The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) had less than six months between creation and puck drop. That may seem like a lot of time, but to establish teams, find arenas, build rosters, draft, schedule, hire staff… and the list goes on — it’s not much time.
Yet, as the inaugural season of the PWHL kicked off on January 1st, 2024, with six founding teams (New York, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Boston and Minnesota), excitement was at all all-time high.
Now a month in, it feels like the PWHL is here to stay.
Record Breaking Opening Month
In its opening week, the PWHL broke the record for attendance at a professional women’s hockey game. In Ottawa’s home opener against Montreal, 8, 318 fans gathered at TD Place in Canada’s capital city.
A few days later, on January 6th, 2024, that record was smashed again when Montreal visited Minnesota and 13, 316 fans were in attendance.
Multiple of the arenas being used in the PWHL’s opening season hold well over 10,000 fans, so records could continue to be broken as the season.
The opening game that featured Toronto vs. New York — where New York took a 4-0 lead to win the first ever game in league history — reached 2.9 million viewers total.
Toronto sold out every. single. ticket. for the entire season in just hours.
Obviously, people want to watch women’s hockey.
It was also announced that the February 16th game between Toronto and Montreal is being moved from Toronto’s regular home arena of Mattamy Athletic Centre (the former Maple Leaf Gardens) to Scotiabank Arena — where the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors play.
The game, being called “The Battle on Bay Street,” comes after fans have been disappointed in not being able to attend Toronto PWHL games due to the limited seats at the MAC.
The PHWL is even getting it’s own showcase at the NHL All-Star game in Toronto on February 1st, with two 3×3 teams going head to head!
Current PWHL Standings
Teams have currently played anywhere from five to eight games in the season so far. The standings are starting to look a little more clear the more games that are played.
Yet, an important thing to think about is that none of these teams have EVER played together before this month. Training camp only started in November. It’ll take some time for teams to find their rhythm.
That being said, each of the six teams has a ton of talent on their rosters and games have often been going to overtime.
That being said, here are the standings just under a month into the season:
- Montreal (4-3, 13 pts)
- Minnesota (4-2, 12 pts)
- Boston (3-2, 8 pts)
- Ottawa (2-3, 8 pts)
- New York (3-3, 8 pts)
- Toronto (2-5, 5 pts)
The lone shootout win in league history came from Toronto as they won against Montreal.
Fan Reception
One of the most heartwarming things to see since the puck dropped for the PWHL has been the fan response to the league.
Little girls are now seeing a future for themselves in professional women’s hockey.
Everything from signs at games, to player interactions, to seeing the excitement when goals are scored has all felt surreal.
Like when this Minnesota fan got a special treat and got to take home a player’s stick — her face says it all!
The vibes seem to be high at games, as seen below:
Even Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is getting in some PWHL games this season!
Yet, maybe the most tear-jerking thing to see at these PWHL games is the pure joy from little girls who are seeing themselves in these players.
For the first time, there is a real path for them to play professional hockey in a league that is sustainable and supported.
It’s only going to get better from here.