3 biggest storylines from the first week of the PWHL season

1. The PWHL is making her-story

History, or rather, her-story was made with PWHL’s inaugural season officially beginning. January 1, 2024 marked the dawn of a new era, one that’s been a long time in the making. Women’s hockey is not a new sport, and other leagues have come before. So what’s different about the PWHL? The league is taking the world by storm and proving it’s here to stay. 

PWHL New York visited Toronto at Mattamy Athletic Centre on Opening Day. New York won 4-0. Ella Shelton scored the PWHL’s first-ever goal. Corinne Schroeder earned the first shutout. 2.9 million viewers overall watched coverage of the first game. The audience peaked around 1.1 million during the second period. Boston, Ottawa, Minnesota, and Montreal have since started their seasons, as well.

The launch of the new league shows young girls that they can aspire to play professional hockey. They can grow up being inspired by women playing the sport they love. They can regularly watch professional women’s hockey, rather than primarily seeing the women’s game on the international stage now that coverage is more accessible. While there have been other women’s leagues, now all of the top female hockey players are in one unified league.

Hilary Knight has been one of the most influential figures in USA Women’s Hockey for over fifteen years. She was an integral part of the formation of the PWHL, and she’s Boston’s first captain. A few months prior to the announcement of the new league, Knight told FanSided that a new women’s pro league would fill in gaps and break down barriers. “Being able to put together a product or a landscape that mirrors the things that the sport needs at the elite level is only going to help that young girl that wants to see it and be it,” she said. Finally, that dream has come to fruition. 

As the PWHL’s inaugural season continues, the six original teams will continue to make history in women’s hockey.