PWHL names Meghan Turner general manager for Seattle expansion franchise

The Professional Women’s Hockey League has hired Meghan Turner as general manager for its newest franchise in Seattle, the league announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Turner spent the last two seasons as assistant general manager of the Boston Fleet, working alongside GM Danielle Marmer. The decision comes nearly three weeks after the PWHL announced it would expand to Seattle for the 2025-26 season.

The team, which will go by PWHL Seattle until an official name is unveiled, will play at Climate Pledge Arena, home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, and train at the Kraken Community Iceplex.

“I’m so honored to step into this role and have the opportunity to build a PWHL team in Seattle,” Turner said in a press release. “From the excitement that we experienced at the Takeover Tour this past season to the established women’s sports culture and the close relationship with the Kraken, I’m confident that we’re stepping into an environment that is more than ready for women’s hockey.”

Turner, who grew up in Bedford, N.H., played four years of college hockey at Quinnipiac University, alongside Marmer, and played in the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association. According to the league’s release, Turner worked in consulting for PricewaterhouseCoopers and has ongoing service in the Army National Guard.

“Meghan brings an extraordinary combination of hockey experience, strategic vision, and professionalism to PWHL Seattle,” said Jayna Hefford, the PWHL’s executive vice president of hockey operations. “During her time in Boston, Meghan distinguished herself as a big-picture thinker who quickly earned the respect of players and staff alike. She’s the ideal person to lead this exciting new chapter in Seattle.”

In her new role, Turner will build Seattle’s first-ever roster starting in earnest on June 4, when the five-day exclusive signing window opens for expansion teams to sign free agents or players who have been left unprotected by their current teams.

Each of the PWHL’s six existing teams will submit a list of up to three players protected from selection during the signing window and the expansion draft. Those initial lists are due June 3 at noon ET. Once teams lose two players, they will be permitted to protect one additional player, increasing their protected list to four.

The expansion draft will be held on June 9.

At the draft, Seattle and Vancouver, which is also set to join the league in 2025-26, will each select at least seven players until both teams have reached a 12-player roster. If one team enters the expansion draft with fewer signed players from the signing window, it will be granted additional selections to reach 12. The order in which teams make their selections will be determined later.

“The talent in this league is unmatched, and I’m excited for the opportunity to build a team and an organization that reflects the passion of the city and the excellence of the league,” Turner said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and I’m ready to get started.”

(Photo of Meghan Turner participating in the Secret Dream Gap Tour in March  2022: AP Photo / Nick Wass)