The puck is about to drop on the second season of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Following a successful debut season that ended with Minnesota beating Boston in five games to hoist the Walter Cup, the PWHL will return to action Saturday with the beginning of a 30-game regular season (up from 24) for all six teams.
The upcoming campaign will feature plenty of newness, including the much-anticipated team identities, new home arenas and neutral-site games, rule changes and a new class of rookies.
Here’s a look at what to expect as the PWHL returns:
What’s new and different in 2024-25
The most noticeable difference entering Year 2 is the introduction of team names and logos, as the six squads were originally identified by their geographic locations. The new season will mark the debut of the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres.
The PWHL continues to innovate when it comes to rule changes. This season, the league will become the first in professional hockey to assess a major and game misconduct as the default penalty for illegal checks to the head, while a new “No Escape Rule” will require players on a penalized team, with time on the clock, to remain on the ice until after play resumes.
New York will call Prudential Center, home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, its primary venue after splitting inaugural-season home games between three venues. Toronto moves into Coca-Cola Coliseum, which hosted three sold-out playoff contests last spring. Montreal will play most of its games at another AHL venue, Place Bell.
New York also made a head coaching change, replacing Howie Draper with Greg Fargo, who spent the last 12 seasons at Colgate University.
Who to watch for
Reigning PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner (league-leading 20 goals, seven assists last season) returns to Toronto but still is out recovering from May surgery to repair a torn ACL after being injured in the playoffs. Kristen Campbell won a league-leading 16 games in goal, posting three shutouts, a 1.99 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. Sarah Nurse also scored 11 goals for last season’s first-place team. Daryl Watts, a free agent in the offseason, left Ottawa for her hometown Sceptres.
The first captain to hoist the Walter Cup in May, Minnesota’s Kendall Coyne Schofield, returns to anchor the Frost alongside leading rookie scorer Grace Zumwinkle (11 goals) and Nicole Hensley, the first-ever goaltender drafted into the PWHL in 2023. The original No. 1 overall pick, Taylor Heise, returns after earning Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP honors.
Montreal returns stars such as Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey, both of whom scored double-digit goals in the inaugural season. Swedish star Lina Ljungblom, the final 2023 draft pick, joins the fold on a deeper Victoire team after finishing her contract in her native country.
Boston returns the stellar Aerin Frankel in net and Megan Keller on defense but will need to increase offense from a season ago despite retaining captain Hilary Knight and the runner-up for Rookie of the Year, Alina Muller. Forward Hannah Bilka was the Fleet’s top draft pick.
In Ottawa, the Charge return a pair of key scorers in Brianne Jenner and Katerina Mrazova and top defenders Savannah Harmon and Ashton Bell. Drafting Gwyneth Philips gives Emerance Maschmeyer competition for the net.
New York looks to climb from the basement with the help of 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick Sarah Fillier, who signed a three-year contract after a 43-point senior campaign at Princeton. Also returning are top scorer Alex Carpenter and defender Ella Shelton, a teammate of Fillier’s with Team Canada at last April’s Women’s World Championship.
Key dates
Following the training camp/exhibition schedule, rosters are to be declared by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. Saturday’s season-opening doubleheader features Toronto hosting Boston and Ottawa visiting Montreal, while Minnesota’s title defense begins Sunday against visiting New York.
After playing in Detroit and Pittsburgh last season, the PWHL Takeover Tour will bring the action to nine neutral sites in 2024-25: Buffalo; Denver; Detroit; Raleigh, N.C.; St. Louis; Seattle; Quebec City; Vancouver, British Columbia; and one to-be-announced location. The first stop on the tour will be Jan. 5 in Seattle, where Montreal and Boston will square off at Climate Pledge Arena.
The regular-season slate runs through May 3. International breaks are included for the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour (December), the conclusion of the U.S.-Canada Rivalry Series (February), and Women’s Worlds (April).
–Field Level Media
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