The Professional Women’s Hockey League kicked off its inaugural season on Monday with a game between its N.Y. and Toronto teamsGETTY IMAGES

 

The Professional Women’s Hockey League “ushered in a new era in women’s sport” yesterday as it kicked off its inaugural season with a game between its N.Y. and Toronto teams, according to Steve Keating of REUTERS. The game marked the launch of a league with “ambitious plans to do for ice hockey” what the WNBA and NWSL “did for their sports.” With six nameless franchises in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, N.Y., Boston and Minneapolis-St. Paul, “building a fan base will be job one for the fledgling league.” Pay equality “will remain a far off dream” with the average PWHL salary at $55,000, but the new league still attracted players including the sport’s “biggest names” (REUTERS, 1/2). In Toronto, Mike Ganter wrote yesterday’s game was the “kind of sustainable professional women’s hockey many on the ice have been desperately hoping for many years” and it was “historical in that sense” (TORONTO SUN, 1/1). SPORTSNET.ca’s Kristina Rutherford wrote yesterday’s game “truly wasn’t about the result.” It was “about the on-ice product,” the fact that a “best-on-best women’s pro league is finally here.” It was “incredible to see it all pulled together like this, given that the league came together in six months.” PWHL board member Stan Kasten described building the league in that span of time as “marginally insane.” Kasten had “tears in his eyes as he described his emotions” ahead of yesterday’s game (SPORTSNET.ca, 1/1).

STARTING FAST: In Toronto, Mark Colley noted it has been a “rush to get the league ready in six months” and the teams “don’t yet have names or logos.” Kasten said that there is “no timeline for announcing names.” Still, he said that the league launch has “been an overwhelming success.” Colley noted all Toronto home games are “sold out,” and Ottawa’s home opener against Montreal today is “expected to draw the largest crowd ever for women’s pro hockey in North America” with more than 7,800 tickets sold (TORONTO STAR, 1/1). THE ATHLETIC’s Hailey Salvian writes under the header “How the PWHL was made in six months” that yesterday’s game was a “long time coming.” The league itself “came together in a six-month sprint” — a “whirlwind of logistics, decision-making and, occasionally, compromises.” There have “been some hiccups, of course.” The league’s merchandise was “criticized for its high price point and lack of inclusive sizing.” All six teams will “play with their market names printed diagonally across their jerseys” (THE ATHLETIC, 1/2).

BUILT TO LAST? The GLOBE & MAIL’s Rachel Brady wrote the PWHL “claims to be built to last, with patient and well-resourced owners.” The debut game “felt like a real event” and like “something people have been anticipating.” However, it “remains to be seen whether the PWHL can keep the interest of fans and media throughout the season.” Many of the teams “will have bigger venues” than Toronto, which plays at Mattamy Athletic Centre with a capacity of about 2,600, and “not all are selling well.” Only Toronto and Ottawa have “full-time home arenas for the season,” while the other four teams “will hold home games between a few venues” (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/1).

APPOINTMENT VIEWING: The CP reported TSN, Sportsnet and CBC/Radio-Canada will “each broadcast select games in 2024.” Of the remaining 71 games on the PWHL schedule, “51 will be available on linear television in Canada” while the “remaining 21 will be available on the league’s YouTube channel.” TSN, Sportsnet and CBC also will “provide streaming coverage of select games.” French-language coverage of all Montreal games will be “split between RDS, Radio-Canada and ICI TOU.TV.” Regional deals are “in place in the United States with MSG Networks and NESN.” Additional broadcast partners “may be announced throughout the season” (CP, 12/29). In Minnesota, Jerry Zgoda reported Bally Sports North “will broadcast all 24 regular-season games” played by the Minnesota team this season. The deal “follows similar agreements” the league reached with MSG Networks in N.Y. and NESN in Boston to “broadcast games for those teams in their own markets.” It is part of the new league’s quest to “carry all 72 games on linear television or streaming platforms” (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/1).