One league needed

Campbell-Pascall joins chorus calling for unification of women’s leagues

Talk of a single women’s professional hockey league has accelerated, but the two North American organizations don’t appear close to a merger.

The fact championship games of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) and the U.S.-based National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) are both Sunday is evidence enough the two leagues aren’t yet interested in working together.

But powerful people in hockey and prominent players are talking about the need for a unified women’s league.

Former Canadian Olympic team captain Cassie CampbellPascall has resigned from the CWHL’s board of governors to speak publicly about it.

It’s awkward to be critical of the two leagues while serving on the board of one, so Campbell-Pascall stepped down this week.

“I believe in something that’s bigger and better than what we have right now,” Campbell-Pascall said. “I’ve gotten to a point where if I don’t say something, I believe it’s going to take longer to get where we want to go.

“I’m not at odds with the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and I’m not at odds with the National Women’s Hockey League. I’m at odds with why we haven’t become one.

“I understand there’s issues, I understand a different governance structure in both leagues and I understand there’s legalities of how difficult this is to become one, but it’s not impossible. It’s time. Just make it happen. To me, it’s about two weeks of meetings.”

The 11-year-old CWHL became a seven-team league in 2017-18 with the addition of two Chinese teams.