We put out the call, and now The Hockey News' Ian Kennedy attempts to answer your questions in a new women's hockey mailbag.
We put out the call, and now The Hockey News' Ian Kennedy attempts to answer your questions in a new women's hockey mailbag.
Why doesn't the PWHPA or PHF seem interested in the Philly area?
Philadelphia is absolutely in the mix. While I'm not sure it's a featured PHF location, it's definitely in the PWHPA's cross hairs. In fact, the PWHPA headquarters is listed as being in Philadelphia, and when potential cities for a possible future PHWPA league started swirling, Philadelphia was among those. Philly also has some strong youth programs led by the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers to support that growth. The problem I see is available facilities. The Wells Fargo Center already has an NHL, NBA, NCAA, and NLL team as tenants. The general lack of professional women's sports in Philadelphia, whether it's the WNBA or NWSL, could also be of minor concern. The PWHPA has stated they want professional facilities, and while the PHF played in secondary facilities to keep professional women's hockey alive, we're going to see teams moving to bigger facilities...soon, and I can't imagine any expansion team will be welcomed into the league from here on out without a facility that allows for growth. Are they interested? Absolutely. But it's likely a PWHPA location, not a PHF location, and facilities are an issue.
What are your thoughts on the U-18 Women's World Championship returning to a horizontal group format?
Love this. In an age group based tournament like the U-18's, there is so much year in, year out fluctuation it seems ridiculous to punish or reward an upcoming age group for the performance of a past group. We've seen leaps and bounds from Sweden and Czechia at this level, and these nations need to have the chance to play top teams regularly to help them improve. It's time the top division of the World Championship follows this too. We saw it this year, Sweden and Finland both finished above Japan who started in the top group, and all of the top eight nations deserve a chance to play each other. Men's hockey statistically has as many, or more, blowouts, and it isn't grouped in this way. So the explanation isn't skill or competition based, it's placing women as lesser, period. I'm glad to see it start at U-18s, now we need to see it at the senior level, and any future World Junior.
If there is to be a new NCAA DI Women's Hockey team added in the near future, where do you think it would be?
The person who asked this question hoped for the Illinois Fighting Illini. I can't see that one happening, but you never know. NCAA Division I women's hockey is currently trailing men's hockey by roughly twenty programs, and the first place to look would be schools with a men's program.
If I were to focus a lens on a possible location, Michigan is a must. There are seven men's NCAA DI programs and zero on the women's side. The University of Michigan has been campaigning hard for their ACHA program to be promoted to varsity, and the Wolverines would be a logical spot to help close a geographic gap. With the history Michigan's men's hockey team has, it's truly shocking the school is not supporting the same success for women.
Bringing back North Dakota would be another great step, but I really think Michigan, or Michigan State are schools that need to topple soon. When a Michigan based team launches, I could see it begin to trickle geographically across state lines to Notre Dame and/or Bowling Green.
Do you think a Chinese team will actually join the PHF?
No. And I don't think there's really any other justification needed. If the league thought it was a good idea, the team would already be in the league. The rumor squeaked out a few weeks ago that the KRS Vanke Rays were interested in joining the PHF and locating a team somewhere in Canada. The good news is interest from investors is coming from all corners of the globe. This current interest has existed for a while now, but it's not going to happen, in my opinion. When Kunlan joined the CWHL it turned some heads. It was also part of the final death rattle breaths of that league. Let's put this rumor to rest, because the league is focused on a more stable model of growth.
Who are the top 5 woman hockey prospects in the world who are not yet drafted?
Well, if by 'drafted' you mean...not in the PHF or PWHPA currently, it's a long list who could fall into this category. Caroline Harvey, Sarah Fillier, Taylor Heise, Sophie Jaques, Grace Zumwinkle, those names all come to mind quickly. If you want younger still, of course there are players like Nela Lopusanova, Hilda Svensson, Adela Sapovalivova, Mira Jungaker, Caitlin Kraemer, Chloe Primerano, Tessa Janecke, Maggie Scannell, Anneleis Bergmann, I could go on. Check out our Prospects Page, which we've been updating with this next wave and will continue to update.