Ten New Items We Hope Happen For Women’s Hockey In The New Year

There have been a lot of new developments in the women’s hockey world in 2024. Some of those new additions include the PWHL itself, as well as new rule adaptations, and new alignments at the international stage.

Here is a look at the many things that we hope will continue to be new in women’s hockey in 2025.

A new women’s World Junior hockey championship

Enough with the false narrative that there isn't enough competition. It's a one-sided sexist argument that rarely, if ever, gets applied to men's hockey. One night we have Latvia beating Canada and the next you have Czechia drubbing Kazakhstan 14-2 in the men's tournament. There's no telling when an upset or blowout will happen on either side. To that point, the goal differential has never varied greatly between men's and women's competitions. Perhaps if the world was given an opportunity to see the talent of U-20 or U-22 women from Czechia, Sweden and Finland the questions would be answered. And perhaps if these players had equitable opportunities to play high level competition, the gaps that do exist would rapidly close as they have in men's hockey. The sport is dealing with a century of exclusion. Leagues like the CHL and USHL have helped close gaps in men's hockey bringing talented European players over, but aside from the OWHL, governing bodies need to lean into providing a concentrate high level of competition for elite women's hockey players, and watch how it would impact international play. Perhaps instead of pontificating the tired messages, we could look at ways to bolster development. One way to do that is announcing in 2025 an official date for the first women's World Juniors. The IIHF has fought to keep women out of official competition for long enough.

Expansion teams

Make it two more teams and make it now. There is no other option for the PWHL as the talent pool is too deep in the coming 2-3 drafts to wait. Every year will result in quality pros leaving the sport forever if the PWHL holds off on expansion. Not only that, but the markets are ready. The PWHL may look at American markets in hopes of grabbing sponsors and broadcasters, but they should also look at Canada, where the fan base is rabid for more. Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Quebec City: if you build it, fans will come. Seattle, Denver and Detroit look like strong contenders in the USA. The league needs to do it as soon as possible, but as importantly they need to do it right with proper venues in place so the issues that have ensued in Bridgeport and Lowell, and the venues that hindered growth in Montreal and Toronto, don't repeat. Everyone wants more teams.

New stars entering the league

We want more. The league knows they're getting players like Kristyna Kaltounkova, Haley Winn, Viivi Vainikka, Natalie Mlynkova, Casey O'Brien, Rory Guilday, and Nicole Gosling. But fans also want Abbey Murphy and Lacey Eden, they want Michaela Pejzlova and Michelle Karvinen. The league needs to find ways to make this happen. Expansion would help as it would ensure there is money to pay these new players well. Every year will see elite players joining, including the imminent arrival of Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Simms, Laila Edwards, Tessa Janecke, Chloe Primerano, Nelli Laitinen, and others. More teams and more stars opens doors for growth and marketing.

A new collective bargaining agreement

Only 40-50 players in the PWHL are being compensated as true professionals. The majority are still making below $40,000 a season and working multiple jobs, and there is no hope for more built into the current CBA. No broadcasting or merchandise revenue share was included in the CBA. There are still gaping holes in the CBA when it comes to expansion, player movement rights, the draft, agent certification, and more. Perhaps no spot in the CBA is more flawed than the treatment of reserve players who receive no housing allowance and no health coverage, or of players who can have their contracts terminated without cause. The WNBA is renegotiating, the NWSL already did. The vast majority of PWHL's players in the league had no say and no vote on a CBA that represents only a small portion of players while leaving others behind. It might take internal revolt, but it needs to happen. The CBA has many, many strong points, and player protections that are groundbreaking in women's hockey, and the document doesn't need to be scrapped entirely. But as the league has learned where gaps were in their initial plans and logistics, those learning moments need to include opportunity to improve conditions for players.

New ways to watch the PWHL

YouTube during year one was an incredible tool to boost the PWHL's following and women's hockey, and despite the fact the league claims they want to remain accessible, they jumped the gun into cutting off pathways to view games. The infrastructure wasn't in place, and pretty much every online forum available to fans this season has been plastered with fans asking where they can watch games, how they can watch games, sad that they can't watch games, or venting that they've given up altogether on the league because of accessibility. In the long run, it's likely a speed bump. But to make sure it's only a speed bump, the league needs to find more ways to ensure all games are accessible to every fan without requiring several paid subscriptions and a VPN to see games. They can't price fans who can't attend games out of fandom, and they can't frustrate fans looking to watch like they have. Maybe it's not national broadcasting deals that will answer this; maybe it's continuing to add multiple pathways and pieces to a larger puzzle. The league has shown itself to be innovative, including in their use of YouTube in season one. Perhaps there's a third way this league can innovate, even if it's their own subscription based option in partnership with networks.

A new home venue for the Boston Fleet

Not to keep kicking the same tires here, but the Boston Fleet and their fans deserve better. This is a talented team with big name stars. Jamming Hilary Knight and Megan Keller, Hannah Bilka and Aerin Frankel, Alina Muller and Susanna Tapani into Lowell hours outside of their primary base for years does not do these women justice. Lowell could still be a home site, but it can't remain "the" home site. This team needs to be in Boston. Then, as homage to these opening seasons, they could still play a handful of games in Lowell each season. Lowell has been great to the league, it's not the fault of fans or the city. It's just not the best possible location.

A new American pro women’s hockey attendance record

This should be doable. Seattle and Denver both have legitimate shots to break Detroit's record, which was set last season. The mark of 13,736 was 420 more than the previous record, set at Minnesota's home opener last season. If it doesn't happen at those games, Detroit will have another shot in March, although they still have a ways to go toward that record. With months to go however, they've got the time. The fourth option would be the Minnesota Frost promoting an attempt to break the record and bringing in a large home crowd themselves. Whatever way it happens, this is the next breakable attendance record for the PWHL, and setting a new record in the New Year would be great.

New partnerships to form a development pathway

Currently, there's no need for another league. Even though the need for a development league is dire. In fact, a second North American league would likely be a death blow to Europe's women's hockey ecosystem. The SDHL has strong plans to redesign their own league and feeder system, but there's also a significant opportunity for PWHL teams to affiliate with teams in Europe. It would be amazing to create a system partnering with European clubs to help fill those leagues with the best available players as more home grown players in Europe make the jump to the NCAA and PWHL. Imagine giving reserve players the option to go overseas to play and stay game ready. A development fee paid to European clubs of the reserve amount would likely be enough to get teams and the league to take more players than current limits allow. That $15,000 would allow a European team to take a quality player without footing the bill alone, it could be put in part toward youth development in those nations, and it would give PWHL teams a wider pool of available players. In fact, it may allow a redesign of the reserve system altogether. If the SDHL doesn't want to play ball, the PWHL should look at the PostFinance Women's League or even the EWHL.

New found respect and recognition for junior women’s hockey in Canada

When you see the celebration junior men's hockey players receive at the World Juniors and discussed as members of their Canadian Hockey League or USHL teams, people sometimes question why there isn't an equivalent in Canada for women. The response is, there is. The primary league playing at that level is the Ontario Women's Hockey League (OWHL). It's the league that is providing 15 of Canada's 24 U-18 national team members. There are currently more than 200 OWHL U-22 alumni playing NCAA D1 hockey, and 43 alumni in the PWHL. Among those alumni are PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner, Defender of the Year Erin Ambrose, USA national team member Hayley Scamurra, and Canadian national team members Ella Shelton, Emma Maltais, Jaime Bourbonnais, Jamie Lee Rattray, Julia Gosling, Kristin O'Neill, Brianne Jenner, Laura Stacey, Renata Fast, Daryl Watts, Sarah Nurse, Claire Thompson, and Sarah Fillier, who was the first overall pick in the PWHL Draft this year. Alongside the OWHL, which is the premier junior women's hockey league in the world, there are several other leagues of note including Ligue de Hockey Collégiale du Québec, the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, the Junior Women's Hockey League, and parts of the USA's 19-U league. Coordination of the strongest programs who regularly meet at key tournaments throughout the year into more defined leagues that receives the equivalent recognition and funding from Hockey Canada and USA Hockey as their men's junior programs, would be a game changer for women's hockey.

New voices covering the sport

On this side of the screen, it's very exciting to watch new voices emerge to cover the sport. Whether it's the Jocks & Jills podcast that launched with the PWHL, or new writers for women's hockey publications, or new publications covering the sport for the first time altogether, the opportunities to be part of this sport are endless. The new voices providing unique perspectives coming into the women's hockey sphere are amazing, and at this point in the PWHL's founding, the more the merrier. Every time a new person blogs about the league, talks on a podcast, creates art based on the league, does a news segment, writes for a major publication or a student newspaper, it's another piece of a foundation that will help the league grow and succeed. The same goes for content creators on YouTube, TikTok, X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Reddit and elsewhere. The new voices joining the conversation are elevating the league and media coverage for the sport.