On Jan. 6 the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota was packed with people, top to bottom almost every seat was full. History was made as fans across the state swarmed to the arena to watch Minnesota play Montreal in the new professional female hockey league. There was a record breaking attendance for the arena of 13,316 people, breaking the current attendance record of 8,318 that was hit on Jan. 2 at the game between Montreal and Ottawa.
The professional female hockey team in Minnesota is a part of the new league, Professional women’s hockey league (PWHL). This new league was announced in the summer of 2023 and played their first game on Jan. 1. The league consists of six new teams from Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto and do not currently have names. The hockey season will last from the beginning of Jan. to the beginning of May.
“Looking around the rink at the fans coming in, having [the media] here, having this game on TV for everyone to turn on [makes this feel like a breakthrough],” New York forward Jessie Eldridge said “In the past, there wasn’t the platform to do that.
While this is not the first professional female hockey league to be created it is the first one to gain such traction in a short amount of time. The predecessor to PWHL was the Premier Hockey Federation (formerly the National Women’s Hockey League). This league, among others, was boycotted by many of its players in 2019. Around 200 athletes refused to participate in their respective leagues “until we get the resources professional hockey demands and deserves.”
“While we have all accomplished so much, there is no greater accomplishment than what we have the potential to do right here and right now – not just for this generation of players, but for generations to come,” An excerpt of the official statement from athletes said. “With that purpose we are coming together…as one collective voice to help navigate the future and protect the players’ needs.”
Players did not have health insurance and were making around 2000 dollars a season meaning players couldn’t properly train to play at the highest level. However despite the downfalls of the former leagues the PWHL has promised to bring a new level of professionalism to women’s hockey.
“We understand that this is gonna be expensive, particularly in the early years. But we’re prepared for that… What we proved was that women’s hockey works as a product, as an entertainment vehicle,” PWHL board member Stan Kasten said. “We didn’t do this for the short term. We didn’t do it for the long term. We did it to be permanent.”
Women’s hockey has made leaps with the new league. The games have had similar media coverage to male hockey games and are aired on the same channel, giving female hockey the exposure they have been lacking.
“It gets better every day. Every time I see another player and I ask them, ‘Are you being treated like a professional?’ And they tell me, ‘Yes,’ Kasten said. “That’s like the best thing I can hear, because that was always the goal.”
Having a professional women’s hockey league that operates as a professional sport is expected to act is vital for women’s equity in sports. Many of the athletes recruited to play for PWHL were on team USA in the Olympics yet not playing professionally before now. This league allows progression in women’s hockey as there is a next level above club teams. During the Minnesota game on Jan. 6 the stands were packed with youth girls hockey teams as they screamed to cheer on the players.
“Every step along the way was important. All of the past experiences and leagues were not failures. They were part of the journey to get here,” Senior Vice President of PWHL hockey operations Jayna Hefford said. “But the pride I have now to know that these women can step out on the ice and be treated like professionals and be hockey players. Every young girl that wants to see a future for herself in hockey can do that. The past generation, including myself, are just so happy for this generation and the next.”
