The 2023âÂÂ24 PWHL season was the first season of operation of the Professional Women's Hockey League, and began play on January 1, 2024. Six teams competed during the inaugural season, located in Montreal, Toronto, New York/Bridgeport, Boston, Ottawa, and Saint Paul. The season culminated in a two-round best-of-five playoff including the top four teams to determine the season champion. PWHL Toronto topped the regular season standings with 17 wins and 47 points. In the playoffs, PWHL Minnesota won the inaugural Walter Cup, defeating PWHL Boston in a 5-game series for the title.
The PWHL was announced in August 2023 after the Mark Walter Group announced the formation of a new league aligned with the players in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association, and then subsequently purchased and folded the rival Premier Hockey Federation in June 2023. On August 29, the locations of the six charter franchises were announced.
On September 1, 2023, a 10-day free agency period began, during which each team was eligible to sign up to three players. On the same day, the league announced the general managers for each team: Danielle Marmer for Boston, Natalie Darwitz for Minnesota, Pascal Daoust for New York, Gina Kingsbury for Toronto, Daniele Sauvageau for Montreal, and Michael Hirshfeld for Ottawa. On September 5, Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, and Emerance Maschmeyer became the first players signed to PWHL contracts when they signed with Ottawa.
On September 18, 2023, the inaugural PWHL Draft took place. It was a 15-round draft, with the initial order determined by a lottery, and subsequent rounds following a "snake format" in which the team who selected last in the previous round selected first in the next round, and the selection order was reversed. The draft order was announced on September 1, with the lottery won by Minnesota, followed by Toronto, Boston, New York, Ottawa, and Montreal. The league allowed players to apply for "compassionate circumstances" in order to stay in their home markets, with those approved eligible to be drafted only by their home market teams; the list of approved players will not be publicly released. Taylor Heise was picked first overall by Minnesota.
On October 25, 2023, PWHL Holdings, LLC filed potential names for the six teams with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. According to The Athletic, the potential names were Boston Wicked, Minnesota Superior, Montreal Echo, New York Sound, Ottawa Alert, and Toronto Torch. PWHL Holdings had previously filed trademarks for the league name and logos. However, the league ultimately opted against naming the teams ahead of the season; for the 2024 season, the teams will be known by their city names, and each wear jerseys featuring a diagonal wordmark of their home city.
Training camps opened on November 15, with final rosters confirmed on December 11. Final rosters include 23 roster players and 3 reserve players.
From December 3 to 7, all six teams congregated for a pre-season evaluation camp in Utica, New York, which included scrimmages at the Utica University Nexus Center. PWHL executive Jayna Hefford stated that the unified camp enabled the league to experiment and provided an opportunity for team and player education around issues like safety and doping.
On January 15, it was announced that 24 PWHL players would participate in the 2024 NHL All-Star weekend in Toronto, playing a 3-on-3 showcase game on February 1.
The PWHL season paused for the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship, which ran from April 3âÂÂ14, and featured 39 PWHL players.
On May 22, 2024, the PWHL was announced as the winner of the Sports Business Journal's 2024 Breakthrough of the Year award.
On May 24, 2024, the league announced that the 2024 PWHL Awards ceremony would be held June 10âÂÂ11 at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota.
On December 27, 2023, one week before PWHL Minnesota's inaugural game, the team announced that head coach Charlie Burggraf had decided to step away from the team, citing family reasons. Burggraf had been named the team's first coach on September 15, 2023, and coached the team to a perfect 3âÂÂ0 record in the preseason. Ken Klee was then named Burggraf's replacement.
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The regular season schedule was announced on November 30, 2023. The season began on January 1 and ended on May 5, 2024, with each team playing 24 games. The schedule paused in February for an IIHF National Team Break, and in April for the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. The playoffs began the week of May 6.
All times in Eastern Time.
|- | December 4 || 1:00 || Toronto || 5âÂÂ2 || Boston || || @ Utica University Nexus Center | |- | December 4 || 4:15 || Ottawa || 4âÂÂ8 || Minnesota || || @ Utica University Nexus Center | |- | December 4 || 7:30 || Montreal || 0âÂÂ4 || New York || || @ Utica University Nexus Center | |- | December 5 || 12:00 || Minnesota || 5âÂÂ4 || Toronto || || @ Utica University Nexus Center | |- | December 5 || 3:15 || Boston || 1âÂÂ3 || Montreal || || @ Utica University Nexus Center | |- | December 5 || 7:30 || Ottawa || 1âÂÂ2 || New York || SO || @ Utica University Nexus Center | |- | December 7 || 9:00 am || Montreal || 3âÂÂ4 || Minnesota || || @ Utica University Nexus Center | |- | December 7 || 12:15 || New York || 6âÂÂ4 || Toronto || || @ Utica University Nexus Center | |- | December 7 || 3:30 || Ottawa || 1âÂÂ3 || Boston || || @ Utica University Nexus Center |
|- | January 1 || 12:30 || New York || 4âÂÂ0 || Toronto || || align=left| Corinne Schroeder recorded shutout (1) | |- | January 2 || 7:00 || Montreal || 3âÂÂ2 || Ottawa || OT || align=left| New attendance record: 8,318 | |- | January 3 || 7:00 || Minnesota || 3âÂÂ2 || Boston || || align=left| | |- | January 5 || 7:00 || Toronto || 3âÂÂ2 || New York || || align=left| | |- | January 6 || 3:30 || Montreal || 0âÂÂ3 || Minnesota || || align=left| Maddie Rooney recorded shutout (1)<br />Grace Zumwinkle recorded hat-trick (1)<br />New attendance record: 13,316 | |- | January 8 || 6:00 || Ottawa || â || Boston || || align=left| Game postponed to February 19 due to inclement weather | |- | rowspan=2|January 10 || 7:00 || Montreal || 5âÂÂ2 || New York || || align=left| Played @ UBS Arena<br />Marie-Philip Poulin recorded hat-trick (1) | |- | 8:00 || Toronto || 1âÂÂ3 || Minnesota || || align=left| | |- | rowspan=2|January 13 || 1:00 || Ottawa || 5âÂÂ1 || Toronto || || align=left| | |- | 3:30 || Boston || 3âÂÂ2 || Montreal || OT || align=left| | |- | January 14 || 4:00 || New York || 3âÂÂ2 || Minnesota || OT || align=left| | |- | January 16 || 7:00 || New York || 2âÂÂ3 || Montreal || || align=left| Played @ Place Bell | |- | rowspan=2|January 17 || 7:00 || Minnesota || 3âÂÂ2 || Ottawa || OT || align=left| | |- | 7:00 || Boston || 3âÂÂ2 || Toronto || || align=left| | |- | rowspan=2|January 20 || 12:30 || New York || 4âÂÂ1 || Boston || || align=left| Jade Downie-Landry recorded hat-trick (1) | |- | 8:00 || Toronto || 4âÂÂ3 || Montreal || SO || align=left|First regular season shootout. | |- | January 23 || 7:00 || Toronto || 1âÂÂ3 || Ottawa || || align=left| | |- | rowspan=2|January 24 || 7:00 || Boston || 3âÂÂ2 || Ottawa || || align=left| | |- | 8:00 || Montreal || 2âÂÂ1 || Minnesota || || align=left| | |- | January 26 || 7:00 || New York || 0âÂÂ2 || Toronto || || align=left| Kristen Campbell recorded shutout (1) | |- | rowspan=2|January 27 || 3:30 || Ottawa || 1âÂÂ2 || Montreal || OT || align=left|Played @ Place Bell | |- | 4:00 || Minnesota || 3âÂÂ4 || Boston || OT || align=left| | |- | January 28 || 1:00 || Minnesota || 2âÂÂ1 || New York || OT || align=left| |
|- | February 3 || 12:00 || Minnesota || 1âÂÂ4 || Toronto || || align=left| | |- | rowspan=2|February 4 || 1:00 || New York || 4âÂÂ3 || Ottawa || OT || align=left| | |- | 3:30 || Montreal || 2âÂÂ1 || Boston || OT || align=left| | |- | rowspan=2|February 14 || 7:00 || Toronto || 5âÂÂ3 || Boston || || align=left| Natalie Spooner recorded hat-trick (1) | |- | 8:00 || Ottawa || 1âÂÂ2 || Minnesota || || align=left| | |- | February 16 || 7:00 || Montreal || 0âÂÂ3 || Toronto || || align=left| Played at Scotiabank Arena<br />New attendance record: 19,285<br />Kristin Campbell recorded shutout (2) | |- | rowspan=2|February 17 || 2:00 || Minnesota || 2âÂÂ1 || Ottawa || || align=left| | |-boston | 4:00 || New York || 2âÂÂ1 || Boston || OT || align=left| | |- | February 18 || 1:00 || Minnesota || 1âÂÂ2 || Montreal || || align=left|Played @ Place Bell | |- | February 19 || 4:30 || Ottawa || 4âÂÂ2 || Boston || || align=left|Rescheduled from January 8 | |- | rowspan=2|February 21 || 7:00 || Ottawa || 1âÂÂ3 || Boston || || align=left| | |- | 7:00 || Montreal || 2âÂÂ3 || New York || SO || align=left|Played @ UBS Arena | |- | February 23 || 7:00 || New York || 1âÂÂ2 || Toronto || SO || align=left| | |- | February 24 || 2:30 || Ottawa || 3âÂÂ6 || Montreal || || align=left|Claire Dalton recorded hat-trick (1) | |- | February 25 || 4:00 || Boston || 2âÂÂ0 || Minnesota || || align=left|Aerin Frankel recorded shutout (1) | |- | February 27 || 8:00 || Toronto || 4âÂÂ3 || Minnesota || OT || align=left| Played @ 3M Arena at Mariucci | |- | February 28 || 7:00 || New York || 2âÂÂ4 || Ottawa || || align=left| |
|- | rowspan=2|March 2 || 3:30 || Toronto || 5âÂÂ2 || Ottawa || || align=left| | |- | 4:00 || Boston || 1âÂÂ3 || Montreal || || align=left| | |- | March 3 || 12:30 || Minnesota || 2âÂÂ0 || New York || || align=left|Played @ UBS Arena <br/> Maddie Rooney recorded shutout (2) | |- | March 5 || 8:00 || Ottawa || 3âÂÂ4 || Minnesota || SO || align=left| | |- | rowspan=2|March 6 || 7:00 || Montreal || 4âÂÂ3 || New York || || align=left| | |- | 7:00 || Boston || 1âÂÂ3 || Toronto || || align=left| | |- | March 8 || 7:00 || Montreal || 0âÂÂ3 || Toronto || || align=left| Kristen Campbell recorded shutout (3) | |- | rowspan=2|March 10 || 3:00 || New York || 2âÂÂ3 || Boston || OT || align=left| | |- | 4:00 || Ottawa || 4âÂÂ2 || Montreal || || align=left|Played @ Place Bell | |- | March 13 || 8:00 || Boston || 0âÂÂ4 || Minnesota || || align=left| Nicole Hensley recorded shutout (1) | |- | rowspan=2|March 16 || 3:30 || New York || 1âÂÂ5 || Minnesota || || | |- | 6:00 || Ottawa || 1âÂÂ2 || Boston || SO || align=left| Played @ Little Caesars Arena, Detroit | |- | March 17 || 12:30 || Toronto || 2âÂÂ1 || Montreal || || align=left|Played @ PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh | |- | rowspan=2|March 20 || 7:00 || Ottawa || 3âÂÂ0 || New York || || align=left| Emerance Maschmeyer recorded shutout (1) | |- | 7:00 || Boston || 1âÂÂ2 || Toronto || || align=left| | |- | March 23 || 1:00 || Toronto || 3âÂÂ5 || Ottawa || || align=left| Daryl Watts recorded hat-trick (1) | |- | March 24 || 4:00 || Montreal || 2âÂÂ3 || Minnesota || SO || align=left| | |- | March 25 || 7:00 || Boston || 2âÂÂ3 || New York || || align=left|Played @ UBS Arena |
|- | rowspan=2| April 18 || 7:00 || Toronto || 1âÂÂ2 || Boston || || align=left| | |- | 7:00 || Minnesota || 3âÂÂ4 || Montreal || || align=left| | |- | rowspan=3| April 20 || 1:00 || Toronto || 3âÂÂ2 || Montreal || OT || align=left|New attendance record: 21,105 <br/> Played @ Bell Centre | |- | 3:30 || Boston || 2âÂÂ1 || New York || || align=left|Played @ Prudential Center | |- | 7:00 || Minnesota || 0âÂÂ4 || Ottawa || || align=left| Emerance Maschmeyer recorded shutout (2) <br/> Brianne Jenner recorded hat-trick (1) | |- | rowspan=2|April 24 || 7:00 || Boston || 2âÂÂ3 || Ottawa || SO || align=left| | |- | 7:00 || New York || 2âÂÂ5 || Montreal || || align=left| | |- | rowspan=2|April 27 || 12:30 || Montreal || 2âÂÂ0 || Ottawa || || align=left|Ann-Renée Desbiens recorded shutout (1) | |- | 2:00 || Boston || 2âÂÂ1 || Minnesota || || align=left| | |- | April 28 || 1:00 || Toronto || 6âÂÂ2 || New York || || align=left|Sarah Nurse recorded hat-trick (1)<br />Played @ UBS Arena | |- | April 30 || 7:00 || Ottawa || 3âÂÂ4 || New York || || align=left|New York clinched first pick in the 2024 PWHL draft<br />Played @ Prudential Center |
|- | May 1 || 7:00 || Minnesota || 1âÂÂ4 || Toronto || || align=left| Toronto clinched first place | |- | rowspan=2|May 4 || 1:00 || Minnesota || 2âÂÂ5 || New York || || align=left|Played @ UBS Arena | |- | 3:30 || Montreal || 3âÂÂ4 || Boston || || align=left|Boston clinched playoff spot | |- | May 5 || 7:00|| Ottawa || 2âÂÂ5 || Toronto || || align=left|Ottawa eliminated from playoffs<br />Minnesota clinched playoff spot |
The following players led the league in regular season points at the conclusion of the season.
The following goaltenders led the league in regular season goals against average at the conclusion of the season.
On February 16, 2024, Toronto hosted its first game at Scotiabank Arena against Montreal dubbed by the league as "The Battle on Bay Street." The game set a league and women's hockey attendance record with a sellout crowd of 19,285, beating the previous record of 18,013 at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship. On April 20, 2024, Montreal hosted Toronto at the Bell Centre dubbed as the "Duel at the Top" breaking the previously set record with an attendance of 21,105.
<sup>â </sup> - suspension covered at least one 2024 postseason game
By virtue of finishing first overall, Toronto was able to choose its first-round opponent between fourth-place Minnesota and third-place Boston. On May 6, Toronto announced their choice to play Minnesota, leaving Montreal to play Boston in the other semi-final.
Toronto finished first overall in the league, earning 47 points. Minnesota finished in 4th place with 35 points. Toronto won three of four regular season meetings against Minnesota, including both meetings in Toronto and with one win coming in overtime.
Minnesota defeated Toronto in five games, winning three straight after losing the first two. In game one, Blayre Turnbull scored twice, Natalie Spooner recorded a goal and an assist, and Kristen Campbell made 26 saves to earn her first career playoff shutoutâÂÂthe first playoff shutout in league historyâÂÂas Toronto defeated Minnesota 4âÂÂ0. Game two remained scoreless until Jesse Compher scored with 1:25 left in regulation to give Toronto a 1âÂÂ0 lead; Hannah Miller added an empty-net goal with 10 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach, with Campbell turning aside 21 Minnesota shots to give Toronto a 2âÂÂ0 victory. In game three, with Minnesota facing elimination, Maddie Rooney made 18 saves for Minnesota in a 2âÂÂ0 victory, with Maggie Flaherty scoring Minnesota's first goal of the series at 2:12 of the second period. Toronto also lost league leading-scorer Spooner to an injury, and she would not return for the rest of the series. In game four, neither team scored in regulation; Claire Butorac scored 4:27 into the second overtime period for Minnesota as Rooney made 19 saves in the win, sending the series to a fifth and deciding game. In game five, Taylor Heise scored twice, including the game winner in the third period, while Rooney stopped 27 shots to secure a 4âÂÂ1 victory and a spot in the Walter Cup Finals.
Boston finished 3rd place in the league earning 35 points. Montreal finished in 2nd place earning 41 points. Montreal and Boston split their regular season series with two wins each, including one regulation and one overtime win each.
Boston defeated Montreal in a three-game sweep, with all three games decided in overtime. In game one, Aerin Frankel made 53 saves, and Susanna Tapani scored the game-winning goal in overtimeâÂÂthe first overtime goal in PWHL playoff historyâÂÂand Boston won the game 2âÂÂ1. Game two was decided at 8:16 of the third overtime period, with Taylor Wenczkowski netting her first career PWHL goal, securing a 2âÂÂ1 victory for Boston; Frankel made 56 saves in the contest, breaking her previous save record from Game 1. In game three, with Montreal leading 2âÂÂ0 lead after two periods, Boston scored twice in the third to send the game into overtime for the third consecutive time. Boston won the game 3âÂÂ2, with Tapani scoring the game-winning goal, her second of the series, just 62 seconds into overtime, clinching the series for Boston.
Boston won three out of five meetings against Minnesota during the regular season, including one overtime win and two wins on the road at Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota defeated Boston in five games to capture the inaugural Walter Cup championship. Although Michela Cava opened the scoring for Minnesota in game one, Aerin Frankel stopped 30 out of 33 shots as Boston secured a 4âÂÂ3 victory. Minnesota responded in game two with a 3âÂÂ0 victory that saw Nicole Hensley post a shutout and Sophie Jaques score two goals. Minnesota secured another 3-goal win in game three, with Taylor Heise scoring her league-leading fifth playoff goal to open the scoring en route to a 4âÂÂ1 win. Game four was scoreless into a second overtime period. Minnesota appeared to capture the victory and the series when Jaques shot the puck past Frankel with 2:34 remaining; however, the goal was reviewed and disallowed due to goaltender interference, and 70 seconds after play resumed, Alina Müller scored for Boston to send the series to a fifth and deciding game. In game five, Hensley secured her second shutout of the series and Liz Schepers' second period goal stood as the winner as Minnesota secured a 3âÂÂ0 victory and the Walter Cup title. Heise, who led the playoffs in scoring, was voted the most valuable player of the playoffs.
The following players led the league in playoff points at the conclusion of the Walter Cup.
The following goaltenders led the league in playoffs goals against average at the conclusion of the Walter Cup.
On January 15, 2024, the PWHL along with the National Hockey League (NHL) announced the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase, which was hosted by the NHL on February 1, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto as part of the NHL's All-Star Game.
24 players from all six PWHL teams competed in one 20-minute game. PWHL Special Advisor Cassie Campbell-Pascall and New Jersey Devils Director of Player Development, Meghan Duggan served as coaches. The two teams were named in honor of former tennis players and current PWHL advisory board members Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss. Each team was also accompanied by celebrity coaches with former figure skater Tessa Virtue joining Team King and basketball player Jonquel Jones joining Team Kloss.
New York's Micah Zandee-Hart was also selected to play but was unable to participate due to injury.
On April 4, 2024, the PWHL announced that the league's championship trophy would be named the Walter Cup. Further, on April 25, 2024, the league announced the remainder of the awards that would be handed out this year, including the Billie Jean King MVP Award and the Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award.
The 2023 PWHL Draft was held on September 18, 2023. Draft picks are not allowed to be traded until the conclusion of the 2024 season. Players not drafted became free agents able to sign with any team. Players were drafted from a pool of 268 players who declared their eligibility. Overall, 90 players were selected over 15 rounds. Minnesota made Taylor Heise the first player ever drafted into the PWHL.