PWHL set up to succeed where others failed
'No fan owes us their time or money. It’s on us to earn it, and I accept that challenge.' Stan Kasten and the new women's league are intent on succeeding on the strength of the product alone
Legend has it that back in the days when he was the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brian Burke was speaking at a charity dinner and he asked the business elite in attendance the following question: “Who here supports women’s hockey?” Not surprisingly, every hand in the room was raised. He then added a follow-up: “OK, who here intends on going to the Toronto Furies game this weekend?” Just as predictably, the hands that rose for Question No. 1 stayed firmly on the cutlery for Question No. 2.
A lot has changed since then, of course. Burke is now the executive director of the players’ association for the newly formed Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). For the first time ever, the women’s game has serious money behind it, all of it coming from the Mark Walter group, headed by Los Angeles Dodgers owners, philanthropists and billionaires Mark and Kimbra Walter. Burke remembers days when women’s pro hockey players had to share tape. Now they have a collective bargaining agreement that will pay them a minimum of $35,000 in U.S finds regardless of the country in which they play (average salary will be $55,000) and includes a provision for nursing mothers. Each of the six teams – Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto in Canada and Boston, Minnesota and New York in the U.S. – will have between 11 and 13 paid off-ice support staff. The NHL, which never seemed super stoked about footing the bill for a women’s league, is solidly behind the effort and will offer neutral-zone sites as well as a presence at the All-Star Game and outdoor games. All six teams are owned by the league, so there are no worries about teams getting a case of the shorts and cutting costs. The ECHL started just this way in the 1980s and things have turned out pretty well there.
It's crystal clear that the women’s game at the professional level has been set up to succeed like it has never been before. Those who held out for a unified professional league found the unicorn they were seeking in Mark and Kimbra Walter. No longer will people confuse the Premier Hockey Federation with the Dream Gap Tour, whatever the hell that was. Those who believe women’s hockey deserves a legitimate opportunity to prove it belongs in the professional sports landscape have received just that. So it would be natural to assume that it is now up to the most important constituency here, the hockey fan. Those who have insisted they support women’s hockey must now vote with their feet and their wallets. It’s on them to now do their part to help this thing succeed.
The only thing is, PWHL board member Stan Kasten, also the CEO and president of the Dodgers, doesn’t see it that way at all. In fact, his answer to that particular question when the league provided an update Tuesday morning tells you everything you need to know when it comes to the approach of this group, and how they intend to succeed where the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, the National Women’s Hockey League, the PHF and every other iteration of professional women’s hockey has failed in the past.
“No, it’s never on the fans,” Kasten said. “It’s on us to provide a reason to come support us every day. This is our responsibility. No fan owes us their time or money. It’s on us to earn it, and I accept that challenge.”
Well, that’s about as refreshing as it gets, isn’t it? As of today, women’s hockey is no longer a charity case. Nor is it a diversion, a sideshow or something that people feel the need to attend out of obligation to keep the sport going between Olympics. The PWHL expects no preferential treatment and is intent on succeeding on the strength of its on-ice product and its ability to deliver that product to sports consumers. Kasten acknowledged that mistakes will be made and start-up costs will be astronomical, but a rock-solid commitment is there, starting in January, when the league will make its debut with a 24-game schedule.
This is something, quite frankly, that the women’s game has never had. Young women who play this game at the most elite levels will have the opportunity to pursue a career that will be funded by their ability to play hockey. They will have a wealth of experience and financial support behind them and a collective bargaining agreement that protects their rights for the next eight years. They’ll be playing in quality facilities and working out in real training centres instead of scrambling for 10 p.m. practice time on a Tuesday night.
And unlike recent years when the women’s game was fractured between the PHF and the Dream Gap Tour, the top 120 players in the world will have one place to play. Each team will be able to sign three free agents beginning this Friday, with a 15-round draft scheduled for mid-September. After the 2023-24 season, the schedule will begin in November and each team will play 32 games.
“We’re witnessing a point in time where women’s sports is thriving,” said Jayna Hefford, the league’s vice-president of hockey operations. “The demand is there, the excitement is there…I don’t think there’s ever been a better time.”
And she’s absolutely right. Women’s sports have long been marginalized, but that is changing. The women’s hockey product is better than it has ever been. The Canada-USA rivalry is one of the most intense in all sports. But the question remains: Will hockey fans support the women’s game on a Saturday afternoon in January when Ottawa is playing Minnesota? The money and resources are there now when everything is fresh and promising, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in four decades of covering this game it’s that even billionaires eventually grow weary of stroking cheques for ventures that have no hope of turning a profit. After all, that’s how they became billionaires in the first place.
Will the hockey fandom support the professional game to the point where it is self-sustaining? We’re about to find out. One thing is certain, though. The big stakeholders look as though they’re finally willing to do their part. And that’s huge.
Love this article. Thanks for your great insights as usual! It is refreshing to say the least to hear Kasten share his vision and leadership.
And having someone with such vast experience at the helm of the sport hopefully sets them up for success