See it, be it, dream it: Growing PWHL brings pro women’s hockey to the District

Kayla Vespa grew up watching Alex Ovechkin light the lamp at Capital One Arena — then known as the Verizon Center — for her beloved Capitals. But elite women’s hockey was mostly relegated to the Olympics; there’d never been a professional women’s hockey game in the District. 

Times change. 

Vespa is now a forward for the PWHL’s New York Sirens, a rising star in a league that has found a promising and growing niche in its first three seasons. On Sunday, Vespa will play at Capital One Arena for the first time, as the PWHL takes its barnstorming “Takeover Tour” to the District.

Sunday’s game is the culmination of a weekend-long celebration of women’s hockey for Vespa’s Sirens and the Montreal Victoire, who will also play on Sunday. The PWHL, through a partnership with Capitals ownership and Monumental Sports, has also hosted a variety of clinics and outreach events to build momentum for the game. 

On Saturday, Vespa will visit Capital One Arena for the first time. She’s watched hundreds of Capitals games from the comfort of her couch, but it’ll be her first time watching Washington while surrounded by 20,000 other fans rocking red jerseys. 

She’ll perform the ceremonial puck drop when the Capitals host the Florida Panthers. 

“I’m so excited. It’s definitely a full-circle moment, just growing up watching them on TV,” Vespa said. “We’re grateful and honored to be doing that, but also to expose fans to what they’re going to see on Sunday when the puck drops for us.”

The PWHL’s local ties run deep in the District. Victoire forward Hayley Scamurra spent countless hours coaching youth hockey teams around the region through the Capitals’ “All Caps, All Her” program.

“It’s so important in my world,” Scamurra said of the District’s hockey scene. “It’s how my parents met.”

Her father, Peter Scamurra, spent four seasons as a Capitals defenseman in the 1970s. Her mother, Rebecca, hails from Maryland. 

“It’s funny to be able to think back on that. Sharing that we both played professional hockey in the Washington, D.C. area means the world to me,” said Hayley Scamurra. “And I worked with the Capitals organization. I saw firsthand how passionate they are [in Washington] and how much they love women’s hockey.”

The point of the PWHL’s Takeover Tour, which features 16 stops this season, is to share stories like Vespa’s and Scamurra’s across the continent to help build the league’s burgeoning fanbase.

It’s working.

“It helps us grow our audience and expose people to the best women’s hockey players in the world,” said Amy Scheer, the PWHL’s executive vice president of business operations. “This Takeover Tour allows us to really meet the fans where they are. It’s been a huge success for us, there’s no doubt. When you look at all the signs in the building and from an attendance perspective, it’s been huge.”

The PWHL has averaged more than 11,000 fans at its first eight neutral-site games this season. 

Sunday’s matchup could boost that number. Scheer believes the trip to the nation’s capital could set a new record for attendance at a women’s hockey game in the U.S.

The high-water mark is currently held by a game in Seattle that attracted 16,014 spectators. For comparison, the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets and Utah Mammoth have averaged fewer than 15,000 fans per home game this season. 

“Tickets are moving quickly every single day,” Ms. Scheer said. “It will be an amazing number for us in the U.S., one that we’ll be really proud of and one that’s going to come to fruition because of the help from Monumental Sports and the Capitals.”

The PWHL isn’t satisfied with its current setup — with four teams in the U.S. and four teams in Canada. The league is openly entertaining expansion, with two or four new franchises likely to join the fold next season. 

“I just won’t tell you where,” Ms. Scheer said. “But we love Washington and we love playing here. We love working with their organization — they are first class. The building is beautiful. As long as Washington wants us, we’d love to come back.”

The PWHL has moves to make before that. Next month’s Winter Olympics in Milan provide an unparalleled spotlight for women’s hockey and, in turn, the North American professional league.

The WNBA and NWSL have seen bumps in attendance and viewership after the Summer Olympics and World Cup. The PWHL is setting itself up for a similar boost. 

“There’s no just riding the wave. Hope is not a strategy,” Ms. Scheer said, noting that the league office would bring sponsors and prospects to Milan to watch the world’s best compete for gold medals. “We’re investing a lot of time and energy into the Olympics because we think there’s a great payoff coming out of the back end.”

The league office will have a presence in Milan, bringing over prospects and business partners to watch the world’s best compete for gold. 

About 30% of the PWHL’s players will participate in the Olympic tournament with the full-throated support of league officials. 

“For the world to see all these athletes come together in one place, it’ll be huge for the PWHL,” Ms. Scheer said. “They’ll get to know our players a little bit better, albeit not in their PWHL uniforms, but they look good in their country colors as well. It’ll be a big moment for us.”

The national and international governing bodies at the Olympics have become more flexible about athletes’ self-promotion in recent years. Rugby player Ilana Maher became a viral sensation after her shining moment at the Paris Games in 2024. 

Olympians now have more freedom to promote themselves — and their home leagues — on social media while the Olympic spotlight shines brightest. 

“We plan to take full advantage of what we’re able to do, within the rules,” Ms. Scheer said. 

But first, Scamurra, Vespa and their teammates will put on a show for thousands of hockey-crazed fans in the District. 

“Ever since day one, it’s been our motto that if you can see it, you can be it and you can dream it,” Laura Stacey of the Victoire said. “This is just another chance to do exactly that, to stop in a new city to create some new fans, to grow some excitement for women’s hockey and women’s sports in general.”

Sunday’s game between the Sirens and the Victoire — who are currently tied for second with 19 points through 11 games — begins at 2 p.m.