The hockey world is expanding, as the Pro Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) was officially announced on Tuesday.
The newly formed league will have six teams playing 24 games during the inaugural season.
The PWHL is mirroring the creation of the NHL, starting with an ‘original six.’ This time, three teams will be from the US and three from Canada. Boston, Minnesota, and the New York area will host the three American teams, while Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal will host teams north of the border.
The location of the games played will be diverse, ranging from NHL stadiums to minor league/junior rinks. Team names, logos, and home arenas have yet to be announced.
The season will likely run from early January through early June, with a break for the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Women’s World Championship in April. It is also said the PWHL will be present at significant NHL events, including All-Star Weekend and its Stadium Series games.
The games will likely be streamed digitally, but the league also pursues a consistent TV schedule.
An initial free-agent signing period starts on September 1st, so rosters will begin forming as soon as tomorrow. The remainder of the league’s founding players will be selected to one of six teams on September 18th during the first PWHL draft.
NCAA players are ineligible for the free agency period and have a September 3rd deadline to declare for the draft.
For the first season in PWHL history, the GMs and owners of teams will be under the league’s control as they try to secure their business plan and ensure they have the right people for the job. There has been interest from independent owners, but the PWHL has turned them down, at least for the first season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter and his wife, Kendra, funded the league after buying and dissolving the Premier Hockey Federation in June.
The board also holds the president and vice president of the Dodgers, Stan Kasten and Royce Cohen—as well as women’s tennis legends and now spouses Ilana Kloss and Billie Jean King.
Kasten said teams may not play all 12 home games in the same spot. The inaugural season will feature several neutral areas in collaboration with the NHL.
“That means games in other cities that are not cities in our ‘Original Six,’ both NHL cities and possibly even non-NHL cities,” he said. “In some of our markets where we are not playing [home games] in the bigger NHL venues, we will probably have events in those venues. We’ll be promoting those as special events.” (ESPN)
Walter adhered to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s wishes – making the PWHL the only pro women’s hockey league in the continent. Bettman had said the owners of the NHL would stay away if two pro women’s hockey associations were competing but would be open to supporting if one solid league was formed.
The PHF was initially created as the National Women’s Hockey League in 2015. They were the first professional women’s hockey league to pay its players. The eventual downfall of the NWHL, which turned into the PHF after a rebrand in 2021, was orchestrated by a half-decade-long feud between the league and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association.
The PWHPA comprises stars from the US and Canada who refused to join the PHF due to a ‘lack of faith in their business model.’ Instead, the PWHPA toured North America, playing USA v Canada exhibition matches in preparation for international tournaments. The PWHPA was in cahoots with Mark Walter, Billie Jean King, and the board for over a year.
They worked on a way to create their own league to compete with the PHF, which eventually ended in the delusion of the PHF and the creation of the PWHL.
The PWHL created a Collective Bargaining Agreement before the first season started, hoping it would be a difference maker during the most dire period in a new league creation, the first season. The league hopes to keep an open dialogue with its players, and a fair CBA is the first step.
This league should pave a new path for girls all over the globe. Women’s hockey is a hidden gem in an already underappreciated sport.
