On April 23, 2025, the PWHL announced the first-ever league expansion team in Vancouver. In the year since, the team has grown from an unnamed franchise into the Vancouver Goldeneyes, acquired players through the expansion draft, free agency signings, and the PWHL Entry Draft, become the first PWHL team to play as the primary tenant in an arena, and seen some of the top attendance numbers in the league.
It’s only been a year, and yet, the city embraces the Goldeneyes like they’ve been here for decades.
On the first anniversary of the announcement, Goldeneyes players Hannah Miller, Ashton Bell, and Sarah Nurse spoke to the press about the last year of Vancouver Goldeneyes hockey. Here’s what they had to say.
Remembering day one
For all three players, the announcement of a new team in Vancouver came right at the end of the regular season, as both the Toronto Sceptres and the Ottawa Charge were fighting to make the playoffs.
“We were in Toronto, in the players’ lounge, waiting for the news to drop. And obviously, there had been a lot of whispers about the market, and I just remember that little girl saying, ‘We got a team’,” Sarah Nurse said.
The sentiment was echoed by her fellow former Sceptres, Hannah Miller, who grew up in North Vancouver.
“It’s obviously really exciting. This is where I grew up. This is where I, you know, fell in love with the game. I started playing hockey here,” Miller told reporters.
For her, it was something like a homecoming, even if she didn’t know at the time she’d be wearing a Goldeneyes jersey.
“I’ve been overseas; I’ve been away for a long time. So, even, you know, at that time, when expansion was announced last year, I didn’t know what my situation was going to be. But just knowing that I would get to at least come back here, potentially play games, or just be in the area. It was exciting.”
Goldeneyes captain Ashton Bell, who would end up going all the way to the Walter Cup Finals with the Ottawa Charge last season, knew that Vancouver would be a great market for PWHL hockey.
“Hearing that Vancouver and Seattle were getting a team is definitely super exciting. I definitely wanted to see hockey get out here and to see it grow on the West Coast. And for Vancouver to get a team is really special. I knew this market was going to thrive, and they’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
Recognizing the fans
Bell was right, the Goldeneyes fans have truly embraced having a PWHL team. The crowd is something that every away team comments on, and every Goldeneyes player has praised throughout their time here.
“Vancouver is so amazing. I mean, our fans show up for us every night and not just at the Colisieum, but throughout the city… I didn’t really know what to expect coming out here, but the city’s just embraced us and have absolutely loved Goldeneyes hockey,” Sarah Nurse said, when asked about how the fanbase has embraced this team.
Known for their sing-alongs, chants, and energy that players can feel on the ice, Goldeneyes fans have made playing in Vancouver extremely special for the Goldeneyes players.
“I think Vancouver truly has the best fans. This season, they showed up every single night, every single game, and brought the energy. You could feel it on the ice, no matter what the situation was,” Bell said.
It’s the type of support that Miller could have only dreamed of, “I still kind of have to pinch myself… It’s surreal, and it’s unbelievable.”
Becoming a Vancouver Goldeneye
As an expansion franchise, the Goldeneyes had to build their team through a mix of existing players in both an expansion draft format and a special free-agent signing period, and then through the regular PWHL draft and free agency.
Nurse was signed in the special free-agent signing period, the third player the Vancouver Goldeneyes signed. A fan favourite in both Toronto and Vancouver, Nurse scored the first goal in Goldeneyes’ history.
“I knew after expansion was announced last year, and I was unprotected, like I knew that Vancouver was definitely a destination that I wanted to explore,” she commented when asked about being signed to Vancouver. “And I mean, I’ll never forget that first goal, like I just felt like I’ve never felt like energy like that in a building.”
In the expansion draft, something never seen before in pro women’s hockey, the Goldeneyes selected Ashton Bell first overall from the Ottawa Charge.
“[The expansion draft] was a crazy sequence. I don’t really think we knew what the expansion draft all looked like leading up to it, but knowing that Vancouver was an option, I felt pretty excited that there was a possibility I would get picked up here, and to be the first was an honour,” she said.
Just before the PWHL entry draft, Miller signed a three-year deal with the Vancouver Goldeneyes. When asked about how it felt to join the team, she told reporters, “It’s been nothing short of a dream come true. It surpassed kind of all of my expectations.”
Looking ahead to the future
But as the league looks to expand to new markets in the 2026-27 season, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air.
“It’s exciting, in a way, you know, expansion, growth of the game, growth of our league, so at the same time, with the uncertainty, [it] can be a little uneasy at times. But at the same time, it’s pro sports,” Hannah Miller explained. Despite signing a long-term deal with her hometown team, if the league decides to follow the same expansion rules, Miller could be taken in the expansion draft.
Assistant captain Nurse, a free agent heading into the off-season, also seemed uncertain about her future with the club.
“I’ve loved my time in Vancouver,” She said, “I’ve had such a great time. There’s so many things up in the air, but I have to say I’ve loved my time here and would love to be playing at Pacific Coliseum again.”
No matter what happens in the off-season, Goldeneyes players and fans alike are proud of how the first Vancouver PWHL season has gone.
“I think what we’ve tried to do this year is just be able to create connection with this community and I think we’ve been able to do that with, you know, young girls, young boys, but also, you know, adults as well, people my age, and so that’s been a really cool piece,” Nurse said to end off her availability, “I’ve heard stories from so many different people about the ways the Goldeneyes have touched their lives.”