Minnesota lands franchise in new Professional Women's Hockey League

Minnesota's long tradition of women's professional hockey will continue with a new team in a new league, with the Twin Cities among the first six markets announced by the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

In a virtual news conference Tuesday, league officials said teams in Minnesota, Montreal, Toronto, the New York City area, Boston and Ottawa will begin a 24-game regular-season schedule in January. The new Twin Cities team will succeed the Minnesota Whitecaps, which most recently were members of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). Assets of the PHF were bought earlier this year by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter and his wife, Kimbra, who announced June 30 they would be funding a new league.

The June announcement also said the group headed by the Walters had negotiated a collective bargaining agreement with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), which includes many members of the U.S. and Canadian national teams. In a June news release, organizers of the new league said it would "undertake a thorough and equitable process to ensure that it features the best women's hockey players in the world.''

Rosters will begin forming when a 10-day free-agency period starts Friday. Most players will be selected through the PWHL draft on Sept. 18.

In recent years, women's pro hockey had been split into two factions: the PHF, which dates to 2015, and the PWHPA, which started in 2019.

The PWHL board includes Dodgers President Stan Kasten, tennis legend Billie Jean King and sports executive Ileana Kloss. Mark Walter is controlling owner of the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA; he also holds ownership stakes in the Los Angeles Lakers and Chelsea Football Club of the Premier League.

Minnesota's involvement with women's pro hockey began with the founding of the Whitecaps in 2004. They joined the PHF in 2018 and won the league championship a year later. The franchise made the PHF playoff finals last spring, marking its third appearance in the past four seasons.