The first puck dropped on New Year’s Day and the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is now alive and skating in the U.S. and Canada. Six teams are part of this inaugural season—three based in the U.S. and three with their home ice in Canada. Regular season will go until early May followed by playoffs.
This is not the first attempt at a women’s professional hockey league. While these leagues had the best players, they were not comparable to other professional leagues, said Jayna Hefford, PWHL senior vice president of hockey operations, who played in three of the defunct leagues. The planning and financing behind the PWHL are targeted to make this a success.
“From the top, we have folks that are willing to make the necessary large commitment financially to make this work,” said Hefford, a four-time Olympic gold medalist for Team Canada. “They come with a lot of professional sport experience. … We have the ownership group that’s going to make sure this is a successful, long-term, permanent league for women to be part of.”
The six teams are Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York (plays in Connecticut and Long Island), Ottawa and Toronto. There are several Black players, including Sophie Jaques, a defenseman who led Ohio State University to its first-ever NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Championship, who plays for PWHL Boston.
While Canada is perhaps more passionate about hockey than the U.S., Hefford noted that some of the PWHL’s biggest stars are American. “It’s a heavy lift to start a professional league and to make sure it’s successful, but it was a priority for us all along to have teams in the United States,” said Hefford. “Our vision for this is something truly significant. … When you look at the WNBA and the NWSL, those are leagues that we aspire to stand alongside.”
Players in the PWHL won’t only be from the U.S. and Canada. While those two countries have dominated the top two steps of the Olympic podium since the sport’s debut in 1998, there are other countries, such as Sweden and Finland, with excellent players. Hefford hopes this will help grow the women’s game. All PWHL games are available on the league’s YouTube channel. In the New York area, games are also broadcast on MSG Network.
Hefford said not enough people have seen women’s hockey at the highest level, and when they do, they’ll love it. “We want to show them what the best of women’s hockey looks like.”