On Jan. 1, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) dropped the puck for the first game of its debut season since being announced in summer 2023. The 4–0 New York victory over Toronto broke television viewership records for a women’s professional hockey game with 2.9 million viewers. Additionally, Minnesota’s Jan. 6 victory against Montreal set live attendance records at Xcel Energy Center with over 13,000 spectators in attendance. The league is the third installment of a professional women’s league for the sport in North America since 2007, which begs the question: Why has women’s hockey become so popular now?
In 2019, all professional women’s hockey leagues across North America were boycotted by about 200 players for not providing proper resources to teams. To the players, the leagues were not doing enough to support player retention. In order for the league to be successful, the minds behind the PWHL needed to ensure it could retain players and viewers. For starters, it is backed by billionaire LA Dodgers owner Mark Walter and has multiple professional female athletes on the board, such as tennis legends Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss.
The teams are also rooted in hockey hotspots with strong junior and high school leagues. The six 23-player teams include Boston, Montreal, Minnesota, New York, Toronto, and Ottawa. The draft to assemble teams took place in September. The teams have yet to receive a formal name designation and simply go by the area they play in.
Additionally, the league is giving these teams a larger stage. PWHL Minnesota’s home base is Xcel Energy Center, shared with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. This drums up more local excitement towards the team, as Minnesota PWHL has already been included in Hockey Day Minnesota, the celebration of all things hockey in the State of Hockey. The holiday took place on Jan. 28 and was highly televised across the state.
“I was gonna go to the home opener just because why not?” junior Maggie Salmen said. “I think it’s very cool that women and girls can see themselves represented, especially in a state where hockey is so important.”
If you’re looking to catch a game, you can find PWHL Minnesota on Bally Sports North or live on PWHL’s YouTube channel.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on February 21, 2024.
