Inaugural National Women’s Hockey League Opens With a Sell-Out

By Christian Radnedge

The first ever women’s professional hockey league game was seen by a sold-out crowd in Connecticut on Sunday as a new milestone in American sport was achieved.

The National Women’s Hockey League is the first of its kind, with players of the four teams – Connecticut Whale, New York Riveters, Buffalo Beauts and Boston Pride – all being paid, at a rate of around $15,000 a year (they will still have to juggle their schedule with other jobs).

A capacity crowd of more than 800 turned out to see the Whale beat the New York Riveters 4-1 at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, Connecticut.

While the attendance doesn’t seem a huge number (the venue is a high school hockey-sized arena), the fact that the league exists at all is testament to the hard work of NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan and co-founder Angela Ruggiero, herself a member of the International Olympic Committee and a Winter Olympic gold medallist.

Rylan, herself a former player, insisted that women’s ice hockey had opportunities there for the taking.

“People will say they can’t really notice a difference between the men’s and the women’s until they zoom in,” she said.

“Women’s sports are hot right now. And there’s a business in it, it’s untapped.”

The league is funded by a number of investors, providing equipment for the teams involved. However, players can make additional revenue by way of a right to 15% of profits off any NWHL jersey sold with their name on it.

For the players though, it was just enough to see a full crowd cheering them on.

“It’s honestly a dream come true. Because never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this,” said Whale goalie Jamie Leonoff, who made 35 saves in the win over the New York Riveters.

“As a kid, you think about playing in the NHL. As you get older, you kind of realize that it doesn’t exist for women.

“They sold over 800 tickets, and you had people screaming at the girls on the ice,” said Leonoff. “It’s what every girl dreams of. Every. Hockey. Girl.”

For Rylan, Sunday was vindication of her belief that a professional women’s ice hockey game would draw a crowd – though for the league to profit, all of the season’s games leading up to the presentation of the Isobel Cup would need to sell out.

“The product on the ice was exactly what we wanted. It was a professional hockey game. The home team won, so that made it even better,” Rylan said.

“If this was someone’s first women’s hockey game, I guarantee you it’s not going to be their last.”

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