teams will don their city-branded jerseys for their inaugural season, the new team logos will be featured on redesigned jerseys for their second seasons,” reads a PWHL press release. 

Following tradition, the four new PHWL teams will wear jerseys with just their city names emblazoned across the front for their inaugural season, as jerseys with team names take over a year to be produced.

The league says the name Hamilton Havoc was inspired by “the unique balance between the forces of industry and nature in Hamilton,” particularly the city’s steel mills and the Niagara Escarpment. 

“Shaped by generations of creators, builders, and makers, disruption has always made way for change, adaptation, and reinvention, and this team will be tested and forged in the same spirit,” the PWHL says.

The team’s logo is a reimagining of Hamilton’s official bird, the peregrine falcon, as a steel sculpture. The word “havoc” sits underneath the bird, also stylized in steel. The team’s orange, ivory and bronze red colour palette “speak to a city where nature and industry exist side by side.”

The 2025/2026 PWHL season saw the addition of two new expansion teams, the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent. The Montreal Victoire defeated the Ottawa Charge in the playoffs, taking home the Walter Cup.