The PWHL's Walter Cup finals are underway. At the same time, fans across the league are trying to predict what players their team will relinquish to the two new expansion franchises in less than two weeks. Beyond that, there are questions of free agency, and the forthcoming PWHL Draft.
We heard your questions on these, and many other items.
Ian Kennedy takes a crack at answering some of the biggest questions we heard.
What will be the draft order for expansion and the entry draft?
While it hasn't been confirmed, PWHL team staff report all indications point to Vancouver and Seattle picking second and third in the PWHL entry draft. The league has already stated the New York Sirens, honoring the league's 'Gold Plan' will pick first overall. One thing we know about the PWHL, is that until it's announced, things can change. Fans, following the lenient expansion draft rules in favor of the new teams, certainly would like to see existing teams be able to replenish a bit of lost talent, especially considering several teams are set to lose their first round picks from last year as well. I believe in the expansion teams picking 7th and 8th in the draft order for round one, and if the league wants to revert to giving them a higher pick for the rest of the draft, so be it, but teams deserve a chance to get back a little after losing so much.
As for the expansion draft order, flip a coin. There's two teams, the league likely has no preference who picks first. One aspect that could determine this, which is likely why the league hasn't announced the order, is how Seattle and Vancouver approach the exclusive signing window. If one team signs more players than the other team, the league might give the team with less players a chance to catch up (although that would kind of negate the purpose of proactively signing players). Or they might dive directly into the draft alternating picks and letting the second team fill their picks at the end of the draft. The signing period is a wildcard, and was probably a bit ill advised in terms of the goal of making these two teams equally competitive from day one. I'd believe Vancouver has the edge heading into the exclusive window, although the new face of Meghan Turner as general manager of Seattle should even that somewhat given her ties to Alina Muller and Hannah Bilka, two top line players likely to be exposed by her former team in Boston. Signing that pair in the exclusive window would be a massive win for Seattle.
How are PWHL players paid in the playoffs?
This question sparked from online questions about the league increasing ticket prices in the playoffs, and that it must be due to needing to pay players more. That's a bit of a yes and no. But it's a topic not many fans think of. First, ticket/gate prices in every hockey league I know, from pros to junior, increase during playoffs. That's completely normal, so no faulting the PWHL for that.
As for how players are paid in the playoffs, first, their salary that they agreed upon contractually, whether that's the league minimum, $36,050, league average $56,650 or the group of players making over $100,000 per season, is for the regular season only. In playoffs, as governed by the collective bargaining agreement, payment falls under Section 8.4, and is referred to as "Competition Bonuses," not part of any base salary.
In round one this year, each team received $23,690. Spread across a 23 player roster, that's $1069 for the series. It's actually a drastic pay cut for all players, even in a three game series. In the regular season, all players in the league made at least $1200 per game. In playoffs that amount gets cut by more than two thirds. This year both opening round series' went to four games, so players were paid on average roughly $267 per game.
In the championship series, payment depends on whether you win or lose. The winning team this season will receive $65,147.50, while the losing team will receive $41,457.50. Per player on a 23 team roster, that works out to $2832.50, while losing players will make $1802.50. It's still a pay cut for most players from the regular season, but with a Walter Cup on the line, few will care.
What is a repeat offender in the PWHL's eyes?
This topic has been asked a lot regarding why Britta Curl-Salemme didn't receive more games for her third suspension of the season involving contact to an opponent's head. The PWHL does have a sliding scale for suspensions if they occur within 12 games of each other in the regular season, but not for illegal checks to the head, nor high sticking. Similarly, in the PWHL's rulebook, suspensions incurred in the regular season do not carry over to define a player as a repeat offende in the playoffs. Those regular season suspensions are wiped clean in the eyes of the Player Safety Committee. Multiple playoff suspensions however, would add time to a suspension. It's another reason why a second suspension following Curl-Salemme's hit on Renata Fast in the opening round, and as many fans and commentators believed, the worthiness of a suspension for her knee to Katerina Mrazova, would have likely resulted in a multi-game suspension. Instead, Curl-Salemme returned to game two (Mrazova missed the game with injury) and scored the game tying goal with 15 seconds remaining, followed by the overtime winner. The repeat offender rule the NHL has is far more strict carrying over 18 months. The PWHL has touted themselves as a league putting player safety above all else, so it would not be surprising to see this rule reviewed. Right now however, there was no precedent or written protocol that would cause the league to increase the length of any of Curl-Salemme's suspensions beyond the one game she received on three separate occasions this season.
Who is currently the front runner to go first overall?
Kristyna Kaltounkova. There just aren't players like this that come along that often, and even saying that, she's not the consensus number one pick. Because it's New York making the selection though, it feels like a safe bet to pick "Kalty."
Kaltounkova models her game after Marie-Philip Poulin, and she certainly looks like her on the ice. They are both physically powerful, capable two way players, big game scorers, and they even skate alike. The way she reads the ice, and her cannon that will make a power play instantly dangerous are amazing, and should transfer seamlessly to the PWHL. Now nothing is a guarantee in New York unless they have enough talent to support her, which could be a realistic concern if New York loses Abby Roque and/or Jessie Eldridge in expansion. There just isn't enough depth at the top of this draft to make a ton of impact beyond the top three rounds. Even as we move into round three, things get a loss less certain.
The other reason to believe Kaltounkova is destined for New York is of course because her long time head coach, whom she thrived under at Colgate, Greg Fargo, is now the head coach for New York.
That said, if any player is going to take top spot from Kaltounkova, it's defender Haley Winn. She's an instantaneous top four defender who could easily find herself on a top pairing this year on any team in this league. She's that good. Winn is extremely mobile, and motivated to make an impact. She can transport the puck, but is really dangerous as a distributor at the offensive blueline. Defensively she uses her skating to take away space, and she's not afraid to engage physically. She's starred in the NCAA, and was a member of Team USA's top four as well.
What will happen next with expansion?
Yes, your team will lose multiple beloved players who contributed significantly this year and last. And yes, some teams will be more adversely effected than others. For example, the only way the Boston Fleet can keep Alina Muller and Hannah Bilka is by exposing Hilary Knight. That's a no win situation. They could of course expose Megan Keller, but considering the team feels another puck moving defender is their greatest need, don't count on it.
We also know former Boston assistant general manager Meghan Turner will be running the show in Seattle, so I'd expect her to push hard for both of those players in the exclusive signing window. On the other side of things, with Cara Gardner Morey being leaked as the general manager of PWHL Vancouver, it would not be surprising to see some ECAC grads targeted, including some of her former players like Claire Thompson, who will likely be exposed in Minnesota. It would be an obvious move for Gardner Morey to target Thompson in the exclusive signing window as well.
One thing to not count out in this entire process, is another rapid swing of fortunes ahead of year four. There continues to be talk that the league will expand rapidly, potentially moving to 10 teams ahead of year four. The 2026 PWHL Draft is completely stacked and could form a team that would challenge for a Walter Cup form the available players in that draft alone, so it would not be a stretch to see the league target their second major expansion. It's believe the league will ultimately target 12 teams before the initial eight-year CBA expires. During this period the league will be able to manage salaries via the restrictive CBA that keeps profit share away from the players, and keeps salaries low.