PWHL Takeaways: If NHL won’t go to Quebec city, the PWHL should
Vive le Quebec!
The league travelled to Quebec City over the weekend for its second-ever game in the French capital city, with 14,624 fans packed into Centre Videotron to see the Montreal Victoire take down the Vancouver Goldeneyes 1-0. While the turnout was less than the league’s first game in Quebec City, which saw more than 18,200 fans turnout to see the Victoire defeat the Ottawa Charge, the number still reflects an appetite in La Belle Province for professional hockey.
After opening Centre Videotron in September 2015, former Quebec premier Jean Charest was adamant that the venue would serve as a catalyst for an NHL franchise to return. But the lack of interest on the league’s behalf, with preferences for alternative U.S. markets like Las Vegas, Seattle and Salt Lake City, as well as potential future markets like Houston and Kansas City, has put a damper on those plans.
Centre Videotron is now the home arena for the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Quebec Remparts, and has averaged anywhere between 8,700 and close to 10,000 fans per season since 2016-17, peaking at nearly 14,000 fans in 2015-16 during their first season at the venue.
Sunday’s attendance of more than 14,600 fans filled 80% of the venue and was the fifth-highest number of the season, as well as the second-highest Takeover Tour number. When you combine that with the Victoire’s attendance in 2025-26, which hasn’t dropped below 8,100 fans and has broken the 10,000-mark for a non-Takeover Tour game, it’s clear that La Belle Province is more than capable of hosting another PWHL franchise.
Whether or not the league sees it that way is unknown. While Quebec City could comfortably sell tickets, Montreal is unique in that it can seamlessly transition between English and French, while Quebec City is primarily French, and the lack of English-based sponsors could prove to be a hindrance for a full-time franchise, which has been previously cited as a roadblock for a potential NHL franchise.
Then again, the clear passion from the city’s hockey fans and the willingness to pay good money to see the best players in the world — as well as a new iteration of the Montreal-Quebec City rivalry — might prove too enticing for PWHL officials to pass up.
Speaking of expansion…
For the second time in less than a month, the City of Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre drew an attendance of more than 10,400 for a PWHL Takeover Tour game, this time between the Charge and Boston Fleet.
Fleet forward Jill Saulnier spoke after the game about what it meant to play in her hometown.
“I’ve said it quite a few times since I’ve arrived here, but it’s been a dream of mine to come back and play at home,” she said. “I left home when I was really young, so to be able to play in front of all my friends and family, including people who flew back home for this game, was really special.”
Charge captain Brianne Jenner told reporters after the game that outside of their home rink at TD Place, “This is the loudest crowd we’ve heard this season. It was awesome.”
Following up on the previous takeaway regarding Quebec City … the PWHL is in a unique position where two major Canadian markets that don’t even register on the minds of North American sports fans have proven to be reliable venues for neutral-site games. Between their two games last month, Halifax sported a combined attendance of 20,890, and they currently occupy the No. 8 and 9 spots on the list of most-attended games in 2025-26.
It’s clear that these markets would thrive with PWHL franchises. Now it’s up to the league itself.
Ottawa just can’t stop winning…
After the Charge lost in the PWHL Final to the Minnesota Frost, the team saw multiple players sign elsewhere or get scooped in the expansion draft. In my team preview, I thought the departure of Tereza Vanisova, Shiann Darkangelo, Jincy Roese and Ashton Bell, among others, would prove too much for Ottawa to make another run at the Walter, let alone compete for a playoff spot.
But with six straight wins and a 3-4-0-5 record that puts them fourth in the standings, the Charge are holding their end of the bargain. Henner has been shot out of a cannon through the first third of the season, with seven goals and five assists for 12 points in 12 games, which puts her tied for second in goals and second in points among all PWHL skaters. Rebecca Leslie has also taken a step forward, now with five goals — a new career high — and she is being rewarded with more ice time.
There’s still plenty of season left and the team will need more production after Jenner and Leslie, as just four players have more than one goal through 12 games, but anytime you’re able to scrap together wins, you’ll take them. The Charge’s next three games are on the road, two of which are against the Victoire. If Ottawa can earn at least five of a possible nine points in that span, it sets them up nicely before the international break.
…and Toronto can’t stop losing
The Sceptres have suffered three straight losses and now find themselves in sixth place. Like most of Toronto’s games in the last two-and-a-half seasons, there’s moments where they look like the Canadian National Team (and not just because half of that roster is on this one), where their breakouts are seamless and passes are crisp, and they generate grade-A scoring chances … only to not score, then give up a softie the other way.
That’s what we saw again last week when the Sceptres hosted the New York Sirens, with New York earning a 2-0 win, thanks to a Kristyna Kaltounkova two-goal performance. Natalie Spooner has looked extra motivated as of late, throwing everything on net and winning puck battles in the offensive zone, but she has just two goals in her first 11 contests. Renata Fast is looking more like herself after returning from a three-game absence.
Still, the team needs to find a way to produce, as they’re last in the league in goals for and given up the third-most through the first third of the season. Only 10 players on their roster have scored a goal and just half of them have scored more than one. Emma Maltais was expected to take a big step forward with the departure of several players in the offseason, but she has just one goal, so far.
The talent is there, and several of these players are going to be major contributors for Canada at the upcoming Winter Olympics. But Troy Ryan and co. need to find what makes their team tick, or else they’ll be chasing a playoff spot for most of the regular season’s second.