2023-24 Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) News

[FrHockeyFan]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1800608723037282582

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Well deserved.

 

[JMCx4]

Summary (and summery) version, to wrap up the FIRST season ... PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S HOCKEY LEAGUE (PWHL) COMPLETES 2024 AWARDS

 

[cheswick]

Apologies if this has been asked before. I know the league recently had a draft. Given only certain roster sizes what becomes of players recently drafted that aren't ready for the team. Is there somewhere to continue playing? For example I know there were goalies drafted that are college graduates. Where would a third or fourth on the depth chart goalie continue playing?

 

[JMCx4]

Apologies if this has been asked before. I know the league recently had a draft. Given only certain roster sizes what becomes of players recently drafted that aren't ready for the team. Is there somewhere to continue playing? For example I know there were goalies drafted that are college graduates. Where would a third or fourth on the depth chart goalie continue playing?

You may be the first to ask these questions "out loud" in this forum. Here are my thoughts that you can consider as "answers" ...
1. Best I can sort out the truths & rumors, wannabe PWHL players must be in an "eligible" status (e.g., graduated/departed from college hockey, not under contract in a European league) before they "declare" to be draft participants.
2. Each PWHL team can currently carry 3 players in a "Reserves" status. I cannot recall any goalies mentioned on any of those lists, all talk has been about skaters (some never contracted in Season #1 to play, others contracted & with significant playing time).
3. There are no "depth charts" beyond the Reserves. It's not clear to me what the League would allow a team to do if they lost a goalie to injury or other reasons, or if their small Reserves pool couldn't cover a team's needs to ice a full (or near-full) roster.
4. The PWHL does NOT have a mature set of operating rules & regs. They hurried to stand up 6 teams last year & start Season #1, and left a LOT of hockey ops details to be dealt with as they got the time to breathe (presumably this summer but maybe some things even later). One example of this haphazard approach was the publication of the initial PWHL rule book just one day prior to the first puck drop.

ETA: Further discussion on this & other PWHL topics should be posted in the 2nd season PWHL thread, to maintain current info & opinion exchanges.

 

[FrHockeyFan]

Toronto and Ottawa GMs have mentioned they are discussing with some European clubs on establishing working partnerships. This could be an option for players. Kingsbury did say they wouldn't be forced to go over as this may not make sense (financially, i would say) to everyone. Next best option would then be local senior leagues.

 

[DingerMcSlapshot]

Apologies if this has been asked before. I know the league recently had a draft. Given only certain roster sizes what becomes of players recently drafted that aren't ready for the team. Is there somewhere to continue playing? For example I know there were goalies drafted that are college graduates. Where would a third or fourth on the depth chart goalie continue playing?

Men's Rec or a Woman's League. Men's Rec would be a couple steps up. Especially the higher Rec levels.

 

[JMCx4]

I posted this in the 2024-25 NCAA Division I Hockey Thread as well. Good to see some comparisons established within the sports media between women's & men's college hockey advancement paths ...

The Ice Garden > NCAA

Breaking Down the NCAA's Most Likely Draft Powerhouses
Catherine Morrison
Jul 21, 2024

Ever wonder which NCAA schools already have a foothold in the PWHL's talent pool? Wonder no more -- here's a list of schools already providing the best players in women's hockey.

The explosion of women’s hockey in recent years has created a real pathway for NCAA student-athletes to make a living playing hockey, instead of having to give up the sport when they graduate. Now, when athletes consider what school to play for, they will want to consider not only their NCAA record but also their draft record for the PWHL. With two drafts under the PWHL’s belt, which schools are becoming draft powerhouses?

The Ice Garden looked at which schools had the highest number of draftees in 2023 and 2024 and compared that to how well the schools have performed in recent history in order to predict which schools might become destinations for athletes looking to go pro. ...

Read more at: Breaking Down the NCAA's Most Likely Draft Powerhouses | TIG