For years, girls and women have never had the opportunity to play hockey professionally. Collegiate, olympics and World Juniors have always been an option but what about after? What about after college? What about after the olympics? What about after World Juniors? There is no after. Girls and women don’t have the option to play in the NHL, they don’t have many options. But, in August of 2023, the Professional Women’s Hockey League was established. For the girls who had to get changed in storage closets and bathroom stalls at the rink, your dream was fought for and won by people who know you and heard you. A chance for girls and women to play professional hockey is now a possibility, a long awaited possibility that is finally here.

The PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) has 6 teams in their 2023-2024 inaugural season. The teams are PWHL New York, Minnesota, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston and Montreal and each team is made up of 23 players. The draft for the PWHL was held on September 18th, 2023, and Minnesota had the first ever pick as they won the draft lottery on September 1st,2023. With their first pick in PWHL history, the team chose forward, Taylor Heise, who used to play for the University of Minnesota, a Division 1 college hockey program as well as Team USA.

There are many girls who look up to the players of the PWHL and want to be just like them. To name a few, a Tahoma High School freshman, Lizzie Williams, shared her excitement for the league. “I’m looking forward to seeing how big it gets and how much it grows and maybe some day even playing for them.” Williams has been playing hockey since she was 6 years old making this year her 8th year playing hockey. Although Williams doesn’t play on an all girls team, she still takes pride in the importance of girls hockey. “Girls youth hockey to me is a way for us girls to stick up for ourselves and prove we can be just as good as the boys if not better.” Williams says she doesn’t have a favorite team as she likes them all but she does mention how motivating the league is to her. “To me it’s motivation. Pretty much saying, hey if you want to play pro you can”.

Another Tahoma High School freshman, Chloe Pearcy, shared her thoughts on the PWHL and how much it means to her. “The PWHL means a lot to me and I am so happy to have this league. It is very impactful to women empowerment and I am so proud of all the women out there on the ice. The PWHL is also a great dream for girls in hockey to look up to.” Pearcy has been playing hockey for about 2 years and this season she is playing on an all girls team. “I love playing on a girls team and I feel like I make a stronger connection with my teammates playing on a girls team. I am really happy for youth hockey girls to have someone to look up to now for their future because of the PWHL. I hope that those little girls playing hockey right now grow up to be strong women in their future and hopefully continue with their dreams in hockey.”

The PWHL has just begun and there are already rumors about expansion in the near future. As we await for the league to keep expanding, Pearcy shared her excitement about the growth of the league. “I’m most looking forward for this league to grow. I am really excited for women’s hockey to grow and for them to gain more respect and love than they have right now. I think this league has a lot of potential and I am so excited to follow along with them.” Pearcy has been following all of the PWHL teams since day one but says the team she will be rooting for is Minnesota. “I’ve been following all of the PWHL teams but I think I’m going to be rooting for Minnesota. I have a lot of family there and I visit a lot so I thought it would be fun to root for them.”

The new Professional Women’s Hockey League has become extremely popular since day one selling out each home opener game for each team. With the popularity of the league, Toronto franchise has already sold out their entire season ticket allotment for the inaugural season. This league is so popular that on January 6th, 2024, the Minnesota franchise made a historic attendance record selling 13,361 tickets.

For the girls who had to get dressed in storage closets and bathroom stalls, for the girls who always dreamed of playing in the NHL, for the girls who always dreamed big. You have been heard, you have been seen. The chance to play professionally is here, the chance is now. Dream big and chase after your dreams to play in the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Show everyone that you can be just as good as the boys if not better than them. Show the world that as girls and women, that we deserve to play on a big stage too. The PWHL is here and it’s waiting for you.

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