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PWHL Coming Together Nicely After Historic Week

By Richard Jelinek

(L-R) Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston, Hilary Knight, Emily Clark and Alex Carpenter look on during the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting event during the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills Competition at FLA Live Arena on February 03, 2023 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(L-R) Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston, Hilary Knight, Emily Clark and Alex Carpenter look on during the Honda NHL Accuracy Shooting event during the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills Competition at FLA Live Arena on February 03, 2023 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is just getting started but is hitting on all cylinders. Some big news had been announced, along with the free agency period, and this past week was the first ever PWHL draft. Plenty of excitement as the league, which has yet to have team names, logos, or a game played, is raising awareness when it comes to women playing hockey.

PWHL Grows With Experienced Leaders, Players

The PWHL consists of six teams that reside in Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Minnesota, New York, and Ottawa. These are all big hockey markets and share cities with NHL clubs, which can ultimately grow the fan base and seek more attention for the women’s game. The original six teams in those markets have their coaches in place, as those assignments were one of the first courses of action. Those coaches are Courtney Kessel (Boston), Charlie Burggraf  (MInnesota), Kori Cheverie (Montreal), Howie Draper (New York), Caarla MacLeod (Ottawa), and Troy Ryan (Toronto).

The league is owned by the Mark Walters Group. Management includes Jayna Hefford, who was appointed senior vice-president of hockey operations, and Brian Burke, who holds the title of executive director of the players’ union.

The rosters began to take shape during the free agent period when teams were allowed to only sign three players before the inaugural draft. That process went as follows:

Toronto signed forwards Sarah Nurse and Blayre Turnbull, as well as Renata Fast, who plays defense.

Montreal signed forwards Marie-Philip  Poulin and Laura Stacey, and goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens.

New York added forwards Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque, and defense Micah Zandee-Hart.

Boston signed forward Hilary Knight, defense Megan Keller, and goaltender Aerin Frankel.

Forwards Emily Clarke and Brianne Jenner, and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer signed with Ottawa.

Minnesota signed forwards Kendell Coyne-Schofield and Kelly Pannek, and defense Lee Stecklein.

While the players were busy settling in with their new clubs, the first ever PWHL draft was held September 18, 2023, at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The draft consisted of 15 rounds.

The top five picks went like this as the first pick went to the Minnesota franchise and they selected forward Taylor Heise out of the University of Minnesota. Last season, she scored 29 goals and 36 assists for 65 points  in 38 games. The next pick went to Toronto, who then selected defense Jocelyne Larocque. Larocque spent last season in the Women’s World Championships for team Canada, registering three assists in seven games.

Boston got the third pick and selected center Alina Muller from the University of Northeastern Huskies of the NCAA. She contributed 27 goals and 33 assists for 60 points in 38 games.Pick fouor went to New York and they gladly selected defense Ella Shelton, who also played with Larocque for team Canada. She produced one assist in seven games. The top five finished with Ottawa selecting defense Savannah Harmon, who played last season for Team Harvey’s of the Professional Women’s Hockey Player’s Association (PWHPA), She produced one goal and seven assists for eight points in 20 games.

The league, which is set to begin play in January 2024, will have player contracts that pay pretty well. Player contracts will be between $35,000 and $80,000 annually, with the majority of those contracts being one- or two-year deals. Six players of each franchise will be getting three-year deals, valued at $80,000 annually.

This is a massive step to put women’s hockey on the map. All these women ever asked was to be put on a stage where they can showcase their skills and educate fans about women’s hockey and now they have that platform. While this is just the beginning, the league, and players, have so much to be thankful for as they fought a hard battle to get this far. While the NHL will still be the main draw in these markets, the league is trying hard to get this game a fan base that is loyal and dedicated. They may take some work but the league has done a great job in growing the women’s game and getting this league off the ground and on the right path.

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