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
Women’s hockey has been in a brighter spotlight in recent weeks with the inclusion of professional women’s players in the NHL’s All-Star weekend in San Jose, CA and the NWHL’s All-Star weekend in Nashville, TN. But women’s hockey has been thriving and growing in the USA at an impressive rate for a long time.
USA Hockey’s public registration numbers show a nearly five percent increase in women’s hockey in 2017-18, compared to only one percent increase in men’s. Men’s hockey still has larger numbers overall, but the difference in the rate of growth reflects a change in the broader nature of hockey in the USA.
We spoke with some Washington Capitals players about the importance of women’s hockey during the team’s “Hockey ‘n Heels” event.
By Cara Bahniuk and Brennin Weiswerda 2 months 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
Since the National Women’s Hockey League’s founding in 2015, three teams have partnered with their closest NHL franchises. Those partnerships include the Metropolitan Riveters with the New Jersey Devils, the Minnesota Whitecaps with the Minnesota Wild, and the Buffalo Beauts with the Buffalo Sabres.
Thursday morning, the Boston Pride became the fourth, teaming up with the Boston Bruins. The Bruins will assist the Pride financially and help grow women’s hockey in Massachusetts.
The Pride, whose roster includes Maryland native and Olympic gold medalist Haley Skarupa, will be at TD Garden tonight to support the Bruins and celebrate the new partnership.
By Julia Karron 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
Sam Walther’s journey from playing street hockey with the sons of Capitals’ players to Division III hockey, and finally to a professional women’s league is an inspiring story with many connections to the current Stanley Cup Champions.
This season, Walther will be in goal for the Connecticut Whale of the NWHL. She’s worn #37 for most of her playing career, in honor of Olie Kolzig, but now she has a new number: #70.
Braden Holtby has been a role model for Walther both on and off the ice. Recently, she bought a Holtby T-shirt. She then tweeted Holtby, asking what it would take for him to buy a #70 Walther one.
By Brennin Weiswerda 7 months ago
Photo: @andreburakovsky
Caps forward Andre Burakovsky showed some love to the National Women’s Hockey League Sunday night. On his time off, the Burracuda went to HarborCenter to watch the Buffalo Beauts take on the New York Riveters. The Capitals arrived in Buffalo Sunday afternoon, a day early ahead of their game against the Sabres Monday night.
The world is changing for women’s hockey. On October 11, a new professional women’s league, the NWHL, will kick off its inaugural season. The league consists of four teams: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, and New York Riveters.
The NWHL is the first pro women’s league to actually pay its players, including providing all equipment (players in the CWHL must pay out of pocket for gear). The NWHL will also secure work visas so that international players can join as well.
I’m excited and inspired by the new league, so I’ve made a set of banners for the teams, similar to the ones I made for the NHL in April 2014. (more…)
By Rachel Cohen 4 years ago
