The PWHL's journey out west is getting closer by the day, and the league recently announced their plans for the massive expansion process.
On Monday, the PWHL outlined some key dates, rules and procedures for how the 2025 signing period and expansion draft will take place as new franchises in Seattle and Vancouver get set to take the ice for the 2025-26 season.
There will be three different parts to the process as the league tries to incorporate and balance out the two new teams: the exclusive signing window, the expansion draft and the PWHL draft.
It all begins with the protections. In only a few weeks, on June 3, the inaugural six PWHL teams will be required to submit a player protection list, allowing them to retain exclusive rights to three players currently on their roster and keep them away from the exclusive signing window and expansion draft.
Once one of the original six teams loses two players through the singing window or draft, they're granted an additional protected player.
A player must already be under contract or have their rights held by a team for the 2025-26 season in order to be protected.
Next up is the exclusive signing window, which will be open from June 4 to 8 and will grant the two new expansion teams a five-day exclusive window to sign a maximum of five players. Any unprotected player or any player on an expiring contract can be approached and signed.
That will be followed by the expansion draft on June 9, which will see the new Seattle and Vancouver franchises select players until each has reached a 12-player roster.
They will be required to pick a minimum of seven players each, depending on how many players the teams added during the exclusive signing window.
The players eligible to be selected are those under contract through the 2025-26 season left unprotected by their respective PWHL franchises.
The order of the draft has not yet been determined.
To cap things off, the two new sides will also participate in the 2025 first-year player draft, which consists of six rounds and will allow all eight teams to add recent collegiate graduates or players from other professional leagues. The New York Sirens have the first pick in the draft, but the rest of the order is yet to be determined.
The 2025 PWHL draft will take place on June 24.
The league is soon to close its second season with Ottawa and Minnesota set to square off in the best-of-five Walter Cup final series beginning Tuesday.
Vancouver and Seattle were chosen as the PWHL's first expansion teams a week apart in April.
For a full list of players eligible to be protected by the inaugural six teams, read more on the PWHL's official website.
-- With files from the Canadian Press
