Changing the Game: A Quick Look at the PWHL and Women's Hockey

The CWHL, established in 2007, was a notable attempt to create a sustainable professional women's hockey league in Canada. It featured teams from across the country, providing a platform for elite female players to showcase their skills and play a game they loved at the next level. The league garnered attention for its commitment to developing women's hockey but faced multiple financial challenges— and wouldn’t start paying its players until 2017. Its unfortunate disbandment in 2019 came after a player boycott over working conditions. The CWHL’s downfall paved the way for a new organization: the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).

The PWHPA emerged in 2019 as a player-driven initiative. Comprising top players who sought a more sustainable and supportive professional environment, the PWHPA focused on displaying the best talent through a series of showcase events and partnerships. The association advocated for a unified, financially viable professional league that could provide long-term opportunities for women in hockey.

Founded in 2015, the NWHL became the first professional women's hockey league in North America to pay its players. Operating primarily in the United States, the league, similar to the CWHL, aimed to create a sustainable model for women's professional hockey while additionally providing compensation. While the NWHL achieved some success, it also encountered financial difficulties, which impacted its ability to provide stable and competitive conditions for players.

The NWHL would eventually rebrand to become the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) around the same time the PWHPA came about, with many returning teams and players.

Despite both the PWHPA and PHF leagues vying for the same goal, neither could ever agree on how a single league could be run, particularly in terms of management and benefits. Understandably so, the NHL was not so keen on supporting a league that couldn’t decide how it wanted to run.

As mentioned, one of the main reasons it took this long to get here was partly because the leagues that preceded the PWHL were always at odds with each other, whether that be about wages, management, infrastructure, and benefits, among other issues and concerns. Although they all had a common goal to grow the game and unify into one league, the fundamentals of each league tended to clash too much for any agreements to be made— that is, until now.

Over six months, discussions between Mark Walter, PHF, and PWHPA unfolded with that same singular objective: create one, cohesive women's professional hockey league. Mark Walter acquired the PHF, and separate agreements were reached with the PWHPA as well. This event marked a turning point in the history of women’s hockey.

Shootouts

Not all high-level leagues have shootout rules, but the ones that do mostly follow the same rules— other than the PWHL, that is.

A quick recap of how shootouts work: if the game remains tied after overtime, the teams proceed to a shootout. Each team selects three players to participate in the shootout. The order of shooters is determined by the coach and submitted to the officials. The aim of a shootout is to score more goals than the opponent within the given number of rounds, and it begins with a series of one-on-one shots between the selected shooters and the opposing goaltender. 

In the NHL, no players are allowed to shoot a second time until the entire team lineup has shot; in the IIHF, players can repeat after the first five attempts per team. As implied, the team leading in goals after the three rounds is announced as the victor. Should the score remain tied after three rounds, the shootout enters a sudden-death phase, where each team takes turns in a "do-or-die" shootout format.

Although most of this still applies to the PWHL, there is a small change: players in the PWHL are allowed to shoot multiple times during the shootout. That then begs the question: will teams send the same players during the shootout, or shake it up a bit? This change allows for other strategies to come into play.

Marie-Philip Poulin

Marie-Philip Poulin is a highly accomplished Canadian ice hockey player from Beauceville, Quebec. She was the first women’s hockey player to win the Northern Star Award—awarded to Canada’s athlete of the year—and holds the record as the only female player in history to score goals in three Olympic gold medal games, two of which were game winners. Because of this, she has been given the moniker “Captain Clutch.” 

Besides her success on the international stage, Poulin played professionally in the CWHL and other leagues, leaving a mark on women's hockey with her talent and achievements.

In the PWHL, Poulin serves as the captain for Montreal.

Hilary Knight

Hilary Knight is well-renowned for her contributions on the international stage, as well as in professional hockey and developing the game for up-and-coming players. Knight is from Palo Alto, California and has represented the United States at multiple Winter Olympics, winning gold in 2018 and silver in 2010 and 2014, and played in multiple Women's World Championships. In addition to her success internationally, Knight played in the NWHL for the Boston Pride, as well as the CWHL for Les Canadiennes de Montréal. Her impact reaches beyond the rink, as she advocates for gender equality in sports and serves as an inspiring figure for aspiring female athletes.

In the PWHL, Knight serves as the captain for Boston.

Sarah Nurse

Canadian hockey player Sarah Nurse hails from Hamilton, Ontario, and like the others, has represented her country on numerous occasions, including at the Women’s World Championships and Winter Olympics. Professionally, prior to the PWHL, she played in the CWHL for the Toronto Furies and later the PWHPA for Team Sonnet. She additionally holds official Olympic records for the most number of points (18) and assists (13) in a single women’s tournament. Off the ice, Nurse is a big voice in the fight against racism in hockey and sports and is not afraid to point out issues and offer commentary in response to any related social events.

Nurse plays for Toronto in the PWHL.

Ann-Renée Desbiens

Ann-Renée Desbiens is best known for her appearances as the goalie for Team Canada at Women’s World’s Championships and has multiple medals, both silver and gold. The La Malbaie, QC native was the first female player to get drafted to the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League for the Loups de La Tuque; however, the team cut her before she could play due to the coach expressing his distaste for developing female hockey players. Despite this, she still took part in the Shawinigan Cataractes training camp that same year. 

Before the PWHL, she played for the University of Wisconsin, won the Patty Kazmaier Award (top female college hockey player in the US), and broke Noora Räty’s record of NCAA career shutouts for any gender with 44. She was drafted in the first round in the 2016 NWHL Draft for Boston Pride and played for Team Bauer in the PWHPA after a one-year break from hockey.

In the PWHL, Desbiens serves as a goaltender for Montreal.

Kaleigh Fratkin

Hailing from Burnaby, BC, Kaleigh Fratkin holds multiple remarkable accomplishments in the world of hockey— to start, she was the first female player to play boys’ Midget AAA in British Columbia. Her achievements continued with the Vancouver NW Giants, with her finishing third in scoring among defenders (despite being injured for 15 games) and earning a finalist spot for the BC Athlete of the Year award when the team won the provincial championships. Fratkin also made appearances for the Aldergrove Kodiaks in the Pacific Junior Hockey League.

At the university level, Fratkin played NCAA D1 women’s hockey for Boston University and served as an alternate captain during her Senior year. Over her 151 games in the league, she accrued 66 points total and was named a Hockey East First-Team All-Star and New England Division I All-Star.

Micah Zandee-Hart

Although some amazing talent has come out of BC, for a long time, BC had yet to produce a player strong enough to make it to the international level— until Micah Zandee-Hart, who holds the title as the first female hockey player from BC to make it on to Team Canada for the Olympics. Her achievements up to that point showcase exactly why the Saanichton, BC native was named first captain of New York in the PWHL.

Before picking up a gold medal with Team Canada at the Olympics, Zandee-Hart participated in multiple high-level programs, camps, and tournaments, including the Canada Winter Games for Team BC, IIHF’s 2013 Women’s High-Performance Camp, and Team Canada U18 and U22 teams. She captained Canada’s U18 team in 2015 and was named Team BC’s flag bearer at the 2015 Canada Winter Games. Her first appearance with Canada’s national team was in 2016, when the team took on Team USA in a two-game series in Plymouth, MI and Sarnia, ON.

Her time with the NCAA Div 1 Cornell Big Red was just as impressive. In her freshman year alone, she led the defensemen with 18 points and was top in points across all Div 1 rookies for most of the season. She was the second sophomore in franchise history to serve as captain of Cornell and finished her career there with 87 points in 124 total games.

In the PWHL, she was named captain of New York and was one of the first to be signed into the league.

Leah Lum

Leah Lum, a player from Richmond, BC, played NCAA Div 1 college hockey at the University of Connecticut for the Huskies, where she showcased her skills in 148 games and amassed an impressive 102 points. Her leadership qualities were evident as she took on the role of alternate captain in her final year at UConn.

At the professional level, she was drafted 11th overall in the 2018 CWHL Draft to the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays and is fourth in goals, assists, points, and games played with them. Lum followed the Rays through the dissolution of the CWHL when the team moved to the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL) until 2022 when she joined the Toronto Six of the PHL. With the Six, she tallied 14 points in 24 games and helped them compete for the Isobel Cup. On the global stage, she has represented China and served as an alternate captain there as well.

In the PWHL, Lum plays for Montreal.

Hannah Miller

Hannah Miller has had multiple appearances across a wide range of leagues, including NCAA Div 1, the CWHL, and across multiple countries internationally. The North Vancouver native played college hockey with the St. Lawrence Saints, where she earned various accolades, including ECAC Hockey All-Academic honours and the distinction of being named to the Second Team All-ECAC Hockey, and additionally captained the team her senior year.

She was selected fifteenth overall by the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays in the 2018 CWHL Draft, and she continued to play for the team through the collapse of the CWHL, while additionally becoming their captain for the 2022/2023 season. Miller's impact extended beyond collegiate and professional play as well; she first graced the international stage by representing Team Canada at the U18 World Championships in 2013 and 2014, and her career took a new turn when she played for Team China at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

In the PWHL, Miller plays for Toronto.

Olivia Knowles

Olivia Knowles, originally from Campbell River, BC, played NCAA Div 1 for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. During her career with them, she consistently led the team in blocked shots and amassed a total of 168 games played. In her freshman year, she was named to the WCHA and All-USCHO Rookie Teams. She also served as an alternate captain in her junior year and later co-captained the team.

Professionally, she signed with and played for the Minnesota Whitecaps in the PHF and established herself as a solid defensive unit. During the Isobel Cup finals, she tallied one assist and five blocked shots.

In the PWHL, Knowles plays for Toronto.

Abby Cook

Abby Cook, a standout defender from Kelowna, BC, played college hockey at Boston University with the Terriers, where she showcased not just her defensive capabilities, but also her offensive talents. She concluded her collegiate career with an impressive total of 99 points, setting a program record for points by a defender in a single season, and she earned the recognition of being named a Hockey East First Team All-Star in her final year. Her last year would also be when she finishes the league leading all NCAA defenders in game-winning goals, with five total.

Professionally, Cook played for Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SWHL) and later joined the Boston Pride in the PHF. Her offensive play has already shown itself in the PWHL, with her having scored a goal in her game against New York on January 28.

In the PWHL, Cook plays for Minnesota.