GROWTH POTENTIAL

As the 2024 draft class has demonstrated, there’s plenty of talent to fill out additional PWHL teams. Expansion will happen someday. The questions are just when and where

BY CAROL SCHRAM

WHEN THE PWHL BUILT its inaugural six franchises, each team signed three franchise players as free agents and then filled out their rosters through the 15-round draft held in Toronto in September 2023. Less than nine months later, the 2024 draft was held in St. Paul, Minn. And after players worldwide saw that the PWHL had delivered on its promise to build a truly professional league, 167 declared for the 42 available draft spots. The players ranged in age from 18 to 40, including 61 NCAA players, 35 from Canadian universities and 55 from professional leagues around the world. Forty-two players from 19 countries, including 2022 Canadian gold medallist Claire Thompson, had experience on senior national teams. Clearly, the supply of hopefuls vastly outpaced the available opportunities. And the prospects’ talent levels were…

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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Future Watch 2025

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