A Rookie Season Worth Celebrating
They didn't hoist any hardware this spring, but the Vancouver Goldeneyes can claim something just as meaningful heading into their off-season: they brought more fans through the doors than any other team in the Professional Women's Hockey League.
In their very first regular season, the Goldeneyes averaged over 11,200 fans per game — good enough to rank first across the entire PWHL. For a franchise that didn't exist just a couple of years ago, that's a genuinely stunning number.
Women's Hockey Finds a New Home on the West Coast
The PWHL has been a breath of fresh air for women's hockey in Canada since its launch, giving elite players a legitimate professional home after years of league instability. The addition of Vancouver and another expansion franchise this past season was a calculated bet that the league's momentum could carry into new markets.
That bet paid off — at least in Vancouver.
The Goldeneyes tapped into a city with deep hockey roots and a fanbase hungry for something to call their own. Rogers Arena may be home to the Canucks, but the Goldeneyes carved out their own identity fast, drawing crowds that would make some men's minor league franchises envious.
What 11,200 Fans Per Game Actually Means
To put that number in context: 11,200 fans per game over a full regular season isn't just impressive for a debut — it's legitimately elite across professional women's sports in North America. The PWHL has been setting attendance benchmarks since its inaugural season in 2024, and Vancouver just raised the bar further.
The Goldeneyes didn't make the playoffs this year, which makes the attendance figure even more striking. Fan support didn't hinge on a championship run or a dramatic late-season push — people showed up because they wanted to be there, right from the start.
A Blueprint for League Growth
For the PWHL and women's hockey broadly, Vancouver's debut offers a clear proof of concept: when you give fans a well-run product in the right market, they show up. The league has already proven it in Ottawa, Boston, Minnesota, and Montreal. Vancouver adds a major West Coast anchor.
Ottawa PWHL fans know this feeling well — the nation's capital has been one of the league's passionate markets since day one, regularly packing arenas and generating noise both in the stands and online. Seeing Vancouver join that conversation only strengthens the case that the PWHL is here to stay.
Looking Ahead to Year Two
Missing the playoffs stings, but the Goldeneyes have every reason to be optimistic. A massive built-in fanbase, a full off-season to build the roster, and the kind of community buy-in that most expansion teams spend years chasing — Vancouver is already ahead of the curve.
If they can pair that attendance crown with some on-ice results next season, the Goldeneyes could quickly become one of the league's marquee franchises.
For now, they can hang a banner of a different kind: the PWHL's most-attended team in the 2025–26 regular season. Not bad for year one.
Source: CBC News British Columbia
