PWHL Expansion Rules Threaten Budding Minnesota Dynasty

The Minnesota Frost won back-to-back Walter Cups in the PWHL Finals Monday over the Ottawa Charge.

Captained by Kendall Coyne-Schofield, the Frost clinched the title in Game 4 of the best-of-five series. All four games went to overtime, including a triple overtime Game 3. 

The Frost have won both of the league’s first two championship trophies, but the PWHL’s first potential dynasty could be nipped in the bud.

The league launched its first ever season with six teams in January 2024 just months after announcing its existence, and it’s maintaining that quick turnaround pace with expansion teams. The PWHL said last month that Vancouver and Seattle will each earn a franchise next year after packing arenas on the league’s “Takeover Tour” this season. The expansion draft rules revealed earlier this month demonstrate the league wants its newest teams to be competitive in their first year, potentially at the detriment of existing franchises.

The inaugural six teams will only be allowed to protect four players from Vancouver and Seattle: three players to start, and an additional one after the first two depart. New teams can get players during a five-day exclusive signing window or the expansion drafts. Each of the six teams will lose four players during this process until Vancouver and Seattle each get to 12 players, and will fill out the rest of their rosters through the entry draft.

Because the league has so few teams, each one is brimming with talent—every game nears the caliber of an All-Star game or Olympic matchup. The expansion rules will smooth out that talent, making sure Vancouver and Seattle actually have some of the league’s biggest stars, which will help with competition on the ice as much as it does with marketing and building a fanbase off the ice. This will avoid a model like the WNBA, which allowed teams to protect six players from the new Golden State Valkyries, resulting in the new Bay Area squad lacking any 2024 WNBA All-Stars or Team USA players.

But the four-player protection also means the league is breaking up its existing squads, including the budding Frost dynasty. Say, for example, Minnesota chooses to protect Coyne-Schofield, goalie Maddie Rooney, and the next two leaders in points this season, forward Taylor Heise and defender Sophie Jaques. That leaves Michela Cava and Britta Curl-Salemme, who tie for the second-most Frost goals this season behind Coyne-Schofield, up for grabs. Liz Schepers, who scored the game-winning goal to win the 2024 and 2025 trophies, would also be on the table. And one more player will still be plucked away, bringing the total losses to four. Minnesota sports fans can’t be happy about the circumstances, as it jeopardizes the state’s dominance with the WNBA runner-up Lynx, Western Conference Finalist Timberwolves, and back-to-back champion Frost.

It’s not just Minnesota’s roster that will be splintered. Montreal led the league in points at the end of the regular season, and boasts some of the best attendance numbers in the league. But that fanbase will lose some of its favorite players to the West Coast next year.

The Frost only have a short period to celebrate their victory before the shuffle begins. Protected player lists are due June 3, and the exclusive signing window begins the next day. The expansion draft is scheduled for June 9, followed by the entry draft June 24.

Expansion teams are a sign of a healthy league, and trying to even out the talent among all eight teams is a noble effort. Perhaps the ultimate test of a true dynasty will be whether Minnesota’s star roster can be gutted and still go for the three-peat.