Some cities have to beg for a team. Detroit basically showed up to the PWHL's door with receipts.

When the Professional Women's Hockey League played its first-ever neutral-site game at Little Caesars Arena in 2024, 13,736 fans came, according to the league. By March 2026, a Takeover Tour game there drew 15,938. In May, the PWHL gave Hockeytown a team of its own. Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose followed within two weeks.

So when Season 4 starts on Dec. 5, the league will have 12 teams instead of eight. If you haven't kept up, don't worry. Here's everything you need to fake it at the next family dinner.

Meet the new kids

• PWHL Detroit plays at Little Caesars Arena, home of the Red Wings. Colours: black and silver, with a red accent that the league calls a nod to Hockeytown history. Home opener: Dec. 12.

• PWHL Hamilton plays at TD Coliseum. When the league visited on Jan. 3, 16,012 fans showed up, and more than 70% of Hamilton ticket buyers were buying their first-ever PWHL ticket. Home opener: Dec. 13.

• PWHL Las Vegas plays at T-Mobile Arena with help from the Golden Knights. The league says girls' and women's youth hockey in Nevada has grown 600% since the Knights arrived in 2017. Home opener: Dec. 6.

• PWHL San Jose plays at SAP Center, home of the Sharks, and debuts at home on Dec. 5. It's the PWHL's first team in California.

One fun quirk: in the league's official schedule announcement, all four still go by "PWHL" plus their city. The original teams have names like the Toronto Sceptres and Minnesota Frost.

Wait, there are conferences now?

Yes. With 12 teams, the PWHL split into two six-team conferences for the first time.

• East: Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, Toronto Sceptres.

• West: PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, Minnesota Frost, PWHL San Jose, Seattle Torrent, Vancouver Goldeneyes.

Every team plays 30 games: 18 inside its conference and 12 against the other one. Every team also visits all 12 markets at least once, so you will get to see everybody. That adds up to a league-record 180 games, running Dec. 5 to April 18.

More teams make the playoffs

For three seasons, only four teams made the playoffs. Now it's eight: the top four in each conference. The first round is best-of-three, followed by best-of-five conference finals and a best-of-five Walter Cup Final.

The PWHL is also keeping its spiciest tradition. The first-place team in each conference gets to pick its first-round opponent from the third- and fourth-place teams. Imagine choosing your opponent out loud, on purpose. Bold. Petty. Excellent television.

How to actually watch

In Canada, games are spread across TSN, Sportsnet, Prime Video (exclusive on Tuesdays) and CBC, which brings back Hockey Night in Canada for eight prime-time PWHL games. In the U.S., ION has a Saturday Game of the Week. And all 180 regular-season games stream on the PWHL's YouTube channel and thepwhl.com (in Canada, only when a national partner isn't carrying them). Mark March 7 too: All-Star weekend lands at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena.

"With 12 teams, new conferences and more games than ever before, this schedule reflects the PWHL's monumental growth," Jayna Hefford, the league's executive vice president of hockey operations, said in the announcement.

Translation: the league that started on Jan. 1, 2024 has already doubled in size. Puck drops Dec. 5 in San Jose. Bring a friend who's never been. That's literally how Detroit got a team.