2024 PWHL season
The 2024 PWHL season will be the first season of operation of the Professional Women's Hockey League, and is set to begin play in January 2024. Six teams will compete during the inaugural season, located in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Boston, Ottawa, and Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
| 2024 PWHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Professional Women's Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | January 2024 – May/June 2024 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| 2023 PWHL Draft | |
| Top draft pick |  Taylor Heise |
| Picked by | Minnesota PWHL team |
League business
- The PWHL was announced in August 2023 after the Mark Walter Group announced the formation of a new league aligned with the players in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association, and then subsequently purchased and folded the rival Premier Hockey Federation in June 2023.[1]
- On September 1, 2023, a 10-day free agency period began, during which each team was eligible to sign up to three players.[2] On the same day, the league announced the general managers for each team: Danielle Marmer for Boston, Natalie Darwitz for Minnesota, Pascal Daoust for New York, Gina Kingsbury for Toronto, Daniele Sauvageau for Montreal, and Michael Hirshfeld for Ottawa.[3] On September 5, Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, and Emerance Maschmeyer became the first players signed to PWHL contracts when they signed with the Ottawa team.[4]
- On September 18, 2023, the inaugural PWHL Draft took place. It was a 15-round draft, with the initial order determined by a lottery, and subsequent rounds following a "snake format" in which the team who selected last in the previous round selected first in the next round, and the selection order was reversed.[2] The draft order was announced on September 1, with the lottery won by Minnesota, followed by Toronto, Boston, New York, Ottawa, and Montreal.[5] The league allowed players to apply for "compassionate circumstances," where they need to stay in their home markets, with those who have been approved only eligible to be drafted by their home market teams; the list of approved players will not be publicly released.[6]
- Training camps are set to open on November 15, with final rosters confirmed by December 11; final rosters must include 23 roster players and 2 reserve players.[7]
Draft
The 2023 PWHL Draft was held on September 18, 2023. Draft picks are not allowed to be traded until the conclusion of the 2024 season.[8] Players not drafted have become free agents and are able to sign with any team. Players were drafted from a pool of 268 players who declared their eligibility.[9] Overall, 90 players were selected over 15 rounds. The Minnesota team made Taylor Heise the first player ever drafted into the PWHL.[10]
References
- ESPN News Services (June 29, 2023). "Sources: Premier Hockey Federation sale could unite women's hockey". ESPN.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
- PWHL (August 29, 2023). "Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Sets Foundation for Inaugural Season". ThePWHL.com. Professional Women's Hockey League. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- "PWHL names six general managers as teams begin roster construction". Sportsnet. Rogers Media. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- "Jenner, Clark, Maschmeyer become PWHL's first players after signing with Ottawa". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
- Sadler, Emily. "Minnesota wins lottery, will select first in PWHL player draft". Sportsnet. Rogers Media. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- Kennedy, Ian. "PWHL Announces Draft Details". The Hockey News. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- Donkin, Karissa (October 16, 2023). "More than 180 PWHL players to hit ice Nov. 15 when new league's training camps open". CBC Sports. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- Shircliff, Elaine. "Important PWHL Dates". Full Press Hockey. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- Donkin, Karissa. "PWHL hopefuls eager to begin new chapter of women's game with first-of-its-kind draft". CBC Sports. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
- "Minnesota Picks Taylor Heise 1st in the Inaugural Professional Women's Hockey League Draft". US News. Associated Press. September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
External links
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