‘Really hard’: PWHL players reckon with the business realities of expansion

For Toronto Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull, it was upsetting, sad and stressful.

Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark said it was “a lot to process” after the Walter Cup final loss.

For players across the PWHL, the expansion process was a wake-up call to the business side of the league.

With the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent entering the fold, many players found new homes — including stars Hilary Knight in Seattle and Sarah Nurse in Vancouver. Nurse starred for the Sceptres in the league’s first two seasons.

“It was hard. Our team is a lot different than it was at the start of year one, so you try to build culture, environment, you try to build out your team’s on-ice identity,” Turbull said. “When your team is different than at the beginning, you kind of have to think about r