The Professional Woman’s Hockey League had a successful debut season and is only getting better.
Things are going so well that the league is seeking to expand from six teams to eight teams according to Sportico.
While the article itself doesn’t list any potential cities that the league could expand to, it was reported on Tuesday that the Ottawa Charge will take on the Victoire de Montréal in Québec City on Jan. 19.
Neutral games are nothing new to the PWHL, as the cities of Detroit and Pittsburgh hosted on last March. Those two cities are seen as potential landing areas for an expansion team, as well as Calgary.
The first PWHL season was incredibly successful, with PWHL Toronto (now Toronto Sceptres) selling out Scotiabank Arena, home of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors. On Apr. 20, PWHL Montréal (now Victoire de Montréal) sold Bell Centre, selling 21,105 tickets.
PWHL Minnesota (now Minnesota Frost) defeated PWHL Boston (now Boston Fleet) to win the inaugural Walter Cup. The 2024-25 season begins Nov. 30.

Blues extend Alexey Toropchenko to one-year deal

On Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues announced that they have extended Alexey Toropchenko to a one-year deal worth $1.7 million.
The Blues drafted Toropchenko in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, with the Russian winger playing in the Ontario Hockey League, American Hockey League, and Kontinental Hockey League before making his National Hockey League debut in 2021-22. In 28 regular season games, he scored two goals, before picking up two assists in 12 postseason games.
Toropchenko became a regular for the Blues in 2022-23, scoring 10 goals and 19 points in 69 games. The 25-year-old scored a career-high last season, picking up 14 goals and 21 points in a full 82-game season.
So far this season, the 6’6”, 222 lb Russian has an assist in seven games, along with seven penalty minutes.

Avalanche’s Ross Colton to miss some time with an injury

Sticking with Central Division teams, the Colorado Avalanche will be without Ross Colton for some time as he suffered an injury blocking a shot.
Late in the second period, Colton blocked a shot off his foot, leaving the game and not returning. According to Evan Rawal, he left the arena in a walking boot, not a good sign.
Simply put, it’s a big loss for the Avalanche. This season, Colton is tied for second in goals with eight, alongside the likes of Kyle Connor, Nikita Kucherov, Sam Bennett, and Cole Caufield. The only player with more goals than Colton is Nico Hischier, who has nine.
When the Avalanche are healthy, Colton is the team’s third-line centre who is good for 15 or more goals. However, the Avalanche are not healthy, as Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichuskin, Artturi Lehkonen, and Jonathan Drouin are all out of the lineup.
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