There continues to be plenty of action behind the scenes in the PWHL this week, with players competing internationally, ticket sales continuing, broadcast rights coming into picture, merchandise, and more. Here's the latest updates from Ian Kennedy.

Ticket sales have been the hot topic across the PWHL this week, but behind the scenes there remains an abundance of action at all levels. Fans got their first glimpse of merchandise this week, and news broke of broadcasting for the first game of the PWHL season, but there are also hiccups happening that have many players concerned. Here's what we're hearing from across the league.

We Now Know The First Broadcast

CBC, Canada's national broadcaster, will televise the inaugural PWHL game across Canada on January 1st when the puck drops on the season at 12:30pm in Toronto. CBC is expected to be a season long broadcast partner, as is French language broadcasting channel RDS in Quebec.

Players Voice Their Concerns

Players have reported overwhelmingly positive experiences early on with their PWHL clubs at the team level, but there are a few items that are beginning to draw concern among the player pool. The first is a waiver the league is asking players to sign freeing the PWHL from all liability for the duration of the 8-year collective agreement. The liability agreement would not allow individual players or collective groups to seek legal recourse against the league and teams for any reason. The second concern being voiced by players is that most across the league have not been paid yet. Some players released in the initial waiver period were not paid the $500 per week guaranteed in the collective bargaining agreement, and many signed players across the league have yet to receive any payment more than a month after joining their teams. 

Merchandise Arrives, Receives Mixed Reviews

Fans were desperate for PWHL team merchandise, and this week, in time for Christmas, the league released a line of apparel and merchandise. It was an exciting moment for fans, but much like the league's leaked names, the apparel line, which was designed by Line Change, was met with mixed reviews, with most being unfavorable. One of the main concerns was sizing, which ended at XL, which many fans who wear plus-sized clothing felt excluded them from participating as fans. The other issue raised was the generic design, which numerous commenters described as similar to clothing you'd find in an airport gift shop. It was also voiced that some teams, namely Montreal and Minnesota had identical shirts emblazoned with the letter "M" in non-team colors being marketed as team apparel. The identical color and design makes it impossible to know if a fan is wearing a Montreal or Minnesota shirt. On the positive side, PWHL league apparel actually had multiple items sell out in the opening days. Fans are desperate for apparel and merchandise, and they'll continue to get more, including more team specific items, as the season progresses.

Ticket Sales Continue To Soar

Ticket sales continued to soar across the PWHL, specifically in Canadian markets. In Toronto they announced that all 12 home dates are sold out. While Mattamy's website lists the capacity at roughly 2600, Toronto has sold with standing room and suites 3850 tickets for each of those games. Montreal has already sold out their home opener at the Verdun Auditorium, and Ottawa's 7500 seat TD Place Arena will also be sold out for their opener. South of the border sales appear strong with estimated sales in Minnesota topping 3000 seats for their home opener. Boston (Lowell) and New York (Bridgeport) look like the slowest among early sales.

International Competition Underway

While the participation of PWHL players in the Canada-USA Rivalry Series is often the focus, this week the majority of the PWHL's international players were also in action overseas. In Sweden, Emma Soderberg (Sweden / Boston), Denisa Krizova (Czechia / Minnesota), Tereza Vanisova and Dominika Laskova (Czechia / Montreal), Katerina Mrazova and Aneta Tejralova (Czechia / Ottawa), Alina Muller (Switzerland / Boston), and Sandra Abstreiter (Germany / Ottawa) were all in action. Similarly in a Four Nations Cup in Budapest, Hungary, Chloe Aurard (France / New York), Fanni Garat-Gasparics (Hungary / Ottawa), Taylor Baker (Hungary / New York), and Akane Shiga (Japan / Ottawa) were all playing for their national teams. Unlike earlier international competitions, it appears all PWHL players came through this round of competition free from injury.