A new professional women's ice hockey league is set to commence in January 2024. This development marks a historic reconciliation between the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) and the seven-team Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
Financial backing for the league will be provided by Mark Walter, co-owner of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, and his wife, Kemba. Tennis legend Billie Jean King is also set to join the board of directors.
The new Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) was officially revealed Tuesday with six inaugural franchises and a 24-game regular season that begins in January 2024. https://t.co/vT4622amRH pic.twitter.com/vdnzghBhZy
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"I have always believed that professional sports should bring the highest levels of performance and organization, and this new league will have the backing and resources it needs to represent the very best of women's hockey," Walter said.
The league will see six inaugural franchises and a 24-game regular season commence in January 2024 and will feature three teams in the U.S. and three teams in Canada. The American franchises are situated in Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and the New York City area, which could include Connecticut and New Jersey. The Canadian franchises are situated in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario.
The PWHPA had organized traveling showcases, such as the Dream Gap Tour, in an effort to raise awareness about the absence of a women's hockey league that provides fair compensation and the necessary infrastructure for success.
Kendall Coyne Schofield, a member of the PWHPA and an Olympic gold medalist, expressed her pride in the organization's efforts: "Over the past four years, we have worked tirelessly to close the gap on what young girls and boys could dream to become in this sport."
The National Hockey League (NHL) has also taken note of this significant development, as it had previously stated its reluctance to provide financial support while two competing women's leagues existed. The NHL released a statement congratulating the PWHPA and the PHF on their agreement and initiated discussions about collaborative efforts to further the growth of women's hockey.
Jayna Hefford, the former Canadian Women's Hockey League commissioner, now holds the position of PWHL's Senior VP of Hockey Operations.
The new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) will officially launch in Jan. 2024 with six inaugural franchises:
– Boston
– Minnesota
– Montreal
– New York
– Ottawa
– Toronto
More: https://t.co/9cgfxPged7— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 29, 2023
According to the PWHL's collective bargaining agreement, teams can pre-sign up to 20 players ahead of the November training camps. Moreover, six players from each team will secure three-year contracts, guaranteeing them a salary of "no less than $80,000 per league year."
Hefford firmly believes that the PWHL will not only survive but thrive, citing their professional environment as a game-changer compared to past experiences: "We aren't looking back at this point, but there were a lot of situations that just weren't professional environments. We're a first-class environment for athletes. So all of it's going to be different - from the way they show up at an arena, the facility they're in, their permanent training space, the resources and staff around them, to their meals and the marketing put behind what they're doing. Everything is changing," she said.
The collective bargaining agreement is still undergoing fine-tuning, with the league actively developing a "transgender policy" expected to be accessible to the public shortly. Hefford did not disclose specific details about the organizations involved in crafting this inclusive policy.
