New women's pro hockey league gives local players chance to dream bigger

A new women's pro hockey league in North America is giving female players on P.E.I. hope of making a career out of a game they love

The Professional Women's Hockey League, with three teams in Canada and three in the U.S., began earlier this month and has already set two attendance records for pro women's hockey — 8,318 from Ottawa's home opener against Montreal on Tuesday and 13,316 in Minnesota's home owner against Montreal on Saturday.

Sophie Bujold, of Riverview, N.B., who plays for the UPEI women's hockey team, was watching the games closely — her sister, Sarah, plays for Montreal.

"It's really good hockey, it's fast, exciting, it's rough, it's just as good as watching the NHL," she said.

It's a promising sign for pro women's hockey, which has had limited success in North America.

More pro scouts are expected to be watching UPEI and other women's hockey teams. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)

The PWHL was formed when new owners bought and dissolved the Premier Hockey Federation. The PHL was formed in in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League, the first pro women's hockey league in North America to pay its players a salary.

Sarah Steele of Stratford, P.E.I., played for the Toronto Six of the NWHL.

The new league is owned by the Mark Walter Group, which is also part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and Chelsea pro soccer team.

Under the PWHL's collective bargaining agreement, the average salary is $55,000 for the first season, with no fewer than six players per team signing three-year contracts for $80,000 a year.

Kaiya Maracle, who plays for UPEI, says the new league is a step toward equality with men's sports. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Kaiya Maracle of Toronto, who also plays for UPEI, said it shows that women can make a living playing hockey as men have been able to since the NHL was formed more than a century ago.

"It creates the equality that we need in sports because female athletes are fully capable of playing at a professional level," she said.

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Bujold said she expects the competition at the university level to get better as scouts look for new players to sign.

"I'm going to up my game so that … I might have an opportunity to play where my sister's playing."

If she doesn't make it to the pros, she'll have Sarah and others to cheer for when she watches the games on TV.

"She's my role model, for sure. I'm so proud of her and excited to see how far she goes."