The 33rd annual ESPY Awards were held last night in Los Angeles. At the ceremony, many women in sports were honored. It's a list that includes Best Athlete in Women's Sports, Simone Biles as well as Ilona Maher (Best Breakthrough Athlete), Suni Lee (Best Comeback Athlete), and Best WNBA Player Caitlin Clark.
What was not recognized in any way was women's hockey.
The PWHL, which only recently completed the league's second-ever season, has yet to make its way into the consciousness of the ESPY Awards, despite the rapidly expanding league and fan base driving the growth of women's hockey.
Thirteen sports have had athletes named the Best Athlete in Women's Sports, yet hockey is not one. In fact, women's hockey hasn't won much of anything at the ESPY Awards.
The lone exception comes from the 2018 Winter Olympics and Team USA's gold medal performance. Team USA won the ESPY for Best Game after defeating Canada 3-2 in a shootout for the gold medal. Kendall Coyne Schofield won the ESPY for Best Game for the same event. It is women's hockey's lone moment on stage at the ESPYs.
It's likely the PWHL will work their way into a nomination or two in the coming years. The league has one of the most well-connected individuals, Billie Jean King, in their corner. King and wife Ilana Kloss were in attendance yet again at the 2025 ESPYs, and the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award is named in her honor. The PWHL includes the Billie Jean King MVP Award and Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP Award, and both women are on the league's advisory board.
Hockey has never captured much interest from the ESPYs, although men's hockey players still annually see nominations in one category or another. That includes the league-specific award for "Best NHL Player."
The ESPYs have always been a blend between sport and pop culture, and perhaps as more PWHL players continue to grow bigger brands, and as the league finally works its way into a national broadcasting deal in the United States, PWHL players earning nominations at the ESPYs will become a regular occurrence.
It could also come as the next wave of superstars continues to join the league. Perhaps a nomination will come from a combination next season where an athlete earns recognition from the PWHL and at the Olympics winning gold. The dual performance could be enough to push women's hockey into the spotlight, and into a broader consciousness among American sports fans.
