On August 29, 2023, fans of professional women’s hockey were thrilled by the announcement of a new and unified league known as the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). Recently, the draft finished at the end of September, with the inaugural season set to begin in January of 2024. The first season will consist of 24 regular season games. 

The PWHL is the formation of two original leagues called the Professional Hockey Federation (PHF) and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). The PHF consisted of seven teams while the PWHPA consisted of four teams, however, tension between both leagues became a major problem. Divisions between players and the original leagues in general continued to grow over time, forcing fans and viewers to declare sides with one league over the other. These divisions halted the growth and progression of women’s hockey.

The new league seeks to start fresh and resolve the tension and competition between the original leagues. It will consist of six new original franchises in Boston, New York, Minnesota, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa; organization names and logos have yet to be released though. Although currently there are only six teams in the league, there are hopes for expansion in the future.

Johanna Boynton, former owner of the Toronto Six, claimed “the new league was created to unify the women’s professional hockey world.” She also stated that in order for women’s hockey to be successful, “all players needed to play in one league,” again emphasizing the necessity of having a unified league for women’s hockey.

“The PHF made considerable progress and the new league can use those lessons to advance the growth and fan base of women’s professional hockey,” Boynton says. By joining forces and working as one, the PWHL shares one of their main priorities in their mission statement that they hope to “empower ourselves and reimagine women’s hockey” while they “move beyond discrimination in a spirit of togetherness.” 

As for the players who were a part of the PHF and PWHPA, Boynton feels as if “time will tell” whether they are positively or negatively impacted by the formation of the new league. Many players lost contracts because of the formation of the league, and as of right now there are not enough teams to sign every player originally from the PHF and PWHPA. Although the PWHL is focused on their inaugural season approaching this January, the hopes for expansion in the future will hopefully include the drafting of players who were released from their contracts and not drafted into the PWHL. 

The creation of the PWHL has sparked hope for a brighter future for women’s professional hockey. Fans no longer have to pick which league and which players to support, and players are able to come together to support the growth of women’s hockey as one unified group.