The PWHL was announced in August 2023 after the Mark Walter Group announced the formation of a new league aligned with the players in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association, and then subsequently purchased and folded the rival Premier Hockey Federation in June 2023.[1] On August 29, the locations of the six charter franchises were announced.[2]
On September 1, 2023, a 10-day free agency period began, during which each team was eligible to sign up to three players.[3][4] On the same day, the league announced the general managers for each team: Danielle Marmer for Boston, Natalie Darwitz for Minnesota, Pascal Daoust for New York, Gina Kingsbury for Toronto, Daniele Sauvageau for Montreal, and Michael Hirshfeld for Ottawa.[5] On September 5, Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, and Emerance Maschmeyer became the first players signed to PWHL contracts when they signed with Ottawa.[6]
On September 18, 2023, the inaugural PWHL Draft took place. It was a 15-round draft, with the initial order determined by a lottery, and subsequent rounds following a "snake format" in which the team who selected last in the previous round selected first in the next round, and the selection order was reversed.[3] The draft order was announced on September 1, with the lottery won by Minnesota, followed by Toronto, Boston, New York, Ottawa, and Montreal.[7] The league allowed players to apply for "compassionate circumstances" in order to stay in their home markets, with those approved eligible to be drafted only by their home market teams; the list of approved players will not be publicly released.[8]Taylor Heise was picked first overall by Minnesota.[9]
On October 25, 2023, PWHL Holdings, LLC filed potential names for the six teams with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. According to The Athletic, the potential names were Boston Wicked, Minnesota Superior, Montreal Echo, New York Sound, Ottawa Alert, and Toronto Torch. PWHL Holdings had previously filed trademarks for the league name and logos.[10] However, the league ultimately opted against naming the teams ahead of the season; for the 2024 season, the teams will be known by their city names, and each wear jerseys featuring a diagonal wordmark of their home city.[11]
Training camps opened on November 15, with final rosters confirmed on December 11. Final rosters include 23 roster players and 3 reserve players.[12]
From December 3 to 7, all six teams congregated for a pre-season evaluation camp in Utica, New York, which included scrimmages at the Utica University Nexus Center.[13] PWHL executive Jayna Hefford stated that the unified camp enabled the league to experiment and provided an opportunity for team and player education around issues like safety and doping.[13]
On January 15, it was announced that 24 PWHL players would participate in the 2024 NHL All-Star weekend in Toronto, playing a 3-on-3 showcase game on February 1.[14]
The 2023 PWHL Draft was held on September 18, 2023. Draft picks are not allowed to be traded until the conclusion of the 2024 season.[17] Players not drafted have become free agents and are able to sign with any team. Players were drafted from a pool of 268 players who declared their eligibility.[18] Overall, 90 players were selected over 15 rounds. The Minnesota team made Taylor Heise the first player ever drafted into the PWHL.[19]
On December 27, 2023, one week before Minnesota's inaugural game, the team announced that Burggraf had decided to step away from the team, citing family reasons.[20] Burggraf had been named the team's first head coach on September 15, 2023,[21] and coached the team to a perfect 3–0 record in the preseason. Klee, most recently the head coach of the U-16 Colorado Thunderbirds of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League, was immediately named head coach.[22] Klee was previously assistant coach for the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, as well as head coach for Team USA, where they won gold at the 2015 and 2016Women's World Championship and the 2015 and 20164 Nations Cup.
The regular season schedule was announced on November 30, 2023. The season began on January 1 and will end on May 5, 2024 with each team playing 24 games. The schedule will pause in February for an IIHF National Team Break, and in April for the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. The playoffs will begin the week of May 6.[1][2][3][4]
On February 16, 2024, Toronto hosted its first game at the Scotiabank Arena against Montreal dubbed by the league as "The Battle on Bay Street."[12] The game set a league and women’s hockey attendance record with a sellout crowd of 19,285, beating the previous record of 18,013 at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship.[13] On April 20, 2024 Montreal hosted Toronto at the Bell Centre dubbed as the "Duel at the Top" breaking the previously set record with an attendance of 21,105.[14]
Playoffs[]
By virtue of finishing first overall, Toronto was able to choose its first-round opponent between fourth-place Minnesota and third-place Boston. On May 6, Toronto announced their choice to play Minnesota, leaving Montreal to play Boston in the other semi-final.[15]
Toronto finished in first place earning 47 points. Minnesota finished in 4th place with 35 points. Toronto won three of four regular season meetings against Minnesota, including both meetings in Toronto and with one win coming in overtime.
Minnesota defeated Toronto in five games. In game one, Blayre Turnbull scored twice, Natalie Spooner recorded a goal and an assist, and Kristen Campbell made 26 saves to earn her first career playoff shutout – the first playoff shutout in league history as Toronto defeated Minnesota 4–0 in game one.[16] Game two remained scoreless until Jesse Compher scored with 1:25 left in regulation to give Toronto 1–0 lead. Hannah Miller scored an empty net goal with 10 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach. Campbell turned aside 21 Minnesota shots to give Toronto a 2–0 victory, and a 2–0 lead in the series.[17] In game three, Maddie Rooney made 18 saves for Minnesota in a 2–0 victory.[18] In game four, neither team scored in regulation; Claire Butorac scored 4:27 into the second overtime period for Minnesota as Rooney made 19 saves in the win.[19] In game five, Taylor Heise scored twice, including the game winner in the third period, while Maddie Rooney continued her hot streak stopping 27 shots. Minnesota won the game 4–1, advancing to the Walter Cup Finals.[20]
Boston finished 3rd place in the league earning 35 points. Montreal finished in 2nd place earning 41 points. Montreal and Boston split their regular season series with two wins each, including one regulation and one overtime win each.
Boston defeated Montreal in a three-game sweep, with all three games decided in overtime. In game one, Aerin Frankel made 53 saves, and Susanna Tapani scored the game-winning goal in overtime—the first overtime goal in PWHL playoff history—and Boston won the game 2–1.[21] Game two was decided at 8:16 of the third overtime period, with Taylor Wenczkowski netting her first career PWHL goal, ending the affair in a 2–1 victory for Boston. Frankel made 56 saves in the contest, breaking her previous save record from Game 1.[22] In game three, after Montreal took a 2–0 lead after two periods, Boston scored twice in the third to send the game into overtime for the third consecutive time. Boston won the game 3–2, with Tapani scoring the game-winning goal, her second of the series, 1:02 into overtime, completing the sweep of Montreal.[23]
On February 16, 2024, Toronto hosted its first game at the Scotiabank Arena against Montreal dubbed by the league as "The Battle on Bay Street."[24] The game set a league and women’s hockey attendance record with a sellout crowd of 19,285, beating the previous record of 18,013 at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship.[13] On April 20, 2024 Montreal hosted Toronto at the Bell Centre dubbed as the "Duel at the Top" breaking the previously set record with an attendance of 21,105.[25]
The 2023 PWHL Draft was held on September 18, 2023. Draft picks are not allowed to be traded until the conclusion of the 2024 season.[26] Players not drafted became free agents able to sign with any team. Players were drafted from a pool of 268 players who declared their eligibility.[27] Overall, 90 players were selected over 15 rounds. Minnesota made Taylor Heise the first player ever drafted into the PWHL.[28]
↑Kennedy, Ian (March 25, 2024). Bye Bye Bridgeport, PWHL New York Moves Games. The Hockey News. “PWHL New York will not play their final scheduled game at Bridgeport's Total Mortgage Arena this season, instead moving games to UBS Arena, and it's rumored, to the Prudential Center.”
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Taylor Heise