Two weeks into the PWHL's first season, the new league is getting almost unanimous acclaim for bringing the women's professional game together, despite a few setbacks. Comparisons with other inaugural seasons but is that fair has the league's launch gone well?
Comparing the new league to the unsuccessful women's leagues of the past or even to some hypothetical worst-case scenario is one thing, after all. However, that's lowering the standard too much. The PWHL should be compared to other elite leagues if it hopes to be perceived as big-league hockey.
That's what we're going to do today. Instead of treating the new league like a kid, we will immediately compare its inaugural season to the NHL, the largest hockey league in the world. By comparing the new kid on the block to the NHL's inaugural season in 1917–18 in ten key metrics, we can assess how they actually compare.
Top 10 Comparisons With Other Inaugural Seasons
1. The reason for existing
order for the world's top women's hockey players to earn a career doing what they love, for fans to have a single, cohesive women's league to follow, and for young players to look up to in the future.
Since there was only one owner in the previous NHA that everyone detested, they shut it down and established what they believed to be a temporary replacement league as a means of getting rid of him. NHL. Motivating the next generation is admirable. Bitter resentment is marginally superior.
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2. Numbers of early visitors
robust, with strong demand across all six markets for tickets. Professional women's hockey set a new record with over 8,000 spectators for the home opener in Ottawa.
A few days later, a crowd of over 13,000 in Minnesota smashed the record. In Toronto and Montreal, sellouts have also occurred. Despite efforts to provide free tickets, barely 700 people attended the first game.
For reasons we'll discuss in a moment, it may not sound like much, but it turned out to be the largest audience in Montreal Wanderers history. When we entered the data into Dom's model, it indicated that 13,000 was greater than 700.
3. Changes to the rules
In the regular season, they have switched to a 3-2-1-0 point system. Additionally, they instituted a jailbreak rule that allows a team to release a player from the penalty box if they score a goal with a shorthand. The public wasn't made aware of either regulation until the day before the season started.
The league revealed a significant rule change three weeks into the season that abruptly permitted goalies to drop to the ice in order to make a save. Goalies had to stay upright at all times before that. Which rule change letting goaltenders move or switching to a 3-2-1-0 system—is more plainly right?
The league that didn't require a midseason modification to get it properly had an edge because the trick question is both evident.
4. Teams with names
The league declared a month before the start of the regular season that each of the six teams would begin the season with just their location on their jersey—no mascots or nicknames.
In order to distinguish between their two teams in Montreal, they undoubtedly required nicknames. However, the Toronto team didn't have a formal moniker during that first season.
Although they were formally called the Toronto Hockey Club, that squad is now more often known as the Arenas or sometimes the Blueshirts.
Every team in a new league should have a name, you perfectionists, but that is obviously not feasible. Some is better than none, though.
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5. Players' financial stability
A historic collective-bargaining pact that ensured a few players on each club would earn at least $80,000 on three-year contracts was passed by the league last summer. $35,000 per season was the league minimum.
Per diem, housing allowances, and other benefits were assured for players. Due to a contract disagreement between Senators players Jack Darragh and Hamby Shore, the inaugural NHL game in Ottawa was postponed. Only in the second quarter did both players attend the game, having convened beneath the stands to negotiate improved contracts.
Dany Heatley and Alexei Yashin, get over here. It turns out that the first contract villains in Ottawa were Shore and Darragh. The PWHL deserves praise for securing contracts and rights for its participants before the first night.
6. Have any of the teams lost their homes as a result of the arena burning down?
The home rink for the Wanderers and the Canadiens was destroyed when the Montreal Arena burnt down about two weeks into the first season, affecting half of the league.
Additionally, you never hear any positive tales about the other half of the league whose arenas weren't actually on fire, even if some people will only talk about the bad.
7. The quality of the roster
During the league's first free-agency period, each team was able to add three well-known players. In order to complete the rosters, a 15-round draft was then held.
The Montreal Wanderers asked that three players be taken from the rosters of the other league clubs because they were so dissatisfied with their lineup. They just folded the team in the midst of the season after their demands were not fulfilled, and soon after, their home arena burned down.
We're not accusing them of setting their arena on fire. Wait, is your roster that awful that you can just leave midway through a season? Are the Sharks aware of this?
8. Availability of broadcast
mixed. While fans in the United States have had to settle for local coverage and YouTube streaming choices, Canadian fans have had access to national programming on major networks.
Not even a basic internet streaming bundle, and no TV presence. Man, this was a huge failure on the part of the NHL. Positively, though, at least they weren't featured on the Outdoor Life Network.
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9. Crazy things with well-known captains
When Montreal's Marie-Philip Poulin attempted a penalty shot in Ottawa, she was jeered on the rink. It was somewhat strange to see Poulin jeered in Canada's capital city, especially considering her reputation as Canadian royalty due to her outstanding accomplishments on the global stage.
For mistreating referees, Toronto captain Ken Randall owed the league $35 in overdue fines. Randall used pennies in a paper bag to pay some of his costs on February 25, 1918.
The bag exploded when they were given to the referee in the center of the ice, strewing pennies all over the rink. It's encouraging to learn that someone besides Harold Ballord was searching for solutions to Toronto's challenges.
10. The trophy for the championship
We don't know if the league champion will be presented with a trophy that has the heritage of the Isobel Cup, the Clarkson Cup, a mix of the two, or something else different because nothing official has been revealed yet.
For the first four years of the league, they never got around to having one. The Stanley Cup was given to the victor of a special challenge match between the NHL and PCHA champions, even though it had been around for decades.
Because of the notable discrepancies between the leagues, including fundamental elements like the number of players on the ice, that year's Cup was played in a five-game series under rotating regulations.In the end, Toronto prevailed.
FAQ's: Comparisons With Other Inaugural Seasons
What are the differences between the seasons?
Cold conditions, little sunshine, and slow plant development are typical winter conditions. Plants grow, tree leaves unfold, and flowers bloom in the spring. Because summer has the greatest daylight and is the hottest season, plants grow fast. Many trees lose their leaves as the temperature drops in the fall.
How are seasons different in other parts of the world?
The seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis. The Sun's most direct rays fall on different places of Earth at different times of the year. Therefore, it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere when the North Pole tilts toward the Sun. Additionally, the Northern Hemisphere enters winter when the South Pole tilts toward the Sun.
What do all seasons have in common?
The weather often varies with the seasons. However, they do have a commonality. The Sun is the source of all seasons.
What are the differences in the Four seasons?
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter are the four seasons. The weather starting to warm up and the emergence of flowers and trees are the hallmarks of spring. The hottest season and weather occurs throughout the summer, when trees and flowers are in full bloom.
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