New Professional Women's Hockey League, the PWHL, Is Buzzing And Just Broke A Record

The Professional Women's Hockey League recently got underway, and there is a buzz around this league the likes of which women's pro hockey has never seen. On Saturday night, the league broke a record for the biggest crowd for a women's pro hockey game with more than 13,000 showing up to catch a game in Minnesota.

The PWHL is the retooled version of the Premier Hockey Federation which was the retooled version of the National Women's Hockey League. The goal of each incarnation was more or less the same: to set up a sustainable league for some of the talented hockey-playing ladies from around the globe a place to make a living playing hockey.

Considering this attempt No. 3 (at least) it shows this is not an easy thing to do, but the PWHL is off to a heck of a start.

On Saturday, the league's teams from Minnesota and Montreal (they don't have nicknames yet) played at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center — home of the Wild — and drew a record crowd.

That's impressive. That's almost three Arizona Coyotes sellouts worth of people.

Women's hockey is entertaining. Anyone who says otherwise is either being difficult or has never seen the US Women take on Canada. Those games are wild, man.

That's big for the league, because getting people in the door is half the battle, and obviously they're getting the job done.

Minnesota's Grace Zumwinkle celebrates her hat trick against Montreal in front of a record-setting crowd. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

The PWHL Is Testing Out Some Intriguing Rules

We'll see if this early success keeps up. At least the league is doing things to stay relevant outside of being a professional women's hockey league. This includes some interesting rules that a lot of people want to see make the jump to the NHL, and the PWHL could prove to be a good testing ground for them.

The first is a 3-2-1-0 points system. That's three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, and one for an overtime loss. For a regulation loss? It's a big ol' goose egg (but you knew that).

I love that idea. It gives the loser point less power and rewards teams who don't need an extra frame to get a win.

The other rule involves shorthanded goals. In the PWHL, if a team scores a shortie, the other team's power play is over. Again, love it.

Building a sustainable league is a marathon, not a sprint, but the PWHL is off to a solid start.

Follow on X: @Matt_Reigle