Report: PWHPA to start new women’s pro league for 2023-24

According to a report from The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association is set to launch a new pro league for the 2023-24 season.

According to Salvian, players were notified during the organization’s championship weekend on Sunday. No details were given regarding the launch announcement or the teams, but many of the PWHPA’s top players are set to participate in the upcoming women’s World Hockey Championship in Brampton next month.

The PWHPA currently operates under a tournament structure, participating in cities across North America. A new PWHPA league would give North America it’s second professional women’s league. The association came after the demise of the old Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2019, with many of the game’s top stars electing to play in the PWHPA over the traditional full-season format put on by the Premier Hockey Federation. The teams are mainly made up of Olympic hockey stars, including Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Hilary Knight, Sarah Nurse and more.

The PWHPA moving to a full league has been rumored for quite some time. The goal of the association was always to move forward with a sustainable, long-term solution to a sport that has struggled with financial issues. According to Salvian last April, the PWHPA voted to end discussions regarding future involvement with the PHF, the only current women’s pro hockey league in North America. The PHF recently increased it’s salary cap to $1.5 million for 2023-24.

Team Harvey’s won the PWHPA title for 2022-23, beating Team Scotiabank 5-4 off the heels of a hat-trick from Emily Clark on Sunday. The PWHPA set a single-game attendance record earlier this year with 4,301 fans, and select players participated in NHL all-star game events over the past few seasons.

The PHF currently has a record-high seven teams, with clubs in Boston, Buffalo, Connecticut, New York, Minnesota, Toronot and Montreal.