This week on The IX Sports Podcast Hockey Edition, host Maya Smith is joined by the new Professional Women’s Hockey League San Jose beat reporter, Eli Fastiff, to talk about the team’s off-season moves.
First, the pair discuss a new development back East. The Boston Fleet will officially begin playing at Boston University’s arena next season. Before this change, the team had been playing in Lowell, Mass. But four of the six games the Fleet played at BU’s arena were sellouts.
“So clearly there’s an appetite there for the team, and it’ll be good for the team overall to have them in Boston. It sucks for the fans in Lowell. I’ve seen a lot of people who are sad about that, but it just makes more sense for the long term of getting more eyes on the team and having more people be able to go there,” Smith said.
The pair also discuss the news (confirmed after time of recording) that the Ottawa Charge will be moving to the Canadian Tire Centre next season.
The state of San Jose
Smith and Fastiff then turn to a discussion of the current state of PWHL San Jose.
PWHL San Jose has a unique leadership structure — Troy Ryan is both the head coach and general manager of the team. Fastiff said he finds the way Ryan is building his team interesting.
“He only grabbed, I think, they only have four signed defenders right now, plus Layla Edwards, who it seems like is probably going to play defense, or at least maybe a mix of both, but leaning towards being a defender, and it’s something like seven or eight forwards. There’s another forward sign today, so it’s a little bit unbalanced right now, and it’s not exactly what you’d expect from Troy Ryan,” Fastiff said, noting that Ryan is known for his defensive focus.
San Jose drafted Olympic gold medalist Laila Edwards fourth overall in the PWHL Entry Draft this year, and Fastiff said he expects Edwards to play defense — though she is a capable forward as well.
Tune in to the podcast to hear a full roster breakdown — including discussions about who will create high-scoring offense for San Jose, who will be the star center and how the goalkeeper lineup will shake out.
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily, like WNBA news and PWHL expansion updates.
What you missed on Women’s Sports Daily: The 2026 Wimbledon final is set
