Oleksiak excited to see Seattle’s sports scene rewarded with PWHL expansion

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There’s a new hockey rivalry coming to town and Jamie Oleksiak is ready for it.

Over the past four seasons, Jamie Oleksiak – who now has 680 regular season NHL games under his belt – has been a mainstay on the Seattle Kraken blueline.

Even before arriving in the Pacific Northwest, Oleksiak knew all about the rivalry between Seattle and Vancouver – two cities separated by less than a three-hour drive but united through a shared passion for hockey.

Now, the 6-foot-7 blueliner will have a front row seat to another rivalry between the two West Coast residents – this time as a spectator.

The Professional Women’s Hockey League recently announced Seattle and Vancouver as expansion franchises, set to begin play in the 2025–26 season. They’ll join original markets in Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa and Toronto to round out the league to eight teams.

“Seeing the passion fans have for hockey in Seattle, it’s exciting to see the PWHL grow and expand into the area,” said Oleksiak.

Over 12,600 fans attended a PWHL game between the Montreal Victoire and Boston Fleet at Climate Pledge Arena – home of the Kraken and now PWHL Seattle – this past January as part of the PWHL Takeover Tour.

In November 2022, more than 14,500 fans watched a Rivalry Series game between Canada and the United States at the same venue.

Expect Oleksiak to be in the stands, schedule permitting, when the two expansion teams face off for the first time in Seattle.

“I’m definitely looking forward to checking out a game against Vancouver,” said Jamie. “It’s going to be a great rivalry, for sure.”  

Oleksiak, originally selected 14th overall by Dallas in 2011, picked up on Seattle’s vibrant sports scene soon after he was taken by the Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

“Our fans have always showed up for the Kraken,” said the Toronto native. “After seeing the atmosphere in the playoffs (in 2022-23), we are eager to experience that again.”

He also wouldn’t mind having his younger sister, Penny, in the stands more often.

On April 7, Penny – a seven-time Canadian Olympic medalist in swimming – was both seen and heard with her friend Hanna in a 2-1 Seattle road win in Los Angeles from her front-row seat at Crypto.com Arena.

“The most memorable parts of the game for me were getting hit in the face with the puck – and the Kraken win,” said Jamie, who recorded an assist logged 20:38 minutes of ice time in the win.

Mic’ed up during the game, Penny offered plenty of sharp insights – from Jessica Campbell becoming the first woman to serve a full-time assistant coach through her role with the Kraken, to why hockey sticks sometimes break. She also answered a fan’s question about whether her brother liked his nickname, “Big Rig.” Spoiler alert: he does.

Penny, who moved to Los Angeles from Toronto two years ago, is one of Canada’s most decorated swimmers, winning four medals at the 2016 Olympic Games – becoming the first Canadian to do so at a single Summer Games and the country’s youngest-ever Olympic gold medalist at just 16 years and 59 days old.

At the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020, Penny earned three more medals – an individual bronze in the 200-metre freestyle, a bronze as part of the women’s 4x100-metre medley relay and a silver as a member of the 4x100 freestyle relay.

Things have also gone swimmingly for Jamie too.

Closing in on 700 regular-season NHL games with 57 playoff contests to his name, he’s continuing to enjoy his time in Washington State’s most populous city.

He never has to look very far to see just how important sports are to the residents of Seattle, who will soon have another pro hockey team to cheer for.

“Seattle is a huge sports town,” said Jamie. “Seeing people all over the city in Kraken gear, showing their support – it’s been really special.”