PWHL rarin’ to go for Year Two

Olympic and Women’s Worlds stars set to dazzle in six-team league

 

The teams have nicknames. Many have new home rinks. The season is now 30 games long. Expansion talk is in the air as the so-called “Takeover Tour” will see games played in nine non-PWHL cities. It’s a great time for professional women’s hockey in North America!

 

Yes, the PWHL is back for its second season, which will include a break for the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship (9 to 20 April in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia). Let’s preview the league’s six teams.

Boston Fleet

Led by captain Hilary Knight, the all-time Women’s Worlds points leader, Boston made it to the inaugural Walter Cup finals before losing to Minnesota. To the good, their deep playoff run is something to build on. To the bad, they scored the fewest goals in the league last season despite a supporting cast that included Switzerland’s Alina Muller, Finland’s Susanna Tapani, and the U.S.’s Megan Keller.

 

The big name to come to Boston this off-season is 23-year-old Hannah Bilka, a proven goal-scorer who was part of the U.S.’s gold medal win at the 2023 Women’s Worlds in Brampton, Ontario. The Fleet also boasts perhaps the PWHL’s best one-two goaltending tandem in the U.S.’s Aerin Frankel and Sweden’s Emma Soderberg, both of whom are top goalies on their national teams.

Minnesota Frost

Last year’s Walter Cup champions looked anything but champion-like for much of the season, and they were the fourth seed once the playoffs began. But they peaked at the right time and defeated Boston 3-0 in the last game of the best-of-five finals to claim the first-ever PWHL championship. The team looks like a mini-version of Team USA. Led by puckhandling wizard Taylor Heise, the first overall pick in 2023, and longtime U.S. captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, the core remains impressive.

 

A star-studded blue…