Could Maritime cities land future PWHL teams?

First at Five: Team Dreams Now that the PWHL has kicked-off its inaugural season, hockey insiders discuss the possibility of growing the game in the Maritimes.

Saint Mary’s University female hockey players can now look to the Professional Women’s Hockey League as a realistic post-university playing destination.

“As the league expands and continues to grow over the next couple years, many of us will aspire to end up there one day,” said SMU Huskies women’s hockey player Marisa McClocklin.

Sports event consultant Grant MacDonald's first impressions of the PWHL?

“My reaction first off, why not the Maritimes?” asked MacDonald.

MacDonald was the lead event organizer for the hugely successful 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship in Halifax and Moncton.

“It showed that communities in the Maritimes could support high-level sports at a time of year when it is not traditional for people to spend their entertainment dollars,” said MacDonald.

When the PWHL adds more teams in the future, MacDonald said Maritime expansion should be a strong possibility, and not just in Halifax.

“Certainly Moncton, what they did last year in staging the world juniors in Pool B,” said MacDonald of Moncton’s success hosting the event. “With their facility, the Avenir Centre, that’s an interesting opportunity.”

Cheryl Macdonald specializes in gender and sports studies at Saint Mary’s University.

“I think we are riding a really exciting wave right now,” she said, adding the PWHL represents a landmark achievement in women’s sports. “This is a very exciting breakthrough.”

She also said having a team or multiple Maritime-based teams in the future is a realistic dream.

“One third of the coaches in this professional league are from Nova Scotia and there are players from here feeding the league,” Cheryl MacDonald said. “I’m not sure that it would be a huge stretch to start going to women’s professional hockey games.”

Cheryl MacDonald also said women’s hockey is growing at a rapid rate in this region, so why not strive for something bigger, better, and professional in scope?