Sunday morning, the CWHL announced they would cease operations effective May 1, 2019. But it appears that there will be a future for pro women’s hockey in Canada.
The NWHL will expand to Toronto and Montreal starting next season, according the NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan.
By Julia Karron 3 weeks ago
During the Winter Olympics in 2018, I stayed up way past my bed time to watch the US Women’s National Hockey Team beat Canada in a shootout for their first gold medal since 1998. That game garnered 3.0 million views on NBC Sports Network and 3.7 million across all platforms. The NBCSN-only audience exceeds all but five of the network’s total NHL telecasts according to Sports Media Watch.
There is always an appetite for more hockey, and particularly women’s hockey. This year’s Clarkson Cup had 175,000 viewers, and the NWHL’s All-Star Game and Skills Competition had a combined 945,000 viewers. But early on Sunday morning, the CWHL announced they were folding after 12 seasons.
The news came as a shock to players and reporters alike, leaving the NWHL as the only paying professional women’s league in America, and forcing the hockey community to ask itself what the future of women’s hockey looks like.
By Julia Karron 3 weeks ago
One week after the Canadian Women’s Hockey League’s record-breaking viewership for its championship game, the league announced that it would be discontinuing operations effective May 1, 2019. The league cited financial and economic instability for the closure.
This comes on the heels of recent discussions between the CWHL, the National Women’s Hockey League, and the NHL. The press release commends their commissioner Jayna Hefford for her successful work with the league. Hefford has publically stated that her priority is the creation of one women’s league.
The 175,000 viewers who watched the Calgary Inferno win the Clarkson Cup final were watching the last Clarkson Cup final without knowing it.
By Brennin Weiswerda 3 weeks ago
Sunday afternoon the Caps are taking on the Flyers at 12:30 pm. That game will surely have massive playoff implications, as the Caps are clinging to first in the Metro and the Flyers are five points out of the final wildcard spot.
But there’s another game with even bigger implications Sunday at noon. The Canadian Women’s Hockey League Clarkson Cup Final between Les Canadiennes and the Calgary Inferno is going down.
You should watch it. Here’s why and how you can do so.
By Julia Karron 1 month ago
Friday night in San Jose, Kendall Coyne Schofield became the first woman to officially compete in an NHL All-Star Skills Competition, finishing one second behind the eventual winner, Connor McDavid, in the Fastest Skater.
One of the other female Olympians turned in an even better performance. Brianna Decker’s time during the demonstration of the Puck Control skills was a full second faster than the eventual winner Leon Draisaitl.
Draisaitl won $25,000 despite having registered the second-best time. Fans on Twitter took issue with that and started a hashtag insisting that the NHL #PayDecker.
The NHL has not responded but CCM Hockey stepped up by giving Decker the same prize money as Draisaitl received. The hockey equipment brand has done a lot to support and promote women’s hockey, including support for the recent partnership between the Boston Pride and the Boston Bruins.
By Brennin Weiswerda 3 months ago
In a piece from the Associated Press released Wednesday morning, NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan commented that women’s hockey will eventually move to a one-league model. Currently, there are two in North America, the National Women’s Hockey League and Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
Buried in the piece about the idea of one women’s league is a vital nugget: the NHL helped end the wage dispute between Team USA and USA Hockey so they could play at the 2017 World Championships.
By Julia Karron 6 months ago
