A new North American professional women's hockey league looks to be on its way.
According to multiple reports, the Mark Walter Group acquired “certain assets” of the Premier Hockey Federation on Thursday. The Associated Press is also reporting that, as a result, a new league is projected to launch in January.
Mark Walter is a co-owner of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Alongside Billie Jean King Enterprises, the firm got a letter of intent signed by the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association in 2022 and the sides have been working on a bid to launch their own league for the past 14 months.
The PWHPA certified as a union this spring and was in the late phases of completing negotiations to establish a collective bargaining agreement. That was seen as the last hurdle before launching a league.
A vote to ratify the labour deal was expected to take place within the next week, but it’s not clear whether that will happen now.
The PWHPA rose from the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League in 2019 after 12 years.
The association has since barnstormed across North America in Dream Gap Tour tournaments and games.
The players' goal is a sustainable league that pays a living wage and offers the competitive supports the male pros get.
PWHPA membership hasn't joined the seven-team PHF, which has teams in Toronto and Montreal. The Toronto Six won this year's PHF championship Isobel Cup. Each PHF team played a 24-game regular season.
While the PHF has made strides in the professionalization of women's hockey, including the doubling of next season's salary cap to US$1.5 million per team, PWHPA players maintain they have a different vision for a women's pro league.
The PHF — which will reportedly cease operations — was set to enter its ninth season before Thursday's deal.
The PWHPA operated four teams in nine events in 2022-23, including a championship tournament in Southern California. Players trained out of hubs in Boston, Calgary, Minnesota, Montreal and Toronto.
The PWHPA has almost 100 members listed on its website, including the majority of the Canadian women's hockey team.
Half the U.S. women's roster at the 2023 world championship, including star Hilary Knight, are also PWHPA members.
— With files from The Associated Press.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2023.
The Canadian Press
