PWHPA, Led by Hilary Knight, Working On Agreement With Los Angeles Sports Team Owners And Other Investors To Form New Women’s Hockey League

The push to have more opportunities for women to compete in hockey in North America seems to have taken a giant leap forward as it was announced that the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is working out a deal with several Los Angeles sports team owners and other investors that would create a new women’s hockey league. Key names involved include Billie Jean King from BJK Enterprises, Mark Walter of the Mark Walter Group, and potential sponsors Scotiabank and Deloitte. Other names involved include players from the U.S. Women’s Hockey team such as Hilary Knight, who is one of the founders of the PWHPA, and Kendall Coyne Schofield who is the president of the PWHPA. In a sport like hockey where there aren’t the same amount of opportunities for women to compete, it’s long past due to start elevating the game to a larger audience beyond just those who watch the Olympics every four years or tune into the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships.

Before we take a victory lap, it’s time to answer some questions to help us know whether this new deal will come through and if a women’s hockey league in North America can sustain itself over time.

The first and most important question is whether the popularity of women’s hockey is at a point where sponsors should buy into the idea of creating a new league for women’s hockey in North America? The answer is a resounding yes. All you have to do is look at the Winter Olympics and how the Gold Medal Match has featured the U.S. and Canada in every Winter Olympics since 1998, with the exception of 2006. This clearly shows that women in North America are excited to play Hockey.

What about TV viewership? Well, again this is a simple question. Just look at the Beijing Olympics. Earlier this year, the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team competed at the Winter Olympics in Beijing where they claimed a Silver Medal as they once again played Canada in the Gold Medal Match. The Gold Medal match drew an average viewership of 3.54 million viewers in the U.S according to NBC, which was the primary broadcast network for the 2022 Winter Olympics. It was the second most watched hockey game in the U.S. since 2019, trailing only Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup between Montreal and Tampa Bay, in which Tampa Bay won and repeated as Stanley Cup Champions. The fact that more people watched the women compete at the Olympics than watched NHL regular season games in the last three seasons is a pretty good sign that women’s hockey participation in North America is growing at a quick pace that could lead to a strong and sustainable league for women’s hockey in North America.

Has there been other women’s hockey leagues in North America? You’d be pretty hard-pressed to find people in America that are aware of any such league, but they exist/existed. One of the two prominent leagues in North America was the Canadian Women’s Hockey League that began operations in 2007, and although it eventually ceased operations in 2019, the fact that the league lasted 13 seasons shows that a women’s hockey league, if run properly, can be sustainable. The other women’s hockey league is the National Women’s Hockey League that began operations in 2015, and since 2021, its name has been changed to Premier Hockey Federation. The league is made up of six teams and in the 2021/22 season the league played 20 games. The Boston Pride won the most recent championship. It was also the first professional women’s hockey league to pay players a salary. Though dissatisfaction with the amount the league was paying its players led to a player revolt and the eventual creation of the PWHPA.

What is the PWHPA? Why was it created? And who leads it? The PWHPA is an organized labor union for professional women’s hockey players. It was started by 2018 Olympic Gold Medalist and U.S. Hockey player Hilary Knight. Knight, who created the “For The Game Movement” became dissatisfied with the way players were being treated by the NWHL and felt that it was time to unionize in an effort to push for better treatment and better opportunities for women to compete, which includes higher wages. She has since been joined by U.S. teammates Kendall Coyne Schofield and Amanda Kessel. Schofield is currently the president of the PWHPA.

Who are the investors and will they be able to establish a new and sustainable league? One of the possible investors for this league is the BJK Enterprises run by tennis legend Billie Jean King. Her company has minority ownership stakes in Los Angeles based teams from the National Women’s Soccer League (Angel City FC), WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, and MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers. Another partner is Mark Walter, who is the CEO of the Mark Walter Group and also has a minority ownership stake with the Dodgers. Other potential sponsors include ScotiaBank, and Deloitte, which is an auditing and financial consulting company based in the United Kingdom. The PWHPA is also hoping to get former WTA Chairman Larry Scott to oversee the finalization of the deal. It stands to reason that if all of these groups can get on-board, a long lasting women’s hockey league can be formed in North America.

How many teams will there be? Where will they be located? Will this league be a direct competitor of the Premier Hockey Federation? The goal is to have a six-team league with teams located in both Canada and the U.S. Given that the leading members of the PWHPA have ceased negotiations with the Premier Hockey Federation, this new league would be a direct competitor of the Premier Hockey Federation.

What can we expect when it comes to player compensation? How big will the rosters be? How long will the season last? Base salaries for players will start at $35 thousand, and bonuses could potentially raise player salaries to $55 thousand. This is considerably larger than what the Premier Hockey Federation would offer. Rosters will include 23 players. The season is expected to be 32 games long.

When will the inaugural season occur? If all goes well, the league will launch in January 2023 and the season will end in April 2023.

When you look at all of the evidence of sustainability for women’s hockey in North America, plus the amount of money that is potentially involved in this current business proposal, logic dictates that this league has huge potential for success. While this deal seems really exciting on the surface, we have to remain cautiously optimistic because the deal isn’t complete yet, and there is no public discussion surrounding broadcasting rights or the name of the league. Marketing is going to be super critical in making this work and that’s why they need to shore up all financial aspects of this deal as swiftly as possible and figure out a proper name for the new league.

As a sports fan I pride myself on being open to providing as much opportunity as possible to allow women to be involved in all aspects of the sporting industry, especially the most basic action of allowing women to compete. A lot of people will say “hold on, we are already allowing women to compete, why make such a big deal about it?” That is a valid question. Discussing the advancement of gender diversity in sports is a big deal because we shouldn’t get too comfortable with the status quo as not all sports provide the same opportunities for women. We should always find a way to push those boundaries, especially in a sport like hockey.