Players are being invited to camps, free agents are signing, the veteran influence of American national team stars held power, and Sweden is watching.
Players are being invited to camps, free agents are signing, the veteran influence of American national team stars held power, and Sweden is watching.
It didn't take long following the draft for phones to begin ringing again. General managers immediately took to the phones to secure the 10 players each team needs to meet the mandatory 28 player training camp roster for the mid-November camps.
There's still plenty of roster building to come, and of course team names, logos, venues, and the league schedule itself will be items fans will watch for in the coming months.
Here's what we're hearing from around the PWHL this week:
Free Agent Invites...and Signings
While the PWHL announced a signing freeze following the draft, not every team abided by that direction. In fact, by Tuesday morning, undrafted players were already fielding calls.
Five days following the draft, most free agents have accepted training camp invites, or are in the final stages of choosing which invite to accept, and a few have also accepted contract offers.
We created a Top 25 remaining PWHL free agents list following the draft, and the good news for fans is that almost all of these players, plus many other fan favourites, will be in camp with an excellent chance of cracking rosters come mid-November.
When will drafted players sign?
According to PWHL team staff, clubs are taking vastly different approaches to this question. Some teams have already started extending contract offers, while others are completely focused on securing their 10+ training camp invites before they begin the contract process. Each team needs to bring a minimum of 28 players to training camp per the CBA, and the competition for the top remaining players has been fierce. A few teams are telling players they don't intend to sign many, if any players until training camp begins to give their staff a better head-to-head opportunity to evaluate skill, character, and other aspects that could impact financial and term considerations of a contract.
What was the player influence?
We heard it multiple times in the free agent signing press conferences among players and general managers that GMs would be "consulting" with their three signed players about who would be a fit for their roster moving forward. Given the rapid turnaround between hiring general managers, signing three players, and prepping for the draft, the signed players were an obvious resource for team staff. According to sources from those draft tables and the players involved, at times the player influence was strong enough, particularly in American markets, to dissuade teams from picking certain players.
Sweden Watching Closely
Speaking with members of the SDHL, Swedish media, and European national federations, it's obvious all eyes are on the PWHL. These groups believe the impact of the PWHL this season overseas will be minimum, but it's clear leagues and clubs are concerned that star players will jump to the PWHL at first opportunity. For most players, that moment will be when the SDHL, Naisten Liiga, and SWHL seasons end this year. Most of Europe's top players are under contract through this season, with some contracted through 2024-2025. Much of this conversation was sparked by the selection of Lina Ljungblom, Sweden's leading scorer at the 2023 World Championships, who remains under contract with MoDo. Swedish officials have stated Ljungblom will not be permitted to leave the league this season due to Swedish contract law and Sweden's national ice hockey federation rules. According to one SDHL club manager, based on Sweden's club system where women often play within the same club from youth to professional, teams are concerned about spending years and considerable finances developing players only to lose them at the age they'd typically be stepping into key roles with the club's professional SDHL team. To avoid international conflict, it's likely formal transfer agreements will need to be developed. At the NHL level, teams signing Swedish and other international players must pay significant fees to the Swedish clubs. For example, Swedish clubs receive between $20,000-$30,000 for each player drafted by the NHL, and more than $300,000 per player signed by an NHL club. It's likely the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and SDHL will seek proportionate compensation from the PWHL as well.
What's next for the PWHL?
There's plenty of excitement still to come in the PWHL. Team names, logos, and venues are three major topics fans have been hotly anticipating. When teams changed the color of their social media profiles this week it re-ignited fan interest in this topic.
Teams will also continue to fill out their organization staffs. Assistant coaches, scouting staff, communications departments, strength and conditioning, trainers, equipment staff, medical departments, therapists, analytics, video, business and ticketing, and much more. The CBA has outlined the professional conditions the league will provide, and the league is hard at work to meet those standards.
Finally, media rights and television deals are a point many fans are anticipating. Aside from regional broadcasts in Quebec and New England, television coverage of the PHF was reserved for major events. To solidify the future of the PWHL financially and to grow the league's fan base, linear television contracts with major networks are a point many are expecting.