Canadian Women’s Hockey League will shut down on May 1

CWHL shuts down The women’s hockey world is in shock after the CWHL announced it was folding on May 1. Jordan Kanygin has details.

Just a week after the Calgary Inferno hoisted the Clarkson Cup, the top prize in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, the organization announced it would be shutting down.

The CWHL announced on Sunday morning the league would be ceasing operations as of May 1.

Officials say a lack of funding is to blame.

“While the on-ice hockey is exceptional, the business model has proven to be economically unsustainable,” the league wrote in a release.

The CWHL was founded in 2007 and recently underwent a change in management and installed a new board of directors last year.

Jayna Hefford adopted the role of manager, taking over from Brenda Andress, but the CWHL says she and the board were not able to establish an adequate revenue base to keep the league going.

To make matters worse, the CWHL lost a major financial backer in November when Graeme Roustan of Roustan Capital withdrew sponsorship.

A number of top Canadian women players expressed their disappointment at news of the shutdown on Twitter.

Dakota Woodward, a Calgary Inferno forward, was in complete shock when she first heard the news on Sunday. She says the league had been talking about some sort of announcement earlier in the week, but hadn't said anything about what it was about.

"We knew about the call a couple days ago and we are all speculating, is it good news, is it bad news, we just really weren't sure. Being told the league is folding just leaves you completely shocked."

Now, Woodward says she and her teammates are working to figure out what the next steps are.

"Obviously, we don't have a plan that we had a week ago. We were planning on making our own off-season plans. That's where we are really focused on now is, obviously, devastating news and not what anyone wanted to hear, but as players now, we're really united and we're putting our best foot forward and trying to work out logistically what makes the most sense."

A record 175,000 fans attended last week’s Clarkson Cup championship in Toronto.

The CWHL also extended its thanks to fans of the sport in Sunday’s announcement.

“We thank our fans for cheering on their favourite player and favourite teams, our sponsors for helping fund the growth of women’s hockey and our partnerships with the NHLPA, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames. We would like to acknowledge the management and players of Team KRS for their commitment to the CWHL and growth of women’s hockey in China, and Ontario Women’s Hockey Association, Hockey Canada, and the NHL for their support.”

Girls Hockey Calgary, an organization that runs a number of junior teams that are affiliated with Calgary Inferno including Calgary Junior Inferno, says the announcement is difficult to hear but it doesn’t see it affecting any of its teams.

“At this time, GHC does not anticipate a change in our community team identity. We have created a family of Jr. Inferno players and fans, and hope to continue to do so. GHC has more than 40 Jr. Inferno teams from Timbits to Midget who play in Calgary’s minor hockey system through Hockey Calgary. Our elite program, the Calgary Fire, will also remain the same,” officials wrote in a statement.

The CWHL had six teams in North America and China this past season.

The league also included national team players from the United States, Canada, Finland, Japan and China.

(With files from the Canadian Press)