Welcome back, hockey fans! Not only has another NHL season just begun, but the second Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) season is also starting in November. If you didn’t catch their inaugural season, or are looking for a refresher, here’s what you missed and what to expect for the 2024-2025 PWHL season.
The first PWHL season was a shortened one, with the first games in January and the playoffs concluding just five months later. The six teams – without team names or logos at the time – played a 24-game regular season, followed by a four team playoff. From the first goal in PWHL history scored by New York defender Ella Shelton to the awarding of the inaugural Walter Cup, there was plenty of action to get fans excited.
There was a thin gap between most teams during the season, with both Boston and Minnesota clinching playoff spots in the final regular season games. Minnesota barely squeezed into the playoffs, clinching a spot when Ottawa lost their final game. In the best-of-five semi-finals, Boston defeated Montreal in a three-game sweep; all three games required overtime. On the other hand, Minnesota came back to win their series against first-place Toronto, winning three in a row after losing the first two. This set up the Walter Cup final between Boston and Minnesota.
Minnesota had a 2-1 series lead going into Game 4, which remained scoreless until double overtime, when Minnesota appeared to score the series-winner. However, the goal was disallowed for goaltender interference, and Boston forward Alina Müller scored just over a minute later to send the series to Game 5. In that final game, a shutout by Nicole Hensley led Minnesota to a 3-0 victory, winning the first ever Walter Cup.
With all the action, fans continued to take notice. The league was regularly breaking attendance records, with the biggest crowd being 21,105 at the Bell Centre on April 20th to watch Montreal and Toronto. Consistent sold-out games led Toronto to move their home arena for the upcoming season from the Mattamy Athletic Centre, which seats less than 4,000, to the Coca-Cola Coliseum, which seats almost 7,800. Similarly, Montreal will now be permanently playing home games at Place Bell, which seats approximately 10,000. After a first season of home games at arenas in three different states, New York will be sharing the Prudential Centre with the New Jersey Devils.
On September 9th, the PWHL officially announced names and logos for all six teams. Jerseys are expected to be revealed in October or early November, with all teams keeping the same primary colour used last season. The league stated that each name has an explanation pertaining to the city each team is in. All in all, it puts a name to each team when cheering, something that both players and fans alike will be glad for.
To top it all off, 2024-2025 will have a 30-game regular season, six more games than last year. Although that still feels like a small season by hockey standards, the number of games likely won’t see a large increase until the league expands to more teams. Overall, more games, bigger venues, and new team identities give a lot for new and returning fans to get excited for, and is likely only a sign of what’s to come in the future.
For anyone looking to get into the PWHL this season, here’s a brief introduction to each team.
Boston Fleet: Led by captain (and Team USA veteran) Hilary Knight, the runners-up will be looking to come out on the other side of the Walter Cup final this season. A mixed roster in terms of both experience and nationality, team chemistry took a little more time to develop during last season, so they should be able to get off to a stronger start this season. From veterans like Team Canada’s Jamie Lee Rattray, to playoff save leader Aerin Frankel, to up-and-coming players like Alina Müller and Loren Gabel, there’s plenty to watch for in Boston.
Minnesota Frost: The Frost’s offseason hasn’t been the smoothest following the departure of GM Natalie Darwitz, a questionable draft pick, and rumours surrounding the head coach’s conduct. Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, the roster of the defending champions remains almost entirely intact from last season. The star was easily Grace Zumwinkle, leading the team in the regular season with 19 points. Add in 2023 first overall draft pick and playoff MVP Taylor Heise, and veteran captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, and things on the ice can only go up from here.
Montreal Victoire: We can’t talk about Montreal without mentioning Captain Clutch herself, Marie-Philip Poulin. She led the team with 23 points in 21 games, putting her third in the league. If you follow Team Canada, you’ll also recognize Defender of the Year Erin Ambrose and goaltender Anne-Renée Desbiens, among others. One thing to watch is that the Victoire drafted longtime Team USA forward Amanda Kessel in the seventh round. However, Kessel has been working for the Pittsburgh Penguins since 2022 and was promoted to Assistant GM of their AHL team in August. While she would be an interesting addition to the lineup it seems unlikely it’ll happen, although it still hasn’t been officially announced if she will play for Montreal or continue working for the Penguins.
New York Sirens: New York finished at the bottom of the league last season with nine wins, yet only five being in regulation. In fact at one point, they went two months without a regulation win. This didn’t mean the team was without familiar talent, though, from forward Alex Carpenter to defender Ella Shelton. This offseason, the Sirens have replaced their head coach and drafted Team Canada star, Sarah Fillier, first overall. The issue is, Fillier has yet to sign a contract with the team, now the only unsigned player from the first two rounds of the draft. It’ll be interesting to see how New York navigates this situation as the start of the season gets closer.
Ottawa Charge: The other team to miss the playoffs, Ottawa finished in fifth place last season with 32 points. They were still in a position to clinch a playoff spot in April, but fell short after losing their final three games. While Brianne Jenner led the team with 20 points, it was Daryl Watts who led the team in goals with 10. Although this offseason saw the Charge lose Watts, who signed with Toronto in free agency, they have re-signed five of their players as well as brought in other free agents and new draft picks. With how close they came to the playoffs last year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them there this season.
Toronto Sceptres: If you follow Team Canada, you’ll recognize many of these players. Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse finished first and second in league scoring, with Spooner scoring 20 goals en route to winning league MVP and Forward of the Year. The Scepters also have the recipients of Goaltender of the Year (Kristen Campbell) and Coach of the Year (Troy Ryan). An 11-game win streak made them the first to clinch a playoff spot, and 13 wins earned them a first place regular season finish. Of course, though, their playoff performance was less than ideal. This offseason, they’ve added Daryl Watts and drafted Julia Gosling sixth overall, the latter coming off a 51-point NCAA season in 37 games. Hopefully these additions can take some scoring pressure off of Spooner, who is recovering from a knee injury and allow the team to pick up where they left off.
Sources:
Beckwell, C. (2024, July 18). What we’ve learned about the “culture” of PWHL Minnesota. The Hockey News. https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/what-weve-learned-about-the-culture-of-pwhl-minnesota
Colley, M. (2024, June 11). PWHL Toronto adds on-brand firepower with first-round draft pick Julia Gosling. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/pwhl-toronto-adds-on-brand-firepower-with-first-round-draft-pick-julia-gosling/article_6efa71b6-2689-11ef-8f21-c3db0b630036.html
Donkin, K. (2024, May 30). Walter Cup championship caps record-breaking 1st PWHL season – and years of work by players | CBC sports. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/pwhl/pwhl-2024-walter-cup-season-review-1.7219963
Ganter, M. (2024, September 25). PWHL can expect Boston fleet to be better out of the Gate | Toronto Sun. Toronto Sun. https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/pwhl/expect-boston-to-be-better-out-gate
Kennedy, I. (2024a, September 25). Five Things PWHL Fans Should Look Forward To This Season. The Hockey News. https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/five-things-pwhl-fans-should-look-forward-to-this-season
Kennedy, I. (2024b, September 26). Fillier final holdout among PWHL’s top picks. The Hockey News. https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/fillier-final-holdout-among-pwhls-top-picks
Rutherford, K. (2024, September 9). PWHL teams announce names, logos ahead of 2024-25 season. Sportsnet.ca. https://www.sportsnet.ca/pwhl/article/pwhl-teams-announce-names-logos-ahead-of-2024-25-season/
TSN. (2024, May 27). Boston tops Minnesota in double OT after disallowed goal to send PWHL finals to decisive Game 5. TSN. https://www.tsn.ca/pwhl/boston-tops-minnesota-in-double-ot-after-disallowed-goal-to-send-pwhl-finals-to-decisive-game-5-1.2126597
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