On May 15th the PWHL named Dominique DiDia the first general manager in the Las Vegas expansion franchise history.
DiDia arrives from CAA Sports, where she helped launch the agency’s women’s hockey department. She worked directly with players across the professional and international game. Her appointment gives the PWHL another executive with ties to the NHL as the league continues its rapid expansion.
The move also reflects the league’s growing focus on the western United States. A Los Angeles native, DiDia spent nearly a decade with the Los Angeles Kings organization. She’s been instrumental in growing girls’ hockey in Southern California through her work with the LA Lions Girls Hockey Club. Now, she’s tasked with building a franchise in a market the PWHL believes can mirror hockey’s explosive local growth over the past decade.
“Las Vegas has embraced hockey with a rare intensity, and you can feel that the game has become part of this city’s heartbeat,” DiDia said in a league release. “Growing up as a player in Los Angeles, I witnessed the sport’s expansion across the Southwest, making this opportunity at the forefront of women’s hockey in Nevada deeply meaningful to me.”
DiDia’s immediate responsibilities will include hiring hockey operations staff and constructing the inaugural roster for the franchise’s debut season. That process begins quickly with the 2026 PWHL Draft scheduled for June 17 in Detroit.
PWHL Vice President of Hockey Operations Jayna Hefford said DiDia’s background made her a natural fit for the role.
The announcement comes just days after the league formally unveiled PWHL Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena alongside expansion announcements for Hamilton and Detroit. Those additions will bring the PWHL to 11 teams next season, less than three years after the league launched.