There has never quite been a league like the PWHL, which launched earlier this week.
For the first time, the worldâs best womenâs hockey players, including many from Team Canada and Team USA, are all playing in a single league and being paid full-time salaries.Â
With teams in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York, and Minnesota, the Professional Women’s Hockey League is starting with proximity but has already captured national eyes, with hundreds of thousands tuning into the game broadcasts featuring sold-out buildings in Toronto and Ottawa.Â
Every team will play 24 games before the top-four make the playoffs, which feature best-of-five series in the semi-finals and final.
Here are seven fun facts about the PWHL.
1. Some bodychecking is allowed
The Olympics and World Championships are great, but seeing Emma Maltais throw body checks in Torontoâs opening game against New York City might just be a bit better.
Although womenâs hockey has always been a physical game, bodychecking has never been allowed in North America. Sweden’s SDHL tried it first, but the worldâs best players don’t play there.
In the PWHL, bodychecking is allowed if two players have a clear intention of playing the puck, but the definitions surrounding using the boards to eliminate a player from the play are grey at best.Â
But we were told women's hockey isn't physical. đ¤
Catch the 3rd period between Toronto and New York live on Sportsnet One or stream on Sportsnet+ pic.twitter.com/e5BS2yV3DD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 1, 2024
The referees have been lenient in the opening games, allowing physical play never seen before in womenâs hockey.Â
âThese referees, theyâve been letting us play physical, and thatâs a big part of our game,â Maltais said after Toronto’s opening 4-0 loss to New York. âIâm gonna try and bring that energy every shift I can⌠It got the crowd going, and I hope it got my teammates going as well.â
2. Interesting rule changes from NHL game
While the PWHL copied much of the NHL rulebook and uses officials who primarily work in the AHL, some rules differ from most other leagues.
If a shorthanded team scores on the penalty kill, their penalized player gets to leave the box, and they go back to even strength. In essence, a true âpenalty killâ and a way to encourage more offence rather than simply icing the puck.Â
In the preseason, the PWHL experimented with no shorthanded icing and fully-served two-minute penalties but did not introduce those to regular season play.Â
Le but gagnant!
The OT winner! pic.twitter.com/O8rpYPor5h
— PWHL MontrĂŠal (@PWHL_Montreal) January 3, 2024
Another difference is the scoring system, which rewards winning in regulation.Â
If a team wins in regulation, they earn three points. Should they win in overtime or a shootout, they earn just two. Like the NHL, teams that push the game beyond regulation earn one point in a loss.
In the five-round shootout, a single player can shoot as many times if their team opts to continue sending them out, differing from both the NHL and international hockey.Â
3. No second jobs and ticket sales are flying
It wasnât long ago that familiar Olympic stars had to have second jobs, with teams struggling to sell tickets.
When playing for the Boston Blades in the Canadian Womenâs Hockey League, Team USA star Hillary Knight would create comic strips to post on X, hoping to draw more people to purchase tickets. Other players, such as Mikyla Grant Mentis, who played for the Toronto Six in the Premier Hockey Federation, spent time as a delivery driver while also starring in the league.
Can't wait to get back out on that ice–had a little time on my hands. Sorry ahead of time… #BladiesComic pic.twitter.com/nbDEn3pF7K
— Hilary Knight (@HilaryKnight) February 19, 2015
Now, Toronto has sold out every home game; Ottawa set a pro womenâs hockey attendance record at their opener, and ticket sales are booming in Montreal. For the US teams, Minnesotaâs home rink is the Wildsâ Xcel Energy Center, and the New York team will play a set of games at the Islandersâ UBS Arena.
The average salary in the league is US$55,000, with top players making $80,000 before bonuses. With the backing of the Mark Walter Group, the same group that owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, there are consistent funds — and a collective bargaining agreement, two factors not seen in previous leagues.
4. There arenât team names, but some are registered
In the rush to build the league from scratch and drop the puck all within seven months, the PWHL did not get to brand the teams with logos or names before the January 1 opening day.Â
They could have rushed it, but they didnât want to make a mistake.
Although teams are simply known by the league and their city names at the moment, PWHL Holdings LLC registered six team names. However, the trademark applications don’t necessarily mean these will ultimately be the names the league chooses.
- Toronto Torch
- Ottawa Alert
- Montreal Echo
- New York Sound
- Minnesota Superior
- Boston Wicked
5. PWHL Montreal has the womenâs hockey power couple
Theyâve played for years together with Team Canada and through other iterations of pro womenâs hockey, but PWHL Montrealâs top line features the best power couple in hockey — Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey.Â
LAURA STACEY! MONTREAL TIES IT UP IN THE THIRD!#PWHL pic.twitter.com/ufs7lE0eEU
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 3, 2024
After Stacey scored in Montrealâs 3-2 win over Ottawa to open their season, her first hug was with Poulin. The couple got engaged in May when Stacey asked Poulin the big question.Â
Olympic champions, they also have played together in six world championships, earning two gold medals, three silver, and a bronze.Â
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Staceyâs goal also sparked one of the best X responses in a long time.Â
âSheâs gay, Marcusâ đ¤ âTheyâre lesbians, Staceyâ pic.twitter.com/LnXIi8Esrk
— The GIST Canada (@thegistca) January 3, 2024
6. National TV rights deals
While fans tune into womenâs hockey for the Olympics and World Championships, and the FIFA Womenâs World Cup highlighted some of the top Google searches in Canada in 2023, womenâs sport has never been this easy to watch.Â
Every regular season game is available for free on YouTube, with select games on CBC, Sportsnet, and TSN, in rights-sharing deals seldom seen since the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Unlike the NHL, the league also has no local blackouts.Â
It is almost time to change the channel to PWHL Hockey. đ
We are proud to announce national broadcast partnerships in Canada with CBC / Radio-Canada, TSN and RDS, and Sportsnet, and regional deals in the United States with MSG Networks and NESN.
đ° https://t.co/ANdBqGlNhL pic.twitter.com/GK5IGTFlZv— PWHL (@thepwhlofficial) December 29, 2023
7. Support from familiar NHL facesÂ
Often thought to be the persona of the âold hockey menâ moniker, the man who brought Hernik and Daniel Sedin to the Vancouver Canucks is one of the pillars of the new league.Â
Brian Burke, who has consistently supported womenâs hockey throughout his executive career, is the executive director of the PWHL Playersâ Association and has been critical in bringing never-before-seen professionalism to representation and collective bargaining.Â
The 68-year-old also helped announce several draft selections at the inaugural PWHL Draft.
"We are committed to a platform of fairness, equity and equality."
Executive Director of the PWHLPA, Brian Burke, spoke to the media about the plans for the new Professional Womenâs Hockey League. pic.twitter.com/y0BCNYyhnp
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 29, 2023
âWe look forward to growing this league together; itâs an exciting time,â he said. âTheyâve given us a chance here, the ownership group, to pave the way for success, and now we have to drive that one home.â
During the first game of the PWHL season, a 4-0 New York win over Toronto, Angela Price, the wife of former Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price, posted a photo of watching the game with their family.
View this post on Instagram
Meanwhile, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Morgan Rielly, Auston Matthews and several other NHL players took photos wearing PWHL merchandise and wishing their best to the league.Â
TODAYâS THE DAY!!
Good luck this season, @PWHL_Toronto đ pic.twitter.com/q7mdmEEU8G
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 1, 2024
Boston Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron helped announce the PWHL Boston captains and attended their first game, and Toronto Marlies player Max Ellis said, âwomenâs hockey is in,â in a Marliesâ video ahead of the new year.Â
From one Boston captain to another. đ¤
Patrice Bergeron was present to announce PWHL Boston's inaugural captain, Hilary Knight. đŤĄ
đ¸: @PWHL_Boston pic.twitter.com/prfY1midAJ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 2, 2024
âwomenâs hockeyâs inâ max ellis you are everything pic.twitter.com/efQGXtkAdK
— carmenâ¤ď¸âđĽ (@carmensleafs) January 3, 2024
Other players who have mentioned their excitement include Connor McDavid, Cole Caufield, and Nazem Kadri, while J.T. Comphersâ sister, Jesse Compher, plays for Toronto alongside Sarah Nurse, the cousin of Edmonton Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse.