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PWHL Rosters & Season

B

BowWowWow

Active member
I am excited for the first season of the PWHL and wanted to spark some more discussion of it! Today is the last day of preseason evaluation camp in Utica. The teams will finalize rosters on Monday.

The first season will run from January 1 to May 5, plus a postseason. Toronto has sold out their season ticket packages. Toronto’s rink is smaller than others – about 2600 capacity. Still, that is a good sign.

The PWHL succeeds the PHF (earlier called the NWHL, 2015-2023), PWHPA (2019-2023), and CWHL (2007-2019) among other leagues.

I wonder what players you all are keeping an eye on (if interested in the league), having enjoyed watching them (on your team or opposing ones) in college and now rooting for them. I’m happy about Montreal with their forward Claire Dalton (from Yale).

Near me, though, I’m supporting New York – and they have signed Jaime Bourbonnais, who I enjoyed seeing play for Cornell while I lived in Ithaca… Montreal signed Kristin O’Neill and may sign Marlene Boissonnault of Cornell too.

Meanwhile it was always fun to root against Elizabeth Giguere (Clarkson/UMD, now New York), Jessie Eldridge (Colgate, now New York) – now I’ll need to root for them! – as well as other players like Kristin Della Rovere (Ottawa) and Maggie Connors (Toronto).
 
Three games today starting at 12:45, was considering taking the short drive over. Not open to public, good thing I checked.
 
Yes, they've had some scrimmages this week (9 total). Only one was open to the public, on Tuesday evening, though info and some highlights have been available. Today is Montreal-Minnesota, New York-Toronto, and Ottawa-Boston. They have been doing a 3-on-3 OT and shootout after each scrimmage.
 
BowWowWow said:
They have been doing a 3-on-3 OT and shootout after each scrimmage.
Click to expand...

Reminds me the last time the World Juniors were hosted by Buffalo. Some teams setup pre-tournament camp in Rochester, and they had scrimmages which were opened to the public. They also did 3x3 OT and a shootout, no matter what the score was.
 
Thanks for starting the thread! Looking forward to watching Vasko in Toronto, and Mueller in Boston. Mueller is the most interesting person in the league for me in a way. A non North American star who now gets to play in a best on best rather than what she had to do in Switzerland vs Canada/USA games. In many ways the kind of player who really needed this league.

she has shown she wears her heart on her sleeve, both for her affection for the game and the city of Boston. I’m In no way a Boston fan, but she’s compelling and making me want to cheer for her and follow that club. From a marketing standpoint I hope they go all in on her, same for Gabel. Knight will sell tickets and she’s got her own brand/style of selling the game and herself but I’m excited to see what others bring too. Yeesh they have Jaques too. Is Boston the most interesting roster? To me yes.

Of all the jerseys to buy if they are just going to have the city/state name for now I’ll go with Ottawa and I’ll proudly wear it to beer league. I could honestly never wear a jersey with any of the other city names/states on it, but logos and branding would change that. I don’t know why Ottawa feels acceptable to me except that it’s one of the earliest places Women’s Hockey was played in NA as far as I know.

waiting to hear the broadcast info. Crossing my fingers it’s a solid mix of nhl network and espn + in the US.
 
Lindsay said:
Thanks for starting the thread! Looking forward to watching Vasko in Toronto, and Mueller in Boston. Mueller is the most interesting person in the league for me in a way. A non North American star who now gets to play in a best on best rather than what she had to do in Switzerland vs Canada/USA games. In many ways the kind of player who really needed this league.

she has shown she wears her heart on her sleeve, both for her affection for the game and the city of Boston. I’m In no way a Boston fan, but she’s compelling and making me want to cheer for her and follow that club. From a marketing standpoint I hope they go all in on her, same for Gabel. Knight will sell tickets and she’s got her own brand/style of selling the game and herself but I’m excited to see what others bring too. Yeesh they have Jaques too. Is Boston the most interesting roster? To me yes.

Of all the jerseys to buy if they are just going to have the city/state name for now I’ll go with Ottawa and I’ll proudly wear it to beer league. I could honestly never wear a jersey with any of the other city names/states on it, but logos and branding would change that. I don’t know why Ottawa feels acceptable to me except that it’s one of the earliest places Women’s Hockey was played in NA as far as I know.

waiting to hear the broadcast info. Crossing my fingers it’s a solid mix of nhl network and espn + in the US.
Click to expand...

Mueller, Gabel, Knight, as star forwards, and Jaques, Keller, and goaltending -- cool stuff to see in the Boston area. Mueller was evidently touched to be drafted there. The commentators were touched too.

Like with Vasko signing recently, I was happy to see when Dalton was signed on.

CBC sports has preseason highlights of two scrimmages. Crossing my fingers too that the broadcast is readily available and that it follows some of the lead of the IIHF and Rivalry Series games in their solid production values and commentary.
 
The major $$ behind the PWHL and their LA Dodgers ties have pockets to pay male athletes $700 million for a 10 year deal, yet the salary structure for the PWHL PALES compared to what he'll pay 1 baseball player... it's inexcusable. And don't make the argument the PWHL has to make money first, they have the pockets to make the salaries for all PWHL players way more appropriate for all their claims. So far, very disappointing.
 
I'm also hoping that changes soon or players will go elsewhere (read places like China where they pay real $) and the purpose of having one league with the best will be for naught. If fans come, and it looks like they are in Canada at least, more teams will be created and even if the salary $ is low at first, ad dollars hopefully will follow. Hockey brands putting women's names on products and tailoring equipment to 150 lb on avg people like in golf could lead the way for big improvements there too. It's past time...
I watched as many of the scrimmage streams as I could find and it's faster and more physical than anything out there, better than most Olympic hockey and equal to US v. Canada. Looks very promising.
 
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PWHL rosters were announced today! Each team has 23 active players (13 F, 7 D, and 3 G) and 3 reserves. Minnesota also has a long-term injured reserve.
Some drafted players moved among teams; all 3 were defenders:
- Sidney Morin, drafted by MIN, signed with BOS
- Mellissa Channell, drafted by TOR, signed with MIN
- Maude Poulin-Labelle, drafted by MTL, signed with TOR
https://www.thepwhl.com/professional-womens-hockey-league-announces-final-team-rosters
 
top cheese said:
The major $$ behind the PWHL and their LA Dodgers ties have pockets to pay male athletes $700 million for a 10 year deal, yet the salary structure for the PWHL PALES compared to what he'll pay 1 baseball player... it's inexcusable. And don't make the argument the PWHL has to make money first, they have the pockets to make the salaries for all PWHL players way more appropriate for all their claims. So far, very disappointing.
Click to expand...

Based on his salary, Ohtani will make more in three games than each PWHL team can pay their entire team's players for the entire season. Each team must maintain an average salary of $55,000 x 23 players = $1,265,000. Ohtani makes $70,000,000 per year/162 games = $432,098/per game. Three games will pay him $1,296,296.
 
top cheese said:
The major $$ behind the PWHL and their LA Dodgers ties have pockets to pay male athletes $700 million for a 10 year deal, yet the salary structure for the PWHL PALES compared to what he'll pay 1 baseball player... it's inexcusable. And don't make the argument the PWHL has to make money first, they have the pockets to make the salaries for all PWHL players way more appropriate for all their claims. So far, very disappointing.
Click to expand...

The salary structure does pale in comparison, and there is a contrast. The PWHL players, nevertheless - as well as the people in charge - have said that they want to build a sustainable league. They expect the league to be here in eight years and beyond.

Ohtani's contract is longer than the PWHL contracts. But the MLB has of course been around longer than women's pro hockey. Also, Ohtani makes about $50 million on the side in endorsements every year per The Athletic. It would be great for PWHL players to make that much in sponsorships, as well as for their contracts to have similar longevity.

The comparisons are tricky, and there is more to it than just the base salary. The PWHL housing stipend ($1500/month this season) is strong, and players have meals, relocation expenses, and various benefits provided. Yep, the contrast is still there, but there's more than meets the eye.
 
An update on several pieces of news, both bad and good for now.

Broadcast and streaming info for league games is mostly still unknown. In Canada, CBC will broadcast the first game, Jan 1, and 10 other games on weekends throughout the season; RDS will also broadcast at least some games in Quebec. CBC has had some good articles about the league, such as a recent one about New Brunswick players on Montreal - Marlene Boissonnault and Sarah Bujold.

There are issues to watch with a player liability form and player pay, per The Hockey News. On the pay front, players reportedly said many signed players haven’t been paid yet a month after preseason camp started, including some players who were waived by their teams at the first roster deadline. This is a basic necessity for fulfilling the league’s promise and responsibility.

Ticket sales, in any case, are a positive. Toronto has sold out every game this season completely and has a waitlist for next season. Montreal has sold out its home opener and most season tickets, and Ottawa sold out its home opener. The rink capacities are, for Toronto, 3850, including standing room and various other options, at Mattamy Athletic Center; for Montreal, 4114 at Verdun Auditorium and larger capacity at Place Bell in Laval (where some home games are); for Ottawa, 7500 with both bowls at TD Place. (Most of this info is from The Hockey News.)

The US venues aren’t sold out but are reportedly doing well on ticket sales. Minnesota has sold about 3000 tickets for its home opener at Xcel Energy Center (total capacity 17,954). The capacity for Boston is ~6500 at Tsongas Center in Lowell, and the capacity for New York is ~8400 at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, CT and 17,255 at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. (Their home games are split between the two rinks.)

Per The Hockey News again, there were no injuries to PWHL players in the December Rivalry Series, the Five Nations Tournament in Falun, Sweden, or the Four Nations Cup in Budapest this month.
 
Reportedly Angelica Rodriguez is looking into the PWHL waiver form question and believes that context is missing so far. She also referred those curious to the hockey agent Eleni Demestihas (strongforecheck) and agents like her for more knowledgeable perspective.

Hailey Salvian reported that PWHL players who have not been paid have not completed paperwork for onboarding yet. According to her league source, players who completed paperwork by a deadline have been paid, and those completing it after a certain deadline will also be paid on schedule.
 
This evening in PWHL news, Cassie Campbell-Pascall announced she's moving from a role as broadcaster to being Special Advisor to the PWHL. She has had a long career as a commentator, and recently as consultant to Canada's national and Olympic team, after her celebrated playing career.

CBC sports started a series of PWHL season preview articles with Ottawa (titled "'Focusing on us'..."). It emphasizes the players' chemistry along with their playing history and has quotes from coaches and players about each other. The Athletic started a series of PWHL season preview articles too, with New York. They contend New York has great depth in centers on the roster. Hopeful signs of media coverage to come alongside stories from The Ice Garden and The Victory Press.
 
One of the most interesting comments from one female player about one of her competitors that I have heard in a long time...maybe ever...

Heise re: Poulin: But it's her ability to finish a game that stands out most about Poulin's game for PWHL first overall pick Taylor Heise.

"I don't know how to describe it," Heise said. "I've played against her so many times now and I still can't grasp … People are scared of her, you have to truly play her a different way."



https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/pwhl/pwhl-2024-team-previews-montreal-1.7067162
 
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