Two sides of a fascinating labor rift in women’s ice hockey
They start at opposite ends of their sport’s spectrum.
Bray Ketchum is entering the world of NWHL management.
Melissa Samoskevich is leaving college for the real world.
Yet two of the highest profile Connecticut women’s hockey figures suddenly find themselves at the intersection of one of the most fascinating and volatile labor decisions in recent professional athletics. In a bold move to seek a sustainable living, more than 200 top players announced late last week they will not play pro hockey next season in North America.
Samoskevich, Quinnipiac star, world champion, and the Connecticut Whale’s top draft pick, is one of those 200.
Also last week, Ketchum was named the general manager of the Whale.
A Greenwich native, Ketchum played at Yale. After the Boston Blades of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, she played in the NWHL for three years with the Newarkbased Metropolitan Riveters. Ketchum retired before the start of last season. As a co-founder with her brother of a plant-based beverage startup Upwild, she would focus on that company.
“Unfortunately, we had to close the business in January,” Ketchum, 30, said. “So I had been looking to get involved in the sports world in some capacity. I started to talking to Dani (Rylan, NWHL founder and commissioner) and as many people as possible, and this job was something they offered to me right away.
“To have a former player in this role, I think is really exciting to them. I’m really excited. I’m passionate about women’s hockey. I loved playing in the league. I value everything Dani has done for the league. They’ve provided a great product for the fans.”
It is a product the NWHL and Ketchum vow will be back on the ice for a fifth season.
Samoskevich, a Newtown native, won’t be there at Terry Conners Rink in Stamford in 2019-2020.
“We don’t want to call it a boycott,” said Samoskevich, avoiding the headline description that has bounced around the continent. “We’re taking it is a gap year. We don’t want to boycott the NWHL.”
Some may see that as a matter of semantics.
It has been a whirlwind spring for Samoskevich. After
completing her decorated career at Quinnipiac, she scored two goals in seven games during Team USA’s gold-medal triumph at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Finland. During that same time, the CWHL, which had given players an alternative pro league, announced it was ceasing operations.
“We found out the Canadian league folded when we were at worlds,” said Samoskevich, the only Connecticut native on the 2019 U.S. national team. “It was hard being a college kid coming in, you have options, but when that happened it was like, ‘Oh.’ No one really wanted to focus on it, because we’re all competing for our country. It was kind of tough.
“As crappy and as sad as it is that we’re taking a gap year to kind of get what we’re looking for — it does suck — it’s also a very pivotal time for our game. And that is kind of cool to be part of.
“If we want to be treated like professional athletes, more needs to be brought to the table. I think it’s worth the risk.”
When the NWHL started in 2015, there was a $270,000 salary cap per team and a $10,000 minimum for a player. Those numbers were essentially sliced in half midway through the next season and now stand at a $100,000 salary cap and $2,500 minimum. The CWHL, which operated as a non-profit, had a $100,000 salary cap and pay between $2,000 and $10,000.
Examine those numbers, WNBA players. You’ll feel better.
In a statement, the NWHL said it will increase salaries next season and equally split revenue from league-level sponsorships and media rights deals. The league, which is expected to expand to seven franchises with Toronto and Montreal next season, said it had raised significant investments since the CWHL closed.
Some sound unimpressed. “The league that exists right now is not sustainable, it doesn’t have our best longterm interests in mind,” American star Monique Lamoureux-Morando told ThinkProgress.
“Billions goes into global hockey,” Liz Knox, a goalie and one of the leaders of the CWHL players association, told ThinkProgress. “We don’t have pennies.”
“It’s not just the pay,” Samoskevich said. “It’s the resources. Trainers, strength coaches, coaches, it’s hard when you don’t have the funds to pay them at top dollar.”
Ketchum restricted her comments.
“Obviously, everyone has their own opinions and objectives,” Ketchum said. “The NWHL is ready for season five and we’re ready to take on any players willing to play. We hope something gets worked out and we’ll have as many players as possible.
“Each season has its own issues. It’s a startup, there will be issues. I have full faith in Dani and her team. I’m really excited about the league and the season.”
The U.S. women’s national team players threatened to boycott the world championship two years ago. It worked. They went from getting a ridiculous $6,000 every four years to about $70,000 a year “living wage.” In addition to USA Hockey and the USOC, the NHL quietly kicked in $25,000 per player, according to ESPN.
So there is some precedent for such a bold move working.
There also is risk in reaching high for something that isn’t there.
The players’ great hope, of course, is that the NHL would use its $5 billion in revenues to take control of the league the way the NBA does with the WNBA. The NHL contributed $50,000 to both the CWHL and NWHL last season, little more than ice shavings. The NWHL will now receive $100,000. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said on more than one occasion he didn’t believe in the business models of either league yet didn’t want the NHL to look like a bully in putting either out of business.
“That would be sweet if the NHL could step in,” Samoskevich said. “That would be awesome.”
“We are appreciative of what the NHL already has done and hopeful we can continue to grow that relationship,” Ketchum said.
Samoskevich is four years through a five-year graduate program in education at Quinnipiac. Long before last week’s events, she had decided to concentrate on professional hockey before returning for her fifth year.
“I want to focus on one thing at a time,” Samoskevich said. “They’re both important to me. Quinnipiac has been unbelievable in helping me work things out. I’m so grateful.
“This twisted me around some. I don’t have a set (fulltime) job. I’m still going to train hard all year. Everything is TBD right now for me in the fall.”
Ketchum knows the life of a pro hockey player. She taught for a year while playing. She worked a couple more with her brother at Upwild while playing for the Riveters.
“As athletes, we’ve learned to manage our time especially dealing with the stress of academics while playing hockey in college,” Ketchum said. “Making sacrifices comes with the territory.
“I had a great experience playing in the NWHL. Winning the Isobel Cup my third year was awesome. You see young girls in the stands wearing Ketchum jerseys it was humbling. The whole point of the league is to grow the sport, build its future, to be role models for the young girls watching. I think we’ve done a great job of that.”
For those women in the present, NWHL free agency begins this month. All returning players are unrestricted free agents.