The IIHF rolled out a new calendar this week in collaboration with the PWHL. The new schedule will see the World Championships move to November. While the move came touted with benefits, there are also challenges. 

The IIHF obviously felt the push of the PWHL as they abandoned their previous efforts to synchronize tournaments this season, and felt the pros outweighed the cons.

Here's a look at some of those pros and cons related to the IIHF's new women's hockey calendar plans.

Pros

New European Championship Created

The addition of a European Championship to the calendar is an outstanding idea that brings more competition for European national teams. There are still some questions to be answered, including the format, and how many nations will be involved. If the tournament turns into an event featuring only Finland, Czechia, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden, you can move this to a "con" because it would simply be a glorified extension of the already existing Euro Hockey Tour. To make this event truly meaningful, it needs to also include Slovakia, Norway, Hungary, France, Italy, Austria, and Denmark. At minimum, this should be a 10-team event similar to the World Championships. Ideally 12 teams would find their way into this event, which would allow teams to gain valuable experience against top players, and it would serve as a key scouting opportunity for the PWHL. Right now this is a pro, but if the scope is limited, then it will turn into window dressing and a con. 

Tournament Will Remain Best-on-Best

Perhaps the biggest pro of all is that all of the world's best players who are currently in the PWHL will be involved in the top division of the World Championship for as long as this new plan remains relevant. There's no risk of a mish-mash tournament in the future where some players attend and others don't like the NHL, or one completely built on non-PWHL players. As many of the world's biggest names move into the twilight of their careers, it also means the opportunity to see Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin, Michelle Karvinen and others a few more times in their national colors before they call it a career.

Potential For Better Scheduling In The PWHL

With three weeks of available dates added to the PWHL's calendar in April, it means there's more opportunity for the league to expand their schedule toward 40 games, to add league-run special events to the calendar, and to potentially find more weekend dates for fans. There's no indication yet if the league will gain the full three weeks as the tournament is scheduled to end five days after this year's PWHL schedule starts, and with the 2026 edition held in Denmark, there will be travel considerations, but it does open the door. 

Cons

Smaller Nations (And Their Players) Will Be Punished, Temporarily

Only a year ago the IIHF made moves to synchronize all levels of the women's World Championships in an attempt to ensure every nation could bring together their best players. That's no longer the case for this year, but it will return in 2027. The only grouping that the new schedule benefits is the top division of Worlds featuring Canada, USA, Finland, Czechia, Sweden, and Switzerland who seem the most likely nations to remain in the top grouping indefinitely. Beyond that group, players and nations are going to be hurt by this move, and may never earn the opportunity for promotion. This year, Austria earned promotion to the top group at the World Championships that will compete in November. Austria's two star players, Anna Meixner and Theresa Schafzahl will be in the PWHL, but if they were not, it would have been a significant hit to their team. Norway was relegated this year, and it's hard to imagine they can win their way back without their best player, Emma Bergesen, who will now be with Ottawa. The same will be the case for players like France's Chloe Aurard. It's a move that certainly benefits the top, but stomps on the hopes of developing nations this year.

Educational Impact To College Athletes

University of Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said the decision to move the World Championships to November is one that "doesn't make any sense at all."  The shift means NCAA players will annually miss a month of their seasonPerhaps the more concerning impact for the dozens of NCAA players who annually dot national team rosters from across the globe is not simply a month away from their teams, but it's a month away from classes only weeks before final exams for the Fall semester. For the youngest players involved in national programs, it will be a regular disruption to their education. Until there are salaries, and perhaps more importantly pensions, built into PWHL play, asking young adults to risk their career paths by skipping school for a month directly before exams is an unjust ask.

Schedule Break Up Downloaded To Other Leagues

While the shift will allow the PWHL to schedule their season without a significant gap, the NCAA, U Sports, SDHL, PostFinance Women's League, DFEL, and EWHL will all lose top players moving forward for a major chunk of their season unless they decide to take a break in their schedule. There are teams in European leagues that will feel a major impact otherwise. 

Guaranteed Later Start To The PWHL Season

Many fans have been hoping for an earlier start to the PWHL schedule. With the three-week World Championships scheduled for November, an earlier start is not in the forecast for the league. It's certainly possible the World Championship could continue to be shifted to an earlier day should the PWHL need to expand their schedule beyond what is currently possible, but a Fall World Championship will prevent the league from aligning their schedule with other leagues across North America and the globe. The positive in this situation, is that aside from every four years for the Olympics, the PWHL has gained a month of their season back in the spring which will allow for additional games to eventually be built into the league's schedule.