Women’s professional hockey has made enormous progress, but that progress was not always straightforward. The former National Women’s Hockey League, or NWHL, became an important part of that story while also facing criticism over transparency, league management and the experience of its players and supporters.
The story of the NWHL is part of the wider development of professional sports, where league structure, fan engagement and media coverage can all influence the growth of a competition.
In early 2021, those concerns became particularly visible during the league’s pandemic-affected season. Teams withdrew from competition, explanations were unclear, and fans were left asking questions about what was happening behind the scenes.
The controversy mattered because women’s hockey was building genuine momentum. The sport had talented athletes, growing audiences and increasing commercial interest. The argument was not that the NWHL had nothing positive to offer. It was that a league with that much potential needed to communicate better with the people investing their time, money and attention in it.
Why Were NWHL Fans Frustrated?
The biggest issue was not simply that problems occurred. Professional sports organisations can face injuries, scheduling difficulties, financial pressures and unexpected events.
The frustration came from the way some of those problems were communicated.
During the NWHL’s 2020–21 season, the league attempted to operate a controlled tournament environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Metropolitan Riveters withdrew after a COVID outbreak, while the Connecticut Whale also withdrew shortly afterwards.
Reports surrounding the Whale’s departure were conflicting, leaving supporters without a clear explanation. That uncertainty created an avoidable gap between the league and its audience.
For a growing sports league, communication is not a minor issue. Fans want to know what is happening to their teams, while players need confidence that the organisation representing them is prepared to communicate difficult decisions responsibly.
The NWHL Was Operating in Difficult Circumstances
It is important to put the controversy into context.
The 2020–21 season was being played during an unprecedented global health crisis. COVID-19 affected professional sports across North America, and women’s hockey was no exception.
Trying to create a controlled environment for multiple teams and players was a complicated logistical challenge. Health concerns could change plans quickly, and teams had to make decisions based on circumstances that could develop from one day to the next.
That context explains why the season was difficult. It does not, however, eliminate the importance of transparent communication.
In fact, difficult circumstances can make communication even more important because supporters are more likely to speculate when official information is limited.
Women’s Hockey Already Had Momentum
The criticism of the NWHL was especially significant because women’s hockey was showing signs of genuine growth.
The league had talented players who were building strong relationships with fans, while interest in women’s hockey was expanding at grassroots level.
The NWHL had also attracted commercial partnerships and increasing media attention. The league’s Twitch broadcast numbers during the 2021 season demonstrated that there was an audience willing to watch professional women’s hockey online.
That meant the league was not trying to create interest from nothing. There was already a foundation to build on.
Fans Were More Than Spectators
For emerging professional sports leagues, supporters play a particularly important role.
Fans purchase tickets and merchandise, watch broadcasts, follow teams on social media and introduce new audiences to the sport. Their engagement helps demonstrate that a league has commercial potential.
That makes transparency especially valuable.
When a league communicates clearly about difficult decisions, supporters are more likely to understand why changes are necessary. When information is missing, fans may fill the gap themselves with speculation.
For the NWHL, that distinction became increasingly important as the 2021 season encountered problems.
Players Deserved Stability Too
The debate was not only about fans.
Professional women’s hockey players were also trying to build careers in an environment where salaries and resources had historically lagged behind established men’s professional sports.
Players needed leagues that could provide a credible professional structure, clear communication and a realistic path towards better compensation and working conditions.
The NWHL’s difficulties therefore highlighted a much bigger question: what should a sustainable professional women’s hockey league look like?
A successful league needs more than talented players. It needs strong ownership, reliable operations, commercial partnerships, media exposure, fan engagement and long-term financial planning.
The League Eventually Changed Its Identity
The NWHL did not remain the NWHL forever.
In September 2021, the organisation announced that it would rebrand as the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The new identity was intended to focus more strongly on the skill and talent of the athletes and to create a more inclusive league identity.
The rebrand represented a significant moment in the organisation’s development. It also showed that professional women’s hockey was continuing to evolve rapidly.
The NWHL name therefore belongs to an earlier period of the league’s history, while the PHF name represents the organisation’s later phase.
From NWHL to PHF
The PHF continued to develop professional women’s hockey in North America after the NWHL era.
Its teams included established organisations such as the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps and Toronto Six, with the Montreal Force later expanding the league.
The organisation also increased its salary-cap levels and expanded its commercial and broadcast relationships.
These changes were important because professional women’s hockey needed to demonstrate that players could be supported through increasingly sustainable league structures.
The Arrival of the PWHL Changed the Landscape
The professional women’s hockey landscape changed again when the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) launched in January 2024.
The PWHL brought together top-level women’s hockey talent under a new league structure and immediately generated significant attention.
Its inaugural regular season recorded 392,259 total attendees across 72 games. The league also set a world attendance record for a women’s hockey game when 21,105 fans attended the Montréal-Toronto game at the Bell Centre.
Those figures demonstrated just how much demand existed for high-level women’s professional hockey.
The PWHL’s emergence also provides useful historical context for looking back at the NWHL. The earlier league was part of a longer process through which women’s professional hockey developed stronger infrastructure, greater visibility and a larger commercial audience.
What the NWHL Got Right
It would be unfair to discuss the NWHL only through its controversies.
The league played an important role in giving elite women hockey players another professional platform in North America.
It helped create opportunities for athletes to compete professionally, attracted new supporters and contributed to the broader development of women’s hockey.
The league also helped demonstrate that there was an audience for professional women’s hockey outside major international tournaments.
Those achievements deserve recognition even when the organisation’s management decisions attracted criticism.
What the NWHL Could Have Done Better
The biggest lesson is the importance of communication.
A growing professional sports organisation cannot control every event. It can, however, control how it responds when things go wrong.
- Communicate quickly: Fans should not have to rely on rumours to understand major league developments.
- Explain difficult decisions: Even when full details cannot be released, organisations can explain what they are able to share.
- Respect players: Athletes should remain central to communication around major changes affecting their teams and careers.
- Build trust: Consistent communication creates confidence among fans, sponsors and media.
- Think long term: Short-term publicity should never replace sustainable league development.
Why Women’s Hockey Fans Matter
Women’s hockey has repeatedly demonstrated that audiences are willing to support the sport when they are given meaningful opportunities to watch and follow it.
The growth of the PWHL provides one of the clearest examples. The league’s inaugural season generated strong attendance, substantial digital engagement and major commercial partnerships.
Those developments did not happen in isolation. They are part of decades of work by players, coaches, administrators, grassroots organisations and fans.
Supporters who stayed with women’s hockey during its less stable professional years helped create the audience that today’s leagues can build upon.
Sports audiences also depend on strong local and wider media coverage. Our article on RRN sports coverage and its local impact explores another side of how sports reporting can connect competitions with their audiences.
The Bigger Lesson for Professional Women’s Sports
The NWHL story extends beyond hockey.
New professional women’s sports leagues often have to build their commercial infrastructure while simultaneously proving that there is a sustainable audience for the product.
That makes trust particularly important.
Fans do not expect perfection. They do expect honesty, professionalism and a sense that the organisation understands the value of their support.
When those qualities are present, setbacks can become opportunities to strengthen relationships. When they are missing, even relatively small problems can become much bigger controversies.
Women’s Hockey Has Come a Long Way
The contrast between the NWHL era and today’s professional women’s hockey environment is significant.
The PWHL now features teams in major North American markets and has established itself as a prominent professional league. Its early attendance records demonstrate that women’s hockey can attract large audiences when the sport is supported by strong infrastructure and high-profile competition.
The Hockey Hall of Fame’s timeline of women’s hockey also places the PWHL’s launch within the much longer history of the sport’s development.
For supporters, that history matters. Today’s professional opportunities were not created overnight.
Final Thoughts
The criticism that “women’s hockey fans deserved better” was ultimately about more than one difficult season.
It was about what professional women’s hockey needed to become if it wanted to turn growing interest into long-term success.
The NWHL had talented players, passionate supporters and genuine potential. But the problems surrounding communication during the 2020–21 season showed how quickly trust can be damaged when important information is unclear.
The organisation later evolved into the PHF, and the professional women’s hockey landscape subsequently changed again with the arrival of the PWHL.
Looking back, the NWHL should therefore be understood as part of a larger transition in women’s hockey rather than simply as a failed experiment. Its successes and shortcomings both contributed lessons to the professional game that followed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the NWHL?
The National Women’s Hockey League was a professional women’s ice hockey league established in North America in 2015. It later rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation in 2021.
Why did NWHL fans criticise the league?
One major period of criticism came during the 2020–21 season, when team withdrawals and unclear communication around the league’s pandemic-era tournament created frustration among supporters and raised questions about transparency.
What happened to the NWHL?
The NWHL rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation in September 2021. The PHF later ceased operations in 2023 as the professional women’s hockey landscape transitioned towards the PWHL.
What is the PWHL?
The Professional Women’s Hockey League is a North American professional women’s ice hockey league that began play on 1 January 2024. It was created as a new top-level professional league and has since expanded its reach and audience.
Is women’s professional hockey growing?
Yes. The PWHL’s inaugural season produced strong attendance, viewership and partnership figures, including a world attendance record of 21,105 for a women’s hockey game in Montréal.
