After a long off-season, it feels like the league dumped all of the news it’s been holding on to for a while all at once. Let’s recap all of the Goldeneyes news that’s dropped in the last few weeks.
New Announcements
Vancouver’s new general manager: Alison Izzi
Earlier this off-season, the Vancouver Goldeneyes announced that Cara Gardner Morey, the team’s inaugural GM, would be moving to take over the head coaching role. Morey’s return to coaching left the GM role vacant in Vancouver.
On September 22, the Vancouver Goldeneyes hired Alison Izzi to be the team’s second general manager. Izzi, an attorney from Rhode Island, joins the PWHL after spending time in both the AHL and the NHL. Most recently, she clerked for the NHL’s Legal Department, with a focus on player safety matters. Before that, she was the Vice President of Hockey Operations and Governance at the AHL. She has spent the majority of her career focusing on collective bargaining, player contracts, and league operations.
Izzi had the opportunity to meet Gardner Morey before accepting the job, but doesn’t know her well. She does, on the other hand, know Minnesota Frost GM Melissa Caruso and has said that Caruso’s work gives her high hopes for what she can do with the Goldeneyes. Caruso, who has a Walter Cup Championship, took over from Izzi when she left the AHL, which is a good sign for Goldeneyes fans. Their similar skillset shows that Izzi can have good success within the league.
Her first test came in the form of locking down an exciting player to a long-term deal.
KK Harvey signs a three-year deal with the Vancouver Goldeneyes
On September 29, the Goldeneyes announced that first overall pick Caroline “KK” Harvey had signed a three-year contract in Vancouver. Harvey’s skills cannot be overstated and drafting her was a huge step forward for the Goldeneyes who won the Gold Plan in 2025-26. Getting her signed to a long-term deal had to be a priority for the Goldeneyes as they build towards the future.
Harvey is now signed through 2028-29 and has made it clear that she’s excited to be in Vancouver.
“I’m super excited to sign with Vancouver for the next three years,” Harvey said in the news release about the signing, “When I first visited the city after I was drafted, I could feel the excitement for the team and how much they love hockey.”
Though her salary was not released, Dave Pagnotta reported that her salary was the highest of any PWHL rookie in league history.
Harvey will get her first shot with the team at Goldeneyes training camp in November. She’ll be joined on defense by 2026 draft picks Jules Constantinople and Ashley Messier.
Claire Thompson announces retirement
One defender who won’t be at training camp is Claire Thompson, who officially announced her retirement from the sport on October 1. The Canadian defender has two Olympic medals (one gold) and a Walter Cup Championship from her time with the Minnesota Frost. In 2023-24, Thompson missed the first PWHL season to finish medical school. She declared for the draft in 2024-25 and played two seasons in the PWHL. Thompson is headed back to school in New York to pursue a career in orthopaedic surgery.
Losing Thompson is a big blow to the team. She led Goldeneyes defenders in assists and record second in scoring and points last season. If the Goldeneyes hadn’t drafted Harvey, I’d be far more concerned about the status of the Goldeneyes defense this upcoming season.
Delaney Collins joins Goldeneyes coaching staff
On October 1 the Goldeneyes announced that Delaney Collins, Team Hungary’s head coach, will join the organization as an assistant coach. Collins, a former Canadian national team player who played at five world championships, has an extensive coaching background that includes the NCAA.
Before retiring to coach hockey, Collins played for the Calgary Oval X-treme of the WWHL and the Brampton Thunder in the first season of the CWHL. She spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst University and has also coached for Canada at the U18 women’s tournament. While coaching in Canada, Collins worked with Goldeneyes players Kristen Campbell and Ashton Bell.
Four coaches will return to the Goldeneyes after coaching the inaugural season: Myles Fitzgerald (assistant coach), Joey Ali (goaltending coach), Shannon MacAulay (conditioning coach), and Andrew Boucher (video coach).
Vancouver Goldeneyes will open the season at home on December 5
The PWHL season will kick off with the Vancouver Goldeneyes taking on the Seattle Torrent at home on December 5. The Goldeneyes will play 30 games this season, and will be part of the PWHL’s Western Conference. They will play Western Conference opponents 18 times this season, and Eastern Conference opponents 12 times. The Minnesota Frost, PWHL Detroit, PWHL San Jose, PWHL Las Vegas and the Seattle Torrent join Vancouver in the Western Conference.
If things go similarly to last season, the Goldeneyes are set up for the best success this season by being in the Western Conference. They will be competing against three expansion teams for a playoff spot. Last year’s expansion franchises, Vancouver included, missed the playoffs. Additionally, the new playoff format allows for four teams from each conference to make the playoffs. It isn’t hard to imagine Vancouver will be one of the top four teams in the Western Conference this season.
The Vancouver Goldeneyes will play four takeover tour games in the 2026-27 season. Two of these will be “home” games: January 23 against Minnesota and February 7 against Las Vegas. The takeover tour locations have yet to be announced.
Training camp roster announced
The Vancouver Goldeneyes announced their training camp roster on Tuesday. I’ll have a more in-depth look at the camp invites next week, but here are the unsigned players heading to camp:
Forwards: Chanreet Bassi (SDHL), Julia Nearis (SDHL)
Defenders: Meadow Carmen (USports), Alexie Guay (SDHL), Olivia Knowles (New York Sirens)
Goaltenders: Kimberly Newell (Vancouver Goldeneyes, unsigned)
Things to keep an eye on
Nurse, Maschmeyer to miss Team Canada camp
Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Sarah Nurse and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer have both been invited to Team Canada training camp for the Women’s World Championships, but both will not attend.
Maschmeyer has been listed as unable to attend since the roster was announced. When asked about Maschmeyer’s status last week, Alison Izzi said that the team is currently moving foward with her attending training camp and had nothing more to say on the topic.
Nurse was originally announced as attending camp but has now been replaced by Alexia Aubin. No statements have been made from Hockey Canada or the Vancouver Goldeneyes about Nurse’s status. In a YouTube vlog this off-season, Nurse has said she was rehabbing from the injury that kept her out for some of the 2025-26 season, but did not say that she was hurt again.
The Ice Garden has reached out to the Hockey Canada for a statement but had not heard back at the time of publication.
New jerseys leaked?
On October 3, a photo was posted on the Vancouver Goldeneyes Reddit page showing jerseys that the poster stated had been put out on shelves at Pro Hockey Life, a sports store in Canada. The jerseys have the Vancouver Goldeneyes logo on the front, and feature cream sleeves with earth-coloured stripes.
A second photo was posted by X user @mydearestevelyn which appears to show both the home and away jerseys.
When asked about the jerseys during a media availability on Monday, Izzi said she was looking forward to having logos on the jerseys but did not comment on the leak. The Province’s Steve Ewan also reported that a staffer was aware of the photo but did not elaborate. It wouldn’t be the first time that something was leaked before the PWHL officially announced it, but for now, no official confirmation has come from the Goldeneyes.
