NWHL adds first Canadian franchise
As yet unnamed Toronto squad already has five female hockey players signed
At a time when Toronto’s rinks are dark and the Maple Leafs and Marlies are shuttered, the National Women’s Hockey League is set to reveal a new team in town.
The unnamed franchise was announced Wednesday. The ownership group is headed by U.s.-born former Harvard captain Johanna Boynton, with fellow American and former Brown University coach Margaret (Digit) Murphy as president. The team already has five players under contract, but does not have a home venue lined up. Everything in the sport is on hold with COVID-19 concerns.
The NWHL was established in 2015 as a startup venture by Dani Rylan and backed by private investors, becoming North America’s first women’s league to pay its players. Its foray into Canada comes a year after the six-team Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded following 12 seasons due to financial issues. The Leafs were a sponsor of the CWHL, which hoped to get a restart at some stage, possibly with NHL involvement.
“Launching our first team in Canada is a pivotal and proud moment for the NWHL,” Rylan said in statement.
“Everyone in the Toronto hockey community can be sure that this first-class team of professionals will make bold strides for the women’s game.”
The new team brings the NWHL to six clubs, with teams in Boston, Buffalo, Monmouth Junction, N.J., Danbury, Conn., and Saint Paul, Minn.
All five Toronto players signed were in the CWHL, with the most notable being Shiann Darkangelo, a forward on the American team that won the 2016 world title. The four other players are Canadians: forward Taylor Woods, defencemen Kristen Barbara and Emma Greco and goalie Elaine Chuli.
“I’m delighted to be part of the first NWHL franchise in Canada because it brings me back to my roots,” 58-year-old Murphy told The Associated Press.
“A year ago, when the CWHL shut down, they had one of the best hockey products on the market. So I just see this as a continuation of that, and Toronto deserves a women’s franchise.”
After leaving Brown, where she won 318 games, Murphy won two CWHL championships during three seasons coaching the Boston Blades. Murphy then spent 2017-18 coaching a CWHL expansion team in China, whose players included Darkangelo and Chuli.
The AP speculated it’s unlikely the NWHL will be able to draw from the rosters of current U.S. or Canadian national teams after their members helped form the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association following the CWHL’S demise.
The PWHPA was opposed to a pro league in North America without establishment of salaried players and a financially stable long-term economic model. The PWHPA spent last season holding a series of exhibition weekends to fill the void.
Last week, PWHPA executive member Jayna Hefford told the AP she was aware of and welcomed the NWHL’S expansion bid, at least as a way of sustaining interest in the women’s cause.
Some NWHL players reportedly make as much as US$15,000, but full salaries are not released. They have a revenue-generating plan through sponsorship and media, combined with players salaries.
“I don’t want to get cocky and say, ‘We’re going to win the Cup,’ ” Murphy said of Toronto’s first-season forecast, “but I want to contend.”