More Than a Jersey: The Personal Cost of PWHL Expansion
Hilary Knight of the Boston Fleet prepares for a matchup against the Minnesota Frost at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 13, 2024. (Photo by John McClellan)
Written by Maria Kaczmarek
For the Boston Fleet, the 2025 PWHL Expansion Draft meant more than adding two new teams to the league. It also meant saying goodbye to players who had become part of the organization.
Hannah Bilka, Emily Brown, and Sydney Bard each began their PWHL careers in Boston. By the end of the expansion process, Bilka and Brown were headed to the Seattle Torrent, while Bard was selected by the Vancouver GoldenEyes.
For those players, expansion was not simply about changing jerseys. It meant leaving behind familiar teammates, routines, and the city where they began building their professional lives.
Bilka spent one season with Boston after the Fleet selected her fourth overall in the 2024 PWHL Draft. She appeared in 16 games as a rookie before Seattle selected her in the Expansion Draft.
Brown had an even longer connection to Boston. She spent two seasons with the Fleet and appeared in 53 games for the organization. Her time in Boston included the team's run to the inaugural Walter Cup Final.
Then, both players found themselves preparing to join Seattle.
For Brown, the move eventually became an opportunity to help build something new. She was named an alternate captain of the Torrent ahead of the team's inaugural season.
"I'm really excited and honored to be named an assistant captain of the Seattle Torrent," Brown said. "We've got a great group of players, and I'm excited to officially get underway tomorrow in Vancouver."
But the connection to Boston did not disappear.
When Seattle returned to Boston in January, the PWHL described the game as a Boston homecoming for former Fleet players, including Brown and Bilka. Bilka and Brown were back in the building where they had started their professional careers, but this time wearing Seattle jerseys.
For Hilary Knight, who also moved from Boston to Seattle, returning to Boston brought the emotions of that change into focus. Knight had been Boston's captain and one of the team's original signings before joining Seattle.
"Honestly, a lot of mixed emotions,” Knight said. “I have some really lifelong friends on the other team, I know the staff incredibly well here, and it feels like home. Part of my family is from here, and the fans were electric. The body of work that we put together was just so special, so just remembering that, and then being on the other side competing, getting ready and focusing on the game. But I really appreciate the warm welcome here tonight from everyone."
Knight's reaction showed why expansion can be more complicated for players than simply joining a new team. While the move changes where the player lives and who she plays for, the relationships built with former teammates and staff remain.
Bard experienced a similar transition.
Boston selected Bard in the fourth round of the 2024 PWHL Draft, and she spent her rookie season with the Fleet. Vancouver later selected her in the Expansion Draft.
When Vancouver traveled to Boston in December 2025, Bard faced her former Fleet teammates for the first time as a member of the GoldenEyes. The moment represented one of the less-discussed realities of league expansion.
For the PWHL, adding Seattle and Vancouver represented another step in the league's growth. For the players involved, however, that growth could mean starting over somewhere new.
Bilka, Brown, Bard, and Knight each experienced that change differently. But their returns to Boston showed that leaving a team does not necessarily mean leaving behind the connections made there.
Expansion creates new opportunities. For the players who are moved, however, those opportunities begin with a goodbye.
