Opinion: Is the PWHL Set Up for Success?

It’s important to try new things in life.

If you’re a professional hockey fan, you might want to check out the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).

In case you didn’t know, the PWHL was founded on August 29, 2023, and consists of six teams (three American and three Canadian). The PWHL’s inaugural game was held on January 1, 2024, between New York and Toronto at Mattamy Athletic Centre in downtown Toronto.

In addition, all six teams will host their home openers in the first two weeks of January 2024, with all the teams set to play 24 games each during the PWHL’s first season.

The New England Sports Network (NESN) wrote an article titled, “Why PWHL is Set Up for Success After Boston’s Inaugural Game” in recent days. And I thought this would be a good idea for my weekly column here at Inside The Rink. It’s debatable, but I think the PWHL has been set up for success, at least for now. Here’s why.

What’s in a Twitter poll?

First, I’d like to share my Twitter poll with all of you. Twitter is subjective, but around 56% of my Twitter followers told me they watch the PWHL, while around 44% didn’t.

Women’s sports have sort of always been a hot-button issue. While I’ve come across sports fans who are fans of women’s sports and believe in fair wages, I’ve also met fans who tried to politicize women’s sports leagues — especially the WNBA — with me because they wanted to share their political beliefs. Of course, I stayed out of politics, but I still have my opinions.

Women’s hockey is a big deal in Europe, and the PWHL can help grow the sport in America. There are youth girls’ hockey teams who are loud supporters of female hockey players, including the PWHL’ers, and the PWHL delivers to the general public in terms of heart, grit, and determination. This includes girls and women in Hawaii, which I wrote about in an article last fall. That being said, if you decide to visit Hawaii, you should check out the Ice Palace in Honolulu, and if you’d like, ask me about my favorite restaurants.

Success or Successes?
So far, so good for the PWHL.

The PWHL has had one success after another so far this January. The league announced the inaugural game between New York and Toronto was sold out at the 3,850-seat arena AND reached a total of 2.9 million viewers.

Stan Kasten, a PWHL Advisory Board member, said in a statement: “The enthusiastic response to our historic opening game reflects Canada’s national interest in our sport, our outstanding athletes, and the PWHL … We truly hear the statement our viewing audience made Monday, and we cherish the level of engagement shown. We will work even more intently with our broadcast partners to build the PWHL community through the quality productions and storytelling our great fans deserve.”

Kasten is correct.

Minnesota has helped lift the PWHL to new heights. Minnesota’s home opener against Montreal at the Xcel Energy Center, the home of the Minnesota Wild, in St. Paul was a sight to see for a record-setting 13,316 fans. Grace Zumwinkle scored the first home goal in team history and went on to net a hat trick en route to a 3-0 shutout over Montreal in the first PWHL game in her home state. Zumwinkle is an Excelsior, Minn., native who played college women’s hockey at the University of Minnesota and represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Zumwinkle described the epic day with one word: “Pride.”

To Ask or Not to Ask?
As much as there’s an ongoing rise in women’s hockey, I must ask, “Can the PWHL match the success of the WNBA and NWSL?”

The PWHL has started on the right foot with a series of sellouts. In addition, the PWHL is reportedly backed by key backers, both financially and logistically. The league is on its way to success, but I don’t know if there will be a similar business and cultural impact to the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA) and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

The WNBA has played an integral role in transforming Las Vegas into a sports city as the Las Vegas Aces have been making WNBA history while proving there could be a super-team era in women’s basketball.

The NWSL has been around for more than a decade. The NWSL’s 14 teams have grown in popularity over the years, whether fans are youth or girls’ soccer players or not. The increase in popularity has heralded a surge of investment opportunities, according to JDSupra. The Women’s World Cup also contributed to the success (and potential expansion) of the NWSL. In general, both men’s and women’s soccer has exploded as an interest among American sports fans in recent years.

The PWHL can succeed, and I’d want it to succeed, despite my initial misgivings that this would just be another women’s sports league that could fold. I’m glad that this league is giving female hockey players a league of their own. However, I don’t see this league growing exponentially outside of New York, Boston, and Minnesota. I could be wrong, but the WNBA and NWSL are setting up for long-term success first.