PWHL Skates into Season 2 With Fresh Looks For All 6 Teams

Jan 1, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CANADA; New York defender Ella Shelton (17) tries to knock the puck away from Toronto forward Natalie Spooner (24) during the third period of the inaugural PWHL ice hockey game at Mattamy Athletic Centre. © John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

PWHL Skates into Season 2 With Fresh Looks For All 6 Teams

Following a successful debut season that ended with Minnesota beating Boston in five games to hoist the Walter Cup, the PWHL returned to action last month with the beginning of a 30-game regular season (up from 24) for all six teams.

Season tickets were up over 50 percent across all six teams this season compared to last, according to Amy Scheer, the senior vice president of business operations for the PWHL, which already has an eye toward expansion.

"When we went on sale with tickets there was a great burst of people securing their season tickets and ticket plans," Scheer told Reuters.

"The interest is there from our fan base to attend more games, which is certainly a nice start out of the gate."

The PWHL broke the record for the most-watched women's professional ice hockey game days into their inaugural season, and Minnesota clinched the first championship in front of a packed house in May at Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.

The recipe for their success came in part from the league's accessibility, said Scheer, with games available on YouTube and ticket prices set at affordable rates for fans.

"We made it easy for fans to engage with us. We made it easy for fans to participate," said Scheer.

The league's six teams play in a relative geographic cluster, with Minnesota being the only team outside the Eastern Time Zone of Boston, New York, Ottawa, Toronto, and Montréal.

Seattle, who will host a game between the Montréal Victoire and the Boston Fleet at Climate Pledge Arena, the home of the NHL's Kraken, has reportedly expressed an interest in bringing a team permanently to its neighborhood.

"We are exploring the possibility of expansion," said Scheer.

"We're talking to 20 plus markets, markets where we think we would be successful, but also to people that have reached out to us who are interested in a team as well. So we're going through this exploration process."

The second season features plenty of newness, including the much-anticipated team identities, new home arenas and neutral-site games, rule changes, and a new class of rookies.

Here's a look at what to expect from the PWHL this season:

WHAT'S NEW AND DIFFERENT IN 2024-25

The most noticeable difference is the introduction of team names and logos, as the six squads were originally identified by their geographic locations. The new season will mark the debut of the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montréal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres.

The PWHL continues to innovate when it comes to rule changes. This season, the league will become the first in professional hockey to assess a major and game misconduct as the default penalty for illegal checks to the head, while a new "No Escape Rule" will require players on a penalized team, with time on the clock, to remain on the ice until after play resumes.

New York will call Prudential Center, home of the NHL's New Jersey Devils, its primary venue after splitting inaugural-season home games between three venues. Toronto moves into Coca-Cola Coliseum, which is home to AHL team Toronto Marlies, and hosted three sold-out playoff contests

for the Sceptres last spring. Montréal will play most of its games at another AHL venue, Place Bell. New York also made a head coaching change, replacing Howie Draper with Greg Fargo, who spent the last 12 seasons at Colgate University.

WHO TO WATCH FOR

Reigning PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner (league-leading 20 goals, seven assists last season) returns to Toronto but still is out recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL after being injured in the playoffs. Kristen Campbell won a league-leading 16 games in goal, posting three shutouts, a 1.99 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. Sarah Nurse also scored 11 goals for last season's first-place team. Daryl Watts, a free agent in the offseason, left Ottawa for her hometown Sceptres.

The first captain to hoist the Walter Cup in May, Minnesota's Kendall Coyne Schofield, returns to anchor the Frost alongside leading rookie scorer Grace Zumwinkle (11 goals) and Nicole Hensley, the first-ever goaltender drafted into the

PWHL in 2023. The original No. 1 overall pick, Taylor Heise, returns after earning Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP honors. Montréal returns stars such as MariePhilip Poulin and Laura Stacey, both of whom scored double-digit goals in the inaugural season. Swedish star Lina Ljungblom, the final 2023 draft pick, joins the fold on a deeper Victoire team after finishing her contract in her native country.

Boston returns the stellar Aerin Frankel in net and Megan Keller on defense but will need to increase offense from a season ago despite retaining captain Hilary Knight and the runner-up for Rookie of the Year, Alina Muller. Forward Hannah Bilka was the Fleet's top draft pick.

In Ottawa, the Charge return a pair of key scorers in Brianne Jenner and Katerina Mrazova and top defenders Savannah Harmon and Ashton Bell.

Drafting Gwyneth Philips gives Emerance Maschmeyer competition for the net. New York looks to climb from the basement with the help of 2024

No. 1 overall draft pick Sarah Fillier, who signed a three-year contract after a 43-point senior campaign at Princeton. Also returning are top scorer Alex Carpenter and defender Ella Shelton, a teammate of Fillier's with Team Canada at last April's Women's World Championship.

KEY DATES

After playing in Detroit and Pittsburgh last season, the PWHL Takeover Tour will bring the action to nine neutral sites in 2024-25: Buffalo; Denver; Detroit; Raleigh, N.C.; St. Louis; Seattle; Quebec City; Vancouver, British Columbia; and one to-be-announced location. The first stop on the tour was Jan. 5 in Seattle, where Montréal and Boston squared off at Climate Pledge Arena.

The regular-season slate runs through May 3. International breaks are included for the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour (December), the conclusion of the U.S.-Canada Rivalry Series (February), and Women’s Worlds (April).

(Source: Reuters and Field Level Media)