The PWHL Seattle team unveiled its inaugural jerseys for the 2025-26 season, with the first players to sign with the team modeling the new look outside Climate Pledge Arena on Tuesday.
Team officials announced that Hilary Knight, Cayla Barnes, Alex Carpenter, and Corinne Schroeder are among Seattle’s first five players signed for the inaugural season.
Jenna Buglioni, the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft, joins the star-studded lineup.
The jersey unveiling outside Climate Pledge Arena capitalizes on the venue’s high-profile location in Seattle Center, generating visibility for the fledgling women’s professional hockey team among tourists and locals frequenting the Space Needle and surrounding attractions.
Hilary Knight’s signing represents a major coup for Seattle, as the U.S. women’s hockey legend and multiple Olympic medalist brings instant credibility and star power to the expansion franchise attempting to establish itself in a market with limited women’s hockey history.
Alex Carpenter’s addition provides offensive firepower, with the forward’s international experience and scoring prowess addressing concerns about whether the PWHL Seattle team can compete with more established franchises in cities with deeper women’s hockey roots.
Cayla Barnes and Corinne Schroeder round out the defensive corps and goaltending, respectively, suggesting Seattle’s management prioritized building a balanced roster rather than loading up solely on high-profile forwards to generate ticket sales.
Jenna Buglioni’s status as the team’s first-round draft pick in the 2025 PWHL Draft positions the young player as a face of the franchise’s future, though the pressure of living up to first-round expectations in a new league creates substantial scrutiny.
The PWHL’s decision to place a franchise in Seattle reflects the city’s successful track record launching professional sports teams, including the NHL’s Kraken, MLS’s Sounders, and WNBA’s Storm, though women’s hockey faces greater challenges building fan bases than those established sports.
Climate Pledge Arena’s availability for PWHL games depends on scheduling around the Kraken’s NHL season and the venue’s concert bookings, potentially relegating women’s hockey to less desirable time slots that affect attendance and television viewership.
The jersey design’s aesthetics, colors, and branding will significantly influence merchandise sales and fan adoption, with the team likely conducting extensive market research to appeal to Seattle’s progressive sports culture that has embraced women’s professional sports.
The timing of the inaugural season launch in 2025-26 gives the organization approximately one year to build marketing campaigns, season ticket sales, and community partnerships necessary to avoid the financial struggles that have plagued previous women’s professional hockey leagues.
