Perhaps the best player outside the PWHL Petra Nieminen has signed a two-year contract extension with Lulea in the SDHL. It was a statement that the SDHL wants to keep European talent overseas.

Arguably the top player in the world outside of the PWHL Petra Nieminen will not be joining the world's top professional women's hockey league any time soon after Nieminen signed a two-year contract extension with Lulea.

"It feels great that we have agreed on a continuation," said Nieminen about signing her extension. "Moving here a little over five years ago is the best decision I've made in my hockey career and it feels like I've developed and gotten better and better every season."

There's considerable discussion that the SDHL is working to keep top players from joining the PWHL after multiple players stated their interest in joining the PWHL. 

"It can get messy after this season," Lulea president Stefan Enbom said in a translated interview. In SDHL generally. There are supposed to be some players who will move over there."

Following the signing of Nieminen, Enbom made a vocal plea for other players to follow Nieminen's lead and stay in Sweden. 

"We have a fantastic group of role models in our association and Petra is definitely one of them," said Enbom. "Therefore, it feels great that she has already chosen to extend with us and we certainly hope that more of our players will do the same."