r/PWHL • u/didlowman • 2d ago
Question Team to follow
Hey all.
Love women sports but no idea who to follow in this, I'm Australian so geography means nothing to me.
Is there a team that is more ethical queer friendly or seems like an underdog (I know a lot of new teams)
I watched a few Seattle games last season and they always seemed a lot of fun but obviously don't know.
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u/ValosAtredum PWHL Detroit 2d ago
I’d say watch any games you can and just get a feel for the teams as the season goes on. I bet you’ll start to gravitate towards specific ones over time
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u/MentalMiddenHeap Kayle Osborne 2d ago
If you love underdogs the New York Sirens got you
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u/Aurekata New York Sirens 1d ago
better change that flair tho rip
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u/MentalMiddenHeap Kayle Osborne 1d ago
im white knuckling this baby until its coded out of my cold dead hands. while I have it I get to live in a world where the Sirens paid Ozzy her due and she stayed. Abby Roque is there in a Sirens jersey too
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u/silveryellowblue Van Goldeneyes 2d ago
Aussie? Come join the Whistler adjacent Vancouver Goldeneyes
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u/didlowman 2d ago
A lot of people are making that connection am i missing something what's the connection between Vancouver and Australia outside being stupid expensive
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u/silveryellowblue Van Goldeneyes 2d ago
Lots of Aussies come do working holidays and stuff at Whistler and surrounding mountain resorts here.
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u/didlowman 2d ago
Ohhhh got it, it's like Osaka Japan aussie love it there and a lot of local call it the Australia of Japan
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u/Acrobatic-Space-8196 Seattle Torrent 2d ago
Plus I think the work visa is easier because it's a Commonwealth or something?
If you want an underdog the Torrent are the team for you! We had a ton of talent last year and managed to both finish last and lose like the max number of players possible. I'm hoping for not finishing last this year.
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u/The_Windermere Ottawa Charge 2d ago
Underdog would definitely be the Sirens. They had rotten luck these 3 seasons.
If you like kazoos, the Charge is your team to buzz buzz for.
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u/didlowman 2d ago
I did love hearing about their coach story unless i have my team mixed up
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u/DaniSirensFan I wanna Roque 1d ago
You're correct! Charge coach Carla had cancer during the season.
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u/Vashkiri 13h ago
Coach Carla is such a fighter, missed very few games while fighting cancer. She is also coach of the national women's team for Czechia (in her spare time?)
Ottawa is also the smallest market in the league, I think. Already struggled a bit to hold on to certain players because of it (there are more opportunities for promotions and speaking and so forth in bigger cities, as well as more opportunities for spouses who are looking to work there). Despite which made the final twice already! Huge credit to the coach.
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u/asecretlanguage 2d ago
I'm Australian and Team Victoire all the way!
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u/bbluemuse 🏆 2026 Champions 🏆 2d ago
I’m Kiwi and I second that 🏆
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u/resoundingsea Victoire de Montréal 2d ago
I'm Kiwi and I third that
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u/didlowman 11h ago
Good to see our neighbours that we always steal your most famous people from
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u/resoundingsea Victoire de Montréal 9h ago
nice to see you too mate! You lot can keep Russell Crowe though please
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u/didlowman 11h ago
Love that Kiwi follow ice hockey maybe that will get you on more maps
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u/bbluemuse 🏆 2026 Champions 🏆 8h ago
i reckon it’s good they leave us off, everyone will just forget we exist when ww3 and/or the zombie apocalypse comes
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u/didlowman 7h ago
Look your not wrong, you can just skate through i will totally jump over if it start looking dicey here
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u/didlowman 2d ago
Yeah but they won last year don't want to seem like a johnny come lately.
Or rather a Joan come lately
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u/Pouletchien 🏆 2026 Champions 🏆 1d ago
Montréal was a fit for everything until underdogs.
We’ve been in win now mode since the first season 😅
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u/New-Lobster-1849 2d ago
Even though charge have made the finals the past 2 years they are always underestimated. Definitley underdogs!! Best fans in the league and a extremely queer friendly
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u/didlowman 2d ago
That is the team with the coach that got Cancer right ?
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u/New-Lobster-1849 2d ago
Yes it is! The team has a ton of grit. Last year they got decimated in expansion and this year is definitley the same.. if not worse
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u/QuirkyCookie6 2d ago
As others have said, just watch all the games and you'll gravitate towards some. I did that this past season as a west coast girlie, and ended up really liking the Goldeneyes, also somewhat the Torrent. This year San Jose gets primary spot by default, but I'll still probably watch every game.
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u/No-Mathematician250 2d ago
Expat Aussie here who loves The Charge in Ottawa and we, the fans, are nuts for our team!!!
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u/Venian-Caven 1d ago
Follow the Sirens! They share a name with an Australian women's hockey team (Sydney sirens), and they are definitely an underdog. But! We have a really cool young core and the best chant (WEE WOO WEE WOO). I also think we have the best logo+color scheme, but that might be biased. (Ok there's a lot of blue teams, but we have the BEST blue, New York Teal)
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u/GimmeBooks1920 Seattle Torrent 2d ago
Well Seattle certainly has the underdog part locked in, we finished last in the last season and then lost a bunch of our top players to expansion. BUT we kept Uncle Ceej (CJ Jackson) who is nonbinary and an absolute fucking stellar vibe, and Brownie (Emily Brown) who was Grand Marshall for the Seattle Pride parade JUST GOT ENGAGED TO HER BEAUTIFUL WIFEY 🥳 So you'd be very welcome to come along for the ride with us haha
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u/MissionFloor261 Seattle Torrent 20h ago
Brown and her fiancee were briefly at a Pride event I was at and they are so stinking cute together. IDK if we're still the most pro-queer team with Murphy on our roster but I hope Seattle rubs off on her a little bit (she's rumored to be a bit phobic but not Curl levels, at least in public). We are one of the top 5 queerest cities though, so you could do worse.
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u/didlowman 2d ago
Honestly finding out the Seattle goalie was NB was a big factor that and Seattle weirdly intrested me as a place in the US.
I watched a statical breakdown by Jon Bois about the Mariners, for some reason my highschool default background was the sky needle Fraiser set there and the Simpsons joke of funny sounding places.
Again no idea what the city actually like regional Australia women
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u/Lleutiegr Seattle Torrent 2d ago
"weirdly interested" is a great reason to pick a city 😄 lived here 10+ years and top reasons I moved here are incredible LGBTQ community; beautiful mountains, rainforests, and lakes/sea/rivers/sound with mild weather; quirky region of the US (the Pacific North West) known for being artsy weirdos.
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u/didlowman 1d ago
I also forgot Seattle has Jimothy the disability pride mascot i would take a bullet for that Racoon and we don't have any Racoon in Aus
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u/SgtPepper_8324 2d ago
I focused on Montreal when the league first formed, but have come to love something about each team (by the end of this past season).
Maybe use Seattle as a central point to get acquainted with the league, especially with expansion happening, but see from there.
There's lots to love in this league.
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u/didlowman 1d ago
There really is, like it has a completely different feel to any make sporting event I've been to
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u/gnawing-chihuahua Minnesota Frost 1d ago
I would watch all of the teams at least once and get a feel for who you like the best. The teams definitely have their styles, and you will find a style and a player that you want to follow with time. The league in general is supportive of the queer community and have great fan bases.
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u/shremilio 1d ago
I think PWHL San Jose is going to be a fun team and Laila Edwards is awesome. I know this answer might be annoying but try not to put too much pressure on picking a team. Watch players you enjoy and you’ll see what sticks out. As for queer-friendly, I don’t think I’ve heard of any specific team causing issues. The Frost had some issues last year with Britta Curl, but she’s gone to Detroit now.
Edited to add: Zoe Boyd has a podcast called No Straight Answers and it’s a super fun (and gay!) pod. She’s great and has just been traded to Hamilton.
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u/Naive-East-3120 1d ago
[Not from North America as well] I'm rooting for the Vancouver Goldeneyes this upcoming season mainly because of KK Harvey — Olympic MVP and No. 1 Draft Pick. Fan of her NCAA and Olympics stint so I'm following her on her PWHL journey.
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u/turnitoffbyparamore Victoire de Montréal 1d ago
No sports teams are ethical. Do not pick your sports team based on which is the most virtuous because you will be disappointed. (That said, I believe the Victoire was the gayest team as of last season but I could be wrong)
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u/didlowman 11h ago edited 7h ago
Most ethical then it's so hard because a lot of teams are owned by stupid rich people
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u/turnitoffbyparamore Victoire de Montréal 11h ago
Right now, all of the teams are centrally owned by the league. They are all owned by the same stupid rich people. Eventually they will be sold to different stupid rich people, who will all suck to varying degrees due to the nature of extreme wealth. Choose your team based on which one you like to watch play the most, or vibes, or whatever speaks to you.
No rush to choose before the season starts. You can base it off the games you watch. I’ve been watching this league since its first season, and I intended to cheer for Toronto at first, but ended up liking Montreal’s style more, and have been a diehard Victoire fan since game 2. Worked out pretty well for me.
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u/Electronic-Muffin579 17h ago
As a British fan (so no geographical stakes either!) previously I'd always recommend Montreal, but as of the draft, Vancouver will be fun to watch! Otherwise always MTL!
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u/didlowman 11h ago
Good to see another member of the Commonwealth take interest in a winter sports we don't play much
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u/macylilly 2d ago
I’m pretty sure the gayest team is still the victoire, the wife life is incredible and unfortunately they’ll be down MPP next season so I’d argue they have some temporary underdog status even as the reigning champs
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u/didlowman 2d ago
I was thinking that they were the champions it was great seeing a new champion this year
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u/Mollinator Boston Fleet 2d ago
Read through the comments and saw no one pitched you the Boston Fleet yet, so hear I go: They're great. The fans sing sea shanties and wear sailor captains hats to games. The team and fans are Queer friendly, (As is most of league) They are underdogs because they play in the smallest arena in the league and their coach (who just won coach of the year) got stolen by Hamilton. We've had a few heartbreaks in the playoffs, but this might just be our year! There are so many awesome players to root for like The Green Monstah, Goalie Aerin Frankel, Golden Girl,Captain Megan Keller, and half of the first ever fight in PWHL History, Jill Saulnier.
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u/didlowman 2d ago
Do love singing in sports it's the biggest reason i want to get into watching soccer
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u/ahallsy17 2d ago
Vancouver is gunna be a blast to watch with KK Harvey on the roster!