Check out the Professional Women’s Hockey League, and you will be impressed.
Taylor Heise has game. The PWHL star has slick hands, and can skate with the best of them. If you have not seen her goals against Toronto on Wednesday, January 10, you should. Watch them here.
This is the kind of play and ability that I am coming to expect from this fledgling league. Taylor Heise was the first overall draft pick by Minnesota, when the league held its inaugural draft. Last year she finished up at the University of Minnesota with 200 points in her college career.
The PWHL is the latest attempt to start a women’s hockey league. I am certain that there is enough interest in women’s hockey to make the league a success. Organizational issues caused the problems before, not the product on the ice.
This time, they appear to have it right. By having a collective bargaining agreement in place, sponsorships, and arena space all figured out, this league is in a better spot than any league to come before.
The product MUST be good.
None of that would matter if the product was not good. No amount of preparation or marketing would mean anything if the product on the ice was not worth paying to see. It is.
I’m impressed. Not just with the skill on display, because I have watched women’s hockey at the World Championships and the Olympics. I knew there were several good players. I did not realize the depth of the skill. The third liners are damn good players. There is not the drop off in talent I expected.
I love the speed of the game. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. When it’s America versus Canada in a best on best, I know the skill level is high, and expect quality hockey.
Full arenas with a great atmosphere
Minnesota plays in the same arena as the NHL’s Wild. They set a record for the highest attendance to see a women’s league game, over 13,000 paid fans. The building was loud. A great atmosphere.
Some teams play in a building they can call their own. Toronto plays in the Mattamy center, recognizable to some old-school fans as the top of the old Maple Leaf Gardens. I would not be shocked if the team moves at some point to the Scotiabank center where the Maple Leafs currently play. Keep selling out the current building, and it will happen. All 12 games in the inaugural season were sold out before the season began.
The crowds have been wonderful. Loud and rocking, feeding off the action on the ice. Smaller buildings with a more intimate feel are great.
Next year the league will have a longer schedule than the 24 games being played this season. In the years to come, the league will expand to 12 cities. It has been a promising start in Boston, New York, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Minnesota. Surely Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and any Canadian NHL city will have the interested fan base to support a PWHL franchise.
Where To Watch
NESN will be the home of all 24 PWHL Boston games for fans in New England, excluding Fairfield County. Fans in New…
The league has all games on sports channels and Youtube.
I’m also surprised by the physicality of the games. Under international rules, there is no checking in women’s hockey. Technically, there is no hitting allowed in this game either.
Wonderfully, the refs have let the women play. And when there is a battle for the puck, the tenaciousness really comes to the fore. Some of the battles after the whistle have had genuine anger and frustration. Pushing and shoving. No backing down. There will be a scrap. I have no doubt. It won’t be a show. It will be real emotion rising to a boil.
And that is the kicker. Because when the players on the ice feel that passion and emotion, it will spill into the stands. The crowd feels it. The crowd loves it. And the crowd will return to see it again and again.
The league has stars, get to know them.
Marie-Philip Poulin is captain clutch. She has scored 2 gold-medal winning Olympic goals. She has a hat trick already. The woman has a bad-ass toe-drag and wicked shot that could ping a quarter off the crossbar. She played professionally at 16, before going to Boston College. Watch her play for Montreal.
The aforementioned Taylor Heise has the luxury of a seasoned veteran on her line. Kendall Coyne Schofield has been tearing up international hockey for years. An incredibly fast skater, she has been team USA’s captain for the last few years. Like Poulin, her trophy case has a lot of silverware. And goldware.
Don’t take my word for it
Check this league out. You will be surprised, and you will tune in again. Watch the kids, all the girls in their team jerseys and hoodies are having a great time! Buy some merchandise.
This is a league worth supporting.
Copyright 2024, Michael Williams. All rights Reserved.
