PWHL Following WCHA Into Legalized High Sticking Of Pucks, Including To Score

When the PWHL announced their rule changes ahead of the 2026-27 season. One adaptation took the lions share of interest from outsides, but it's an innovation only at the professional levels, not in women's hockey overall.

That change was the legalization of high sticking pucks anywhere on the ice, including playing the puck via high stick to a teammate, or to score.

It's novel for the PWHL, but was a rule piloted last season by the NCAA's top women's hockey conference, the WCHA.

One of the concerns surrounding the rule change is the potential for increased head contact and penalties stemming from attempting to play the puck with a high stick and making contact with other players. WCHA commissioner Michelle McAteer however, told The Hockey News that during the first season of implementation in their league, the rule change "didn't result in reckless play."

While it wasn't significant, the WCHA told The Hockey News that it did increase scoring and also reduced the number of reviews necessary.

The WCHA reported three definitive goals that would otherwise have been disallowed due to a high stick, while they also had three goals that would have otherwise been reviewed and may or may-not have stood.

The PWHL will also be permitted scoring from plays that would have traditionally been reviewed or called off due to a high stick. Players will now be able to deflect pucks into the net with their stick above the cross bar, and they may also bat pucks into the net from above the cross bar as well.

Defensively, players will be able to stop dump in or clearing attempts with their sticks as well, a measure which could also protect hands and fingers of players.

That said, the PWHL will continue to enforce strict head contact rules and high sticking penalties if contact with another player is made. That concern however, didn't come to fruition in the WCHA where there was no marked increase in high sticking calls.

The WCHA is the NCAA top women's hockey conference featuring programs like Ohio State, Minnesota, and Wisconsin who are the top three programs in the nation, and produce nine of the 12 players selected in the first round of the 2026 PWHL Draft. The Hockey News' top seven prospects for the 2027 PWHL Draft are all from the WCHA.