International Changes Could Impact The PWHL

Discussions are ongoing within the SDHL and IIHF for a pair of changes that could impact the PWHL's player pool, and schedule. The SDHL is looking to reduce the number of international players in their league, while the IIHF is considering changing the timing of the World Championships.

Currently, the SDHL requires all teams to dress a minimum of 10 Swedish players per game. This season newcomers Skellefteå AIK were docked 10 points in the standings for violating the rule. Players are considered Swedish if they were registered with a Swedish junior club (U-18) for a minimum of three seasons. 

As soon as next season however, the SDHL is considering reducing the number of international players teams can roster. The number currently being proposed is a reduction to nine players per team. The rule would reduce the number of sports available for PWHL cuts, and for NCAA and U Sports players looking to continue their careers professionally.

It would also risk reducing the calibre of competition internationally slowing the growth Sweden has experienced on the international level. It would also make the transition to the PWHL and NCAA more difficult for European players who rely on the SDHL as a stepping stone.

If the SDHL intended to stop their cut at nine, it could be a sustainable plan. General managers in the SDHL however, report the league has stated they'd like to reduce the number of international players each year to as low as five or six per team. This reduction could have catastrophic impacts on the competition level in Europe if done too quickly. 

This season, the SDHL champions from Frölunda had only seven international players. Those players however represented six of their top eight playoff scorers including Finnish national team stars Michelle Karvinen, Elisa Holopainen, Sanni Rantala, and Emilia Vesa, Norway's Andrea Dalen, and USA's Sydney Brodt. Frölunda's startin netminder, Stephanie Neatby, is Canadian.

Runners up Luleå had 10 international players in the lineup for their playoff run. Nine of their top 11 scorers were non-Swedish players including Finnish national team members Petra Nieminen, Viivi Vainikka, and Jenni Hiirikoski, Japan's Akane Shiga, Italy's Nadia Mattivi, and former PWHL players from North America Sarah Bujold and Savannah Norcross.

A document is circling putting forward a proposal received by the IIHF to change the timing of the top division of the women's World Championships. It's believed the move was proposed to reduce the impact to the PWHL's schedule. 

Within the proposal, four dates are listed. They include the current early to mid-April timing, shifting the tournament to late April or early May, as well as significant moves bringing the tournament to November or early January.

This proposal comes only a year after the IIHF pledged to synchronize the top three divisions of the World Championships to allow top players from all of the world's best nations to compete. No indication was made as to whether the IIHF would seek to keep these tournament's aligned.

Major concerns over the switch would be the drastic impact to European schedules, and potential defunding of women's national team programs from international federations if the tournament was held in November. As well, a January event would cancel World Championship competitions during Olympic years. It could leave a small number of nations outside the Olympics without international competition for over a year.