Michelle Karvinen, 35, is one of the PWHL's best first year players, although she's not a rookie. The league has rules in place to stop a situation like the one that occurred in the 1989-90 NHL season with Sergei Makarov, from occurring.
Michelle Karvinen is no rookie. The future Hockey Hall of Famer is one of women's hockey's all-time greats. She's helped set the bar for the sport in Europe for decades. This year however, she is a first year player, albeit not a "rookie," in the PWHL.
In the PWHL, veterans from across the globe like the 35-year-old Karvinen, along with other veterans such as Anna Shokhina (28), Fanuza Kadirova (27), Anna Meixner (31), Anna Kjellbin (31), Sara Hjalmarsson (27), Noora Tulus (30), Ronja Savolainen (28), Klara Peslarova (29) and Laura Kluge (29), among others, have all joined the league this season or last as first year players, who aren't eligible for the PWHL's rookie of the year.
To be considered a rookie in the PWHL this year, players must be in their first season of professional hockey in North America, meaning no player returning from a hiatus with experience in the PHF, NWHL, CWHL, or PWHPA can be nominated, and this season rookies must be born in 2000 or later.
Sergei Makarov Changed The Rules
After decades of dominating in Russia with CSKA Moscow, as well as internationally in the Olympic Games, World Championships, and Canada Cup, a 31-year-old Sergei Makarov chose to take on the one challenge he hadn't faced – playing in the NHL.
In his "rookie" NHL season, Makarov was surrounded by talent on the Calgary Flames, and finished the season fourth in team scoring behind Hockey Hall of Famers Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, and Al MacInnis with 24 goals and 86 points in 80 games. He outscored other first year players like Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick, Mak Recchi, and Rod Brind'Amour to be named the NHL's Rookie of the Year, receiving nearly 65% of the vote.
But NHL teams weren't happy.
A trio of NHL general managers, Montreal's Serge Savard, Boston's Harry Sinden, and Minnesota' Jack Ferreira, petitioned the NHL to change the rules, particularly as they related to Russian players joining the league, and they had the support of NHLPA executive director Alan Eagleson.
Eventually, the league settled on an informal "Makarov Rule" that cut off NHL rookie of the year eligibility at age 26 as of September 15 of the season a player is joining the NHL. They also added game limits for players getting call ups related to their eligibility.
Makarov's lore was entrenched in 2017 when he was formally inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Someday, Michelle Karvinen will join Makarov in the Hall, and like the Russian before her, the bulk of her accolades will come from outside the top pro league in the world. Prior to joining the PWHL, Karvinen had already represented Finland in more than 400 international games, including 12 World Championships and four Olympic Games, and she'd played more than 200 games in Sweden's top pro league, along with stops in Switzerland and China.
Since Makarov, the closest the debate has come to being re-opened was 24-year-old Artemi Panarin winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year in 2016. But in the NHL, it's a debate that has become irrelevant as the NHL is unquestionably not only the best league, but is filled with the best players in the world. There remains a small fraction of players outside the NHL that have never played in the league and could make an impact, but it's just that, small.
In the PWHL however, Makarov's impact and the league's ensuing age limit on rookies is still needed.
Older Veterans Will Continue To Trickle In
Michelle Karvinen is the most recent addition to the league, selected 7th overall by the Vancouver Goldeneyes in the 2025 PWHL Draft, and her impact has already been clear. She's certainly not a rookie, and has shown it from the second she stepped on the ice.
Next year, Finnish star Petra Nieminen is expected to join the league. She'll be 27 by the time the PWHL Draft rolls around. 2026 is a star studded draft, so any player vying for the Rookie of the Year will need to be exceptional, but the competition for the honor will not include Nieminen. The same could be said for many other European veterans like 28-year-old netminder Andrea Brandli, who is another player expected to join the league.
It would also apply if other veteran stars like Jenni Hiirikoski or Lara Stalder ever choose to join the league, as they'd be immediate impact players.
A few years from now, the rule, which currently puts an age restriction on the PWHL's rookie of the year honor will likely feel as irrelevant as the NHL's "Makarov Rule," but for the time being, as veteran European players continue to eye the PWHL, it's a rule that keeps the honor for younger players, who fit more closely to the league's definition of a rookie.