There’s an all-star Game this weekend and it’s not the NHL (Jan. 30-31) or the NBA (Feb. 12-14) it’s the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) all-star game. I had no idea about this league, you say? Let’s get you up to date.
The league began in October, 2015 and has teams in Buffalo, Boston, New York City and Danbury. The team names are wonderful – the Buffalo Beauts and New York Riveters, Boston Pride, and Connecticut Whale.
NWHL founder and commissioner, Dani Rylan spoke with National Public Radio’s David Greene this week on Morning Edition and said, “I used to say that after the 2014 Winter Olympics was really the best time to start a professional women’s hockey league. That gold-medal game out in Sochi was the most-watched event on NBC, with 4.9 million viewers. And people weren’t watching it because it was a women’s game.
“They were watching because it was an amazing hockey game. The game is ready for the professional stage. If 2014 wasn’t the best time, 2015 was the next best.”
The puck dropped on the inaugural season on October 11, 2015. The first season will run through February, 2016. The league has the distinction of being the first U.S women’s hockey league to pay its players.
Prior to the League’s formation the only place for top level women’s hockey in North America was the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL), which is unpaid.
Each team has a salary cap of $270,000, so the average salary is $15,000 a year.
There are some investors, and in their first year the NWHL has their first corporate sponsor, Dunkin Donuts.
Broadcast deals are important to any sports league and the NWHL has a few broadcast deals.
ESPN3 is offering game streaming.
On December 31, 2015, the Boston Pride played Montreal’s Les Canadiennes of the CWHL to a 1-1 tie in the first Women’s Winter Classic (officially the Outdoor Women’s Classic presented by Scotiabank) the day before at the site of the 2016 NHL Winter Classic in Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. It was the first outdoor professional women’s hockey game and the first game between the NWHL and the CWHL.
The first NWHL All-Star Game will take place on January 24, 2016 in Buffalo, New York at the HarborCenter. The game will feature a 4-on-4 format with Hilary Knight of the Boston Pride and Emily Pfalzer of the Buffalo Beauts serving as team captains.
Editor’s Note: Boston Pride forward Denna Laing remains hospitalized with spinal cord injuries following the outdoor match. Laing is being treated at Massachusetts General Hospital. Anyone interested in donating directly to Laing’s fund should visit dennalaing.org.
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