Lengthy reviews, and confusion regarding the PWHL's review process this season have been top of mind for many fans, players, and media. 

Primarily, those concerns stem from what many believe are far too frequent and lengthy video reviews of scoring situations and major penalties by on-ice officials and the PWHL's Central Situation Room.

While the league announced many changes to their officiating staff in mid-November, along with a pair of rule changes, headlined by the removal of the coach's challenge this season, they did not announce sweeping changes to their Central Situation Room (CSR) staff.

According to sources, the three members of the PWHL's Central Situation Room staff from the 2024 and 2024-25 seasons, former NHL officials Dean Morton, Scott Driscoll, and Steve Miller were all dismissed only days before the PWHL regular season commenced.  The trio had collectively officiated thousands of NHL games, including multiple Stanley Cup finals, as well as events including the Olympic Games and World Cup.

As one source stated, the Central Situation Room staff had requested a raise prior to the season, and were released from their jobs days before puck drop without negotiation or discussion. The request was allegedly made due to the expected increase in workload due to the removal of the coach's challenge and additional games added to the PWHL schedule. 

In place of Driscoll, Miller, and Morton, the PWHL's Central Situation Room is now staffed by Ken Cox, Liam Clare, and Steven Hoffner.

The new trio is not without experience. Ken Cox spent 25 years calling games in the Ontario Hockey League. Hoffner and Clare have both worked similar roles in the NHL's situation room facilitating reviews. Clare also works as an assistant coach for the OJHL's Oakville Blades, while Hoffner is a filmmaker, directing and producing documentary-style films for sports leagues including the NHL.

According to sources, the league also removed some in-house video review staff who worked PWHL games last season.

The only remaining member of the PWHL's off-ice officiating staff who also had experience in the league's Central Situation Room is Bill McCreary, who was named the league's Director of Officiating, Strategy & Performance this offseason. McCreary joined the PWHL's Central Situation Room during the 2025 playoffs to bring additional eyes to crucial decision making moments in the postseason. He's a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame as an official following a long NHL career. 

The PWHL has experienced many high stress reviews including what players believed to be the 2024 Walter Cup overtime series winning goal by PWHL Minnesota. That goal was overturned after the celebration had begun for goaltender interference, and ultimately resulted in PWHL Boston scoring to send the series to game five, where Minnesota would eventually win the title.

This season, several reviews have impacted scoring plays and infractions including penalty reviews against Laura Kluge, Micah Zandee-Hart, and Tereza Vanisova, and goal reviews against attempts by Marie-Philip Poulin, Grace Zumwinkle, Kayla Vespa, Fanuza Kadirova, Laura Stacey, and Hannah Bilka, among others.

With the onus removed from coaches, the league itself is now responsible for ensuring the accuracy of all on-ice calls resulting in a goal, which has resulted in a perceived spike in the number and length of reviews.

According to sources, the coach's challenge rule was changed by the PWHL at the request of team staff.

Fewer Camera Angles In PWHL Versus NHL Situation Room

Compared to the NHL, the PWHL does not have the same resources in their Central Situation Room to deal with video reviews. While the NHL offers officials 14 different angles to review calls in a state of the art facility, the PWHL only has eight camera views. 

At times, according to sources familiar with the PWHL's Central Situation Room operations, staff were only able to make a definitive call after the television broadcast showed views and angles the league had not acquired, for example, an overhead view of the net. The absence of certain camera views and a reliance on the television broadcast were issues affecting the speed of some decisions according to those sources.

Similarly, during the 2024-25 season, the PWHL had one staff operating the Central Situation Room for any given game to facilitate and participate in reviews, and to serve as the game's "logger."

A logger is responsible for tracking key plays and digitally logging game events including goals, potential penalty infractions, and other reviewable moments, and assisting with communication between on-ice officials for reviews. In the NHL, those loggers also track events including zone entries, as offside infractions are challengeable in the NHL, but not the PWHL. In the PWHL only three situations are reviewable on a potential scoring play including a missed game stoppage events in the offensive zone resulting in a goal, goaltender interference, or a delay of game penalty situation for the puck going over the glass. 

PWHL Focusing On Officiating

When the league announced their restructured officiating department in November it came with a proclamation by the league that changes to their leadership team represented "a significant commitment by the League to its Officials and to the continued growth of the game." They continued by stating that "The new structure will strengthen pathways for training, communication, logistics and performance development, and it will help ensure a consistent, world-class standard of officiating across all PWHL markets."

When the PWHL announced their 2025-26 officiating staff, and rule changes including the removal of the coach's challenge, the league stated that an improved standard of officiating was a focus.

“As the PWHL continues to grow and strengthen its foundation, it’s critical that we continue to elevate the standard of our officiating,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations in the rule change announcement. 

“Officiating is central to the success of our on-ice product. It defines the standard of play, safeguards the integrity of competition, and contributes directly to the trust and confidence of our fans, players, and partners. The professionalism, preparation, and decision-making of our PWHL Officials reflect the League’s values and the competitive excellence we strive to deliver each night for our fans.”

The dismissal of the PWHL's existing Central Situation Room staff came after the league's announcement of changes to their officiating department, not as part of that restructuring.