Noora Räty left the PWHPA board last spring. The future Hockey Hall of Famer believes it was the right decision, but one that has now kept her on the outside looking in at the new PWHL.

Noora Räty will one day find herself in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but it won't be with a PWHL team in her career ledger. According to the legendary netminder, she was "not welcomed" in the new league as reprisal for her departure from the PWHPA board last spring.

Until May, Räty was a proud member of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association, specifically the PWHPA board alongside some of North America's top names in professional women's hockey. When she left to sign a one-year contract worth well north of $100,000 with the Metropolitan Riveters of the Premier Hockey Federation, it was a decision Räty was excited about and comfortable with. But when the PHF was acquired June 29 by the Mark Walter Group for the purpose of absorbing league assets into the new Professional Women's Hockey League, Räty felt her choice to leave the PWHPA board backfired, impacting her prospects of joining the new league.

”It became clear to me very early that I’m not welcomed in the PWHL because of the decision I made last spring. I know it was a selfish decision for personal gain, but that was the decision my heart was telling me to do at the time." Räty told The Hockey News. "I've talked to sources who were present at the draft and I’m not even comfortable disclosing it to public of what I heard some influential people say about me because it hurts and it makes me heart broken because obviously they don’t know who I am as a person, and I’m not even being given a chance to prove my character.”

In response to a request for comment, the PWHL stated the following.

“The evaluation of talent and roster building for the inaugural PWHL season has been a fair and equitable process, as demonstrated by the variety of backgrounds among the 90 players selected in the draft,” Jayna Hefford said in a statement emailed to The Hockey News. “We will not comment on the status of individual players who are pursuing opportunities in the PWHL, and will not respond to, nor characterize the accuracy of, alleged overheard comments.”

Räty is one of the best netminders ever to play the game, earning World Championship best goaltender honors five times, and an Olympic all-star nod. Räty also backstopped Finland to two Olympic bronze medals, four World championship bronze, and a World Championship silver.

Räty joined the PWHPA after the Canadian Women's Hockey League folded in 2019. The year prior, she was named the 2018 CWHL Goaltender of the Year while backstopping Kunlan Red Star. During her time with the organization, Räty sat on the PWHPA board, which at the time she left included Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Karell Emard, Alyssa Gagliardi, Brianne Jenner, Hilary Knight, Jocelyne Lamoureaux-Davidson, Sarah Nurse, and Kimberly Sass.

According to Räty, the opportunity to sit on the PWHPA board and work toward a new league was an honor. When the Riveters offered her roughly $100,000 more than she could make with the PWHPA however, Räty made the decision for herself and her family to take a leap of faith. As a non North American national team member, Räty believes the jump was a decision she had to make.

”It was an honor to be part of the PWHPA Board and I'm so proud of the work we did to build this pro league, but if I had to make that decision again, I would..." said Räty.

"It was much easier for North American national team players so sit out as they are supported full-time by their national federations when it comes to finances and training, but I’m not," Räty said. "I look at hockey as business too and it was a personal business decision to take a job that pays the most to provide for my family and in a place where I knew my character and expertise was going to be valued on and off the ice. Making 35-40k per season in the PWHL is not sustainable for a 34-year-old with a mortgage and other real life expenses.”

At the NCAA level playing for the University of Minnesota, Raty was a First Team All-American in 2010, Second Team All-American in 2011, and First Team in 2013, winning the WCHA's goaltending champion in 2010 and 2013. She also backstopped Minnesota to NCAA national titles in both 2013 and 2013. Her resume alone and the fact her numbers have not dipped, evidenced by Räty's performance in Naisten Liiga last season, many believed was enough to earn her a spot in the new league, even as a free agent following the draft.

According to Räty, who has given so much to the game and the PWHPA, this is not an end to her playing days as she believes in herself, knowing who she is, and what she could offer to a team in the league, or any women's hockey league in the world. She's not closing the door on any opportunity, and hopes to continue contributing to the growth of women's hockey, and in building opportunities for other women to enter the game at all levels, including professionally.

”I don’t blame them though and I have no hard feelings," she said. My foundation in life is so strong that other people’s opinions don’t affect me, but it is disappointing to hear how much certain players and leaders have influence and power in this league. I hope to see the GMs to truly put the best players in the world on the ice.

"I’m heart broken as it most likely means my career has come to an end. I’m in the best shape and mental stage of my life and know that if I was given a chance I would have been one of the best goalies in the league. However, I will always support the PWHL. This is truly an amazing and historic time for women's hockey, and I'm so excited for the future of the sport."