By Briana Dunn, Staff Writer

 The ball may have dropped but so has the puck for the inaugural season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), a “first-of-its-kind” women’s hockey league uniting the best players worldwide.

The PWHL began its season on Jan. 1 with a game between Toronto and New York. Less than 11 seconds into the game, Ella Shelton of Team New York scored the first goal in league history. 

The teams hail from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, New York and Minnesota. Each team will have a 24-game schedule consisting of 12 home games and 12 away. The regular season will run until May 5, followed by a playoff tournament in June to determine the league’s first champion.

The PWHL, which was officially announced  Aug. 29, 2023, comes after several alternate versions of professional women’s leagues, including the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) and Premier Hockey Federation, formerly known as the National Women’s Hockey League. Since the CWHL folded in 2019, many Olympians, including Sarah Nurse and Kendall Coyne Schofield have advocated for a singular women’s professional league meeting the highest standard of professionalism possible.

“To have something like this today that we’re launching is something that is so significant for our sport, and I know that many women [that came] before me have dreamed of something like this,” commented Jayna Hefford, five-time Olympian and senior vice president of hockey operations.

The players united in 2019 as the Professional Women’s Hockey Player Association and came to a partnering agreement in June of 2023 with Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter. Walter funds all six teams in the PWHL, and player salaries range between $35,000 and $80,000.

The league is supported and governed by many pioneers in the sports world including tennis stars Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, and former major league sports executives Royce Cohen and Stan Kasten. 

The league plans to digitally stream each game but hopes to have games broadcasted on television. Kasten also noted that the season schedule offers many options for fans. 

“Our inaugural season schedule features games being played at exceptional venues, at a variety of times, across all seven days of the week,” said Kasten.

Teams had the opportunity to recruit up to three players in a free-agency signing period prior to the 15-round draft on Sept. 18, 2023. There are 23 active roster spots, an additional three reserves and one player allowed on long-term injury reserve per team.

Nurse and Coyne Schofield were both drafted to the league, joining the rosters of Toronto and Minnesota, respectively. The league’s 157 players include a vast majority of the top women’s hockey players from North America and feature international players as well. 

Some of the international players include Japanese forward Akane Shiga and German national team goaltender Sandra Abstreiter, both skating for Ottawa. Swiss forward Alina Muller, Swedish national team goaltender Emma Soderberg and Austrian forward Theresa Schafzahl are also in the league, playing for Boston. 

But why just generic uniforms and city names? The women on the ice made it clear they didn’t want to wait another full year to launch this league, and a six-month build meant prioritizing some things over others. Fear not, logos and team names are in the works, but the focus is on the on-ice product as the league begins. 

Hefford, though thrilled for the players making this history, noted her enthusiasm for the fans.

“And I’m equally excited for all the new fans of our game, men and women, boys and girls, who are going to be inspired by the women that go onto the ice in this league,” Hefford said. “We’re going to represent what it means to be strong, to be powerful and to be determined. We’re just getting started here.”