First, the unhealthy information.
The all-time attendance file for a ladies’s hockey recreation — set April 21, 2024 when 21,105 followers attended a Skilled Ladies’s Hockey League (PWHL) recreation between Toronto and Montreal — is unlikely to be damaged this upcoming season.
“The 21,000 in Bell Heart [in Montreal] is not going to be damaged till we do an outside recreation,” stated Amy Scheer, senior vp of enterprise operations for the PWHL. “As a result of that’s the largest venue in North America.”
For the PWHL — which had one of the crucial profitable opening season launches in current reminiscence, together with profitable “Breakthrough of the Yr” by Sports activities Enterprise Journal — the unhealthy information can also be type of excellent news. They can not set extra attendance data for indoor hockey as a result of larger venues don’t exist.
Whereas the league, which is backed by Los Angeles Dodgers proprietor Mark Walter and Billie Jean King, will not be doing outside video games this season, it is going to be internet hosting 9 neutral-site common season video games throughout the USA and Canada. Dubbed the Takeover Tour, the video games shall be held in three cities in Canada that don’t presently host groups, and 6 in the USA, together with Raleigh, Buffalo and Detroit. The cities will assist expose extra followers to PWHL hockey, and supply the league with crucial info for testing potential markets for future enlargement.
Editor’s Picks
“We’re solely in six markets and we have to proceed to construct our viewers. We have to have folks watch our product reside,” Scheer stated in an interview in Toronto, the place the league has skilled breakneck development. “There is a extensive swath of followers which are watching and interesting with our sport.”
Constructing on final yr’s wins is the secret within the second season of the PWHL, which can characteristic an expanded 30-game common season amongst six groups. There has additionally been an inflow of worldwide expertise, which ought to improve the standard of play throughout the league. The most important change this yr has been each the names on the jerseys and the jerseys themselves. In simply eight months, the league created six new names and model identities for its franchises: the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Cost and Toronto Sceptres.
Whereas the league declined to share particular jersey gross sales numbers, Scheer stated the week of the crew title announcement noticed the best gross sales week within the historical past of the brand new league.
High tales of the week from 
Get unique entry to 1000’s of premium articles a yr from high writers.• NHL grades: Canes, Jets, Wild lead approach »• Are Chelsea good now? How’d it occur? »• 2025 draft QB Sizzling Board: High 12 passers » Extra ESPN+ content material »
The PWHL can also be trying to capitalize on the momentum in ladies’s sports activities. A former New York Liberty govt, Scheer stated the unprecedented development of the WNBA this previous season might assist raise all boats, together with her league.
“It’s past thrilling for me … there’s undoubtedly a tailwind that I feel we’re all using, and it is vital to be prepared for that second, to be prepared for that tailwind and to trip it for so long as you’ll be able to.”
In order that’s off the ice — and arrows are pointing up for the PWHL — however what can followers anticipate on the ice this upcoming season? We went across the horn with the league’s GMs and head coaches to search out out.
Boston Fleet
2023-24 file (8-4-3-9, third)
The Boston Fleet — which play dwelling video games in Lowell, Massachusetts — completed final season third within the league standings and beat Montreal within the playoffs to advance to the finals. Boston misplaced in 5 video games to Minnesota, who gained the league’s first championship: the Walter Cup.
The crew is led by U.S. ladies’s nationwide crew members Hilary Knight, Megan Keller and goalie Aerin Frankel. The 35-year-old Knight, who lately recovered from a lower-body harm, is able to go this season, and the Fleet will look to get their offense again on monitor. Boston scored simply 60 objectives final season, final within the league.
“This season, Boston followers can look ahead to an thrilling and dynamic model of hockey,” stated Fleet GM Danielle Marmer. “The rule change from final yr, encouraging a extra bodily recreation, isn’t just one thing we have tailored to — it has develop into a part of our identification, representing what it means to play Fleet hockey. With our core gamers gaining a yr of expertise collectively, we’ll see stronger crew chemistry and a deeper dedication to profitable habits. This units us as much as play punishing protection whereas excelling in a fast-paced transition recreation.”
Minnesota Frost
2023-24 file (8-4-3-9, 4th)
It was a robust first yr for the PWHL, and the Minnesota Frost made it memorable by profitable the inaugural Walter Cup. Nevertheless, they adopted up the championship with a change at GM, saying Natalie Darwitz wouldn’t return for this season. Melissa Caruso is now the crew’s GM.
Kendall Coyne Schofield, captain of the USWNT, anchors this squad, which turned issues round within the playoffs after dropping the ultimate 5 video games of the common season. Former NHL participant and Frost head coach Ken Klee advised ESPN that the Frost will carry a ‘goal in your again’ mentality this season as reigning champions. “But additionally it is a sense of delight, of accomplishment. It’s extremely onerous to win knowledgeable sports activities championship. So now we have that, but in addition, it is a new yr, a brand new season — we have to be able to compete, we all know each recreation goes to be tight, and we’re enthusiastic about it.”
Montreal Victoire
2023-24 file (10-3-5-6, 2nd)
It has been a season of adapting to alter for all of the PWHL groups, together with the Montreal Victoire. Head coach Kori Cheverie, who discovered French at a fast tempo to speak with the press, lately advised reporters that she was adjusting to a brand new league initiative referred to as the “No Escape Rule” for penalty kills. The rule prevents the penalized crew from making substitutions till after play resumes, giving the power-play crew a bonus.
The Montreal crew is led by captain Marie-Philip Poulin, often known as Captain Clutch. She is probably finest recognized for scoring the game-winning aim within the gold-medal video games in three out of the 4 Olympics wherein she competed. GM Danièle Sauvageau advised ESPN she’s anticipating “the inflow of recent expertise from the draft and Europe will make the caliber [of players] that a lot better. Add the exponential fan curiosity prepared for season two, and it ought to make for a memorable season.”
Montreal already has what may very well be described as a rabid fan base and can play a neutral-site recreation in hockey-crazed Quebec Metropolis.
New York Sirens
2023-24 file (5-4-3-12, sixth)
There’s nowhere to go however up for the New York Sirens, who began final season sturdy with a four-game win streak, however faltered down the stretch, finishing the season on the backside of the standings and choosing first within the 2024 PWHL draft. The Sirens have a brand new head coach and simply signed first total draft decide ahead Sarah Fillier (Princeton) to a one-year participant contract. Fillier gained gold with Canada in 2022 and represented the nation on the final 4 IIHF Ladies’s World Championships, profitable three gold medals and one silver.
“Past the unimaginable particular person expertise now we have at each place,” stated Sirens GM Pascal Daoust, “we would like our urge for food for puck possession, our dedication to taking good care of the puck, and our skill to impose our pace and physicality to be New York Sirens enterprise card.”
Ottawa Cost
2023-24 season (8-1-6-9 fifth)
Enjoyable truth: The Ottawa Cost characteristic a few rookies — ahead and second total draft decide Danielle Serdachny and defender Stephanie Markowski — who’ve been finest pals since grade college and performed collectively on the 2019 Workforce Alberta squad that gained gold at Canada’s Winter Video games.
Ottawa completed the season with a loss to Toronto, which eradicated them from playoff rivalry. This yr, head coach Carla MacLeod needs her crew to be a more durable adversary on the ice.
“We need to improve the extent of competitors. We have got to develop into more durable to play towards. We gave up too many objectives final yr. We need to be certain we develop into the crew that we are saying that we’re. We need to present it. It will be a component of competitors in coaching camp. It is one factor to carry the compete. It is one other one to embrace the compete. That is a more durable factor typically. You could have a teammate going at you onerous and you are like, ‘what the heck?’ It’s important to acknowledge that’s what’s going to raise us within the moments in video games. The competitors goes to be sturdy. The entire league bought higher. There shall be competitors at each place and there shall be competitors each single day.”
Toronto Sceptres
2023-24 season (13-4-0-7 1st)
Toronto was the primary crew to clinch a playoff spot final season and completed the common season atop the standings. The PWHL permits the first-place finisher to decide on its semifinal opponent, and Toronto selected Minnesota. It seems, they selected poorly, dropping in 5 video games to the eventual Walter Cup Champion. The Toronto crew is dominated by Canadian nationwide crew members, together with Sarah Nurse, Renata Quick, Blayre Turnbull and Natalie Spooner, who gained MVP of the league in its first season.
Mentioned GM Gina Kingsburg: “Season 2 of the PWHL will no doubt carry an elevated stage of play from Season 1 with every crew within the league getting considerably higher on paper, and I imagine there shall be nice parity amongst the six groups. We anticipate our crew to proceed to be one of many hardest groups to play towards within the league; to be related, play a collective crew recreation, and play the sport with nice tempo and tempo. We additionally anticipate to be bodily, gritty and relentless, and to compete constantly day in and day trip all through the whole season.”
