An official with the Sun Parlour Female Hockey Association in Windsor thinks having a PWHL team close to home will inspire more girls to get into the sport.
The Professional Women's Hockey League announced Wednesday that the league will expand to Detroit next season, playing games at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and the NBA's Detroit Pistons.
Communications Convenor for the Sun Parlour Girls Hockey Association Kyrstin Goulding says she can't wait to see what happens to girls' hockey when the Detroit team starts playing.
"I just think moments like this help validate all the growth that we've been working on through the associations at the grassroots level across the area,' she says. "Now we get to see it firsthand and so close. We don't have to wait for a takeover game every year. We can go be part of it at any time throughout the year."
The PWHL has held neutral-site Takeover Tour games to build an audience and test possible expansion markets. After a league-high four games at Little Caesars Arena, Detroit was a prime target for expansion. The PWHL drew 15,938 to a game there March 28.
Goulding says when she was her daughter's age, girls' hockey wasn't an option.
"For our older girls who are getting ready to age out, they're going to stick with the sport longer because they can see the potential and see girls achieving their dreams of playing in the PWHL. Before it was only boys who could play professional hockey when they grew up, it was men out there doing it," she says.
Sun Parlour had roughly 475 girls registered across all age groups of the 2025-2026 season, but more are expected this coming season as the league is expanding its travel program, adding a U22 A team, and allowing older girls to continue playing.
Goulding says she thinks the PWHL expansion works hand-in-hand with the growth of girls' hockey.
"I think the PWHL expansion happens because so many girls are involved in sports, and I think so many girls are involved in sports and hockey because of the PWHL. Them being able to see themselves out there and imagine that for themselves," she says.
Jayna Hefford, the PWHL's executive vice-president of hockey operations, said Detroit, across the river from Windsor, can also draw Canadian fans into its PWHL market.
"I hope Canadians who are close to this region, this may be their team," she said.
Goulding says she definitely thinks "Detroit is going to be Windsor's team."
Detroit's name and logo will be announced at a later date, but the jersey's primary colours will be black and silver, with white as a secondary hue and red as an accent.
PWHL leadership has said the current eight-team league will increase by two to four clubs for the 2026-27 season, but only Detroit was announced Wednesday as a new market.
The league's original six teams were Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Minnesota, Boston and New York. Seattle and Vancouver joined last year for the league's third season.
With files from the Canadian Press