‘We’re here to compete right away’: Vancouver Goldeneyes embracing high expectations

VANCOUVER — Sarah Nurse and her Vancouver Goldeneyes teammates know exactly what they’re chasing.

They have yet to play their first game, but lofty expectations already surround the Professional Women’s Hockey League expansion team.

That’s just fine by Nurse.

“When we look at our group, we have high expectations of ourselves because we all know what we’re all capable of,” the star forward said. “We know what we brought in the past, and we know what we can contribute to this team. It may look a little bit different, but it’s still great.”

Heading into their inaugural game on Friday, the Goldeneyes won’t be acting as if they’re about to win the league championship, she added. Instead, they’re looking to approach the tilt against the fellow expansion side Seattle Torrent as a first step.

“We’re looking to win that game so that we can build throughout the season, so at the end of the season, we’re in a very good position to win the Walter Cup,” Nurse said.

Buzz around the Goldeneyes has steadily grown since April when Vancouver became the first city to be awarded a PWHL expansion club.

The news came just months after an electric neutral site game between the Montreal Victoire and Toronto Sceptres at Rogers Arena drew more than 19,000 fans.

A crowd of more than 15,000 is expected to pack the refurbished Pacific Coliseum on Friday, and it’s a moment Goldeneyes head coach Brian Idalski wants his players to savour.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime gig. You only get a first chance to make an impression like that once,” he said. “And so, yeah, close your eyes, smell the smells. It’ll be a memory.”

Idalski has spent just over a week working with his players on the ice, and has been impressed by the intangibles they bring, from their energy to how they communicate.

“I think it’s easy to see the talent, but we’re also in a people business, so the interactions and the getting to know people, what a kind-hearted group we have is amazing,” said the coach.

Unlike many brand new teams, Vancouver enters the league stacked with talent thanks to an expansion process that allowed the Goldeneyes and Torrent to pluck some of the league’s top athletes from the PWHL’s original six clubs.

Nurse comes West following two years with the Sceptres, while Claire Thompson joins from a championship-winning Minnesota Frost team where she was a finalist for PWHL defender of the year last season. The Goldeneyes also collected goalie Emerance Maschmeyer from the Ottawa Charge and forward Jenn Gardiner from the Victoire, then added to the riches in the draft, selecting four-time Olympian Michelle Karvinen seventh overall.

Coming to the PWHL has long been a dream for the 35-year-old Karvinen, but she wanted to honour a commitment she’d made to help grow women’s hockey with Frolunda in Sweden before fulfilling her dream of playing in North America.

“When I felt like the program was in a good spot that I could kind of leave and live out my own dream to come over here, they announced Vancouver and they ended up drafting me,” said Karvinen, who made her Olympic debut in the city back in 2010. “So I think maybe it was meant to be that I didn’t come the first year.”

It may be her first year in the PWHL, but Karvinen is “built for this league,” Idalski said.

“She’s embraced and loves everything that’s happening here. And that includes the physicality.”

Karvinen has also quickly developed chemistry with Nurse, who admired the Finnish forward when they played college hockey.

“She’s so elite. Just so elite. Exceptional, from her foot speed to her touches around the net to her vision,” Nurse said.

“We kind of know where each other’s going and making those little plays to one another. I think we’re going to have to work on somebody shooting the puck, for sure, because I know that we both like to distribute. But it’s been so much fun getting to play with her.”

Everyone in the Goldeneyes locker room is there for the same reason, Karvinen said — because they want to create something special.

And no one is shying away from those lofty expectations.

“Everybody knows that we’re here to compete right away. And we have the opportunity to go all the way,” Karvinen said. “I’m very excited to play with these kind of players. I feel like we are so strong everywhere. So we’ll see. We need to do the hard work as well.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2025.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press