When the PWHL was founded, one of the paramount pieces of their puzzle was continued international participation of players. The World Championships and Olympics had served as the primary avenue for growth and promotion of women's hockey for decades. Eventually, the Rivalry Series and Women's Euro Hockey Tour took their spots in this conversation.
But this season another element became evident: there was a decidedly negative impact on the PWHL from the league's participation in international competition.
From scheduling, to injuries, international breaks in the PWHL's season were disruptive to teams, fan growth, and players. The league took their first break less than 10 days into the season taking a week off for international competition. This break however, saw almost none of the league participate in international play due to the short time constraint. The next break came in early February for another week. This break saw action for the Rivalry Series between Canada and USA, but European players again, for the most part, stayed home due to the quick turnaround. Finally, the league took its longest break for the World Championships stopping for three weeks in April.
Some feel as the league brings in more of the world's top talent, the annual need for international play within the PWHL's season will no longer be necessary.
"With this league, if we can get all the best players in this league, do we need as many international breaks throughout the season?" questioned Boston Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer in her end of year media availability. "I would say no, but again those are decisions with the league and the IIHF have to sort of figure out together."
Boston was one of the teams most impacted by international competition this season in terms of their roster. They lost fourth overall pick Hannah Bilka for half the season due to an injury she suffered at the February Rivalry Series. In the final game of the World Championships with only three games remaining in the PWHL year, Boston lost Alina Muller, who led their team in scoring in 2024, and starting goaltender Aerin Frankel to injuries suffered in international play. In the end, Boston missed the playoffs by a point after entering the international break in lone possession of third overall.
They weren't the only players to see their year impacted by international play.
The other impact however, is on the fans.
“I think it does break the momentum for the fans,” said Montreal forward Lina Ljungblom in a December interview on the topic. “I get that they want to watch hockey and watch us play. It’s not fun for them to have this break this early in the season.”
The PWHL already had scheduling issues as a secondary or tertiary tenant in many of their venues. In December, the Montreal Victoire played only one game in a 21-day span. In Boston, the Fleet competed only once at the Tsongas Center in 44 days, which was followed by one home game in a separate 24-day span later in the season.
The 2026 Olympic Games Will Present A Unique Challenge
The PWHL is unlikely to play a game in February during the 2025-26 season. That comes as a result of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics in Italy. The Olympic Games run from February 6 to February 26, and national teams will look to prepare prior to the Games with exhibitions and shortened camps. It's. different than 2022 when NCAA and pro players centralized for the entirety of 2022. This year, NCAA and PWHL players will leave their programs for February, returning when the Games are done. Still, it's another three week block of time when the PWHL will be unable to operate. Depending on the timing of the 2026 World Championships, things could look even worse for the PWHL's schedule.
IIHF Looking At Moving World Championships
Only a year after working to synchronize all of the women's hockey World Championships to ensure players from across the world could participate, the IIHF is facing a new push to move the World Championships. Traditionally held in late March or early April, the IIHF has been presented with several scenarios. IIHF president Luc Tardiff confirmed that the PWHL asked the IIHF to move the World Championships to November. It would then serve as a preseason tournament removing the largest annual impact on the league. It could also result in the PWHL pulling out of other international breaks for the Women's Euro Hockey Tour and Rivalry Series. If the Worlds moved to a preseason format, nations would likely not spend to have their national teams travel throughout the year as the need to prepare in season would be gone. Many however, fear that this move would result in reduced funding and reduced international competition impacting the global growth of the sport.
Whatever the IIHF and PWHL decide, the clock is ticking on the current model for international play. With more teams in the PWHL beginning in 2025-26, and an expected wave of national team members from across the globe joining the league for the 2026-27 season, the PWHL will be looking at their collective agreement, which stipulates players are allowed to participate in international competition and games will not take place during international breaks. How the PWHL and IIHF decide to operate in the future will have a monumental impact on the global growth of girls and women's hockey. Neither can afford to get it wrong, but decisions will undoubtedly come soon that will begin reshaping, or at least rescheduling international play.