Over time there have been a handful of Women’s hockey leagues, but nothing has been consistent. There has been the Central Ontario Womens Hockey League, Western Women’s Hockey League, National Womens Hockey League, Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and a couple of others. With these leagues however, they have ceased to exist in one way or another.
In March of 2015, the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was created as the first women’s hockey league to pay its players. This was the top league for women from 2015 to 2023, but it struggled to reach the level of success other sports leagues were reaching. Starting at the beginning of the 2019-20 season, players were unhappy with the league and decided to boycott. This group of people were the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association. These players were having to work multiple jobs while playing in this league and were disappointed in the respect for their game. Although the PHF made some improvements to the low pay, many players chose to not rejoin the league. This left them no place to play.
In June of 2023, Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter and his Wife made a deal to purchase the Premier Hockey Federation in order to create the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). The goal of this purchase was for the PWHL to be the only professional league for women in North America, bringing back the women that were lost in the boycott of the PHF.
In August of 2023 the PWHL was officially announced. With an inaugural six teams and a 24-game season, this was exciting news for women in hockey. The league would consist of three teams from the United States and three from Canada with games starting in January of 2024. Games would be set to play in some NHL arenas as well as junior and minor leagues rinks. In the inaugural year, more players would be given the opportunity for a place to play, and with a much better salary than they were earning at the PHL.
Now, as the games have been underway since Janauary of 2024, we are seeing much higher levels of success than we have in previous womens hockey leagues. Games are filling out NHL arenas and the fan base is continuing to grow. The league has already broken records and it hasn’t been created for more than a year.
To me, this is inspiring. It proves that Women’s hockey is on the right track, and there is now a strong foundation for it to build on. With support and collaboration from the NHL, I am optimistic about the direction this league will go. My hopes are that in the coming years we will see more teams enter the league, a continuous uprise in fan support, and for the specialness of womens hockey to continue to be highlighted.
I am hopeful for the future of the Professional Womens Hockey League and look forward to tracking its progress in coming years.
Information taken from: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/29/sports/hockey/pwhl-womens-hockey.html
Image courtesy of: https://www.thepwhl.com/en/professional-womens-hockey-league-pwhl-unveils-jerseys-for-inaugural-season
Erin Young 
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