The Professional Women’s Hockey League is entering its third season with the largest expansion since the NHL doubled in size from six to 12 teams in 1967.

The league is adding four teams, in Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose this season, its second expansion in as many years.

There are differences between the expansions. THe NHL put all six teams on the same division for two seasons, ensuring that expansion teams would make the playoffs. The PWHL will have three teams — Detroit, Las Vegas and San Jose — in the Western Conference, ensuring that at least one expansion team will be among the top four teams in the six-team conference.

The six teams in the NHL expansion had six different owners groups, with varying degrees of success. The PWHLteams are owned by Mark Walter, a billionaire who owns the PWHLand the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

THe NHL expansion kicked off a series of expansions, increasing the sized of the league to 21 teams over the next quarter-century. Could the same be true of the PWHL? Maybe not to that degree, but the growth of girls and women’s hockey worldwide.

One thing is definitely a possibility: The Detroit team could not only make the playoffs  but win the division. Two of the established teams in the division, Vancouver and Seattle, finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the eight-term league last year. The playoffs are expanding, from from four to eight teams.

A strong debut season for the PWHL Detroit might make things a little uncomfortable for the Detroit Red Wings,should they miss the postseason again.