The PWHL Takeover Tour: Breaking records and making waves
By Emma Djukic, January 19 2024—
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) began its “Takeover Tour” in November of 2024 and it has already broken record attendance numbers at its games. This is the second season of the league after a smashing inaugural year, the sophomore tour is poised to surpass expectations and set new benchmarks for women’s hockey.
The game in Vancouver on Jan. 8 between the Montreal Victoire and the Toronto Sceptres drew in a crowd of 19,038 fans at Rogers Arena, the largest game the league has seen yet while also surpassing the Canucks’ season high of 18,940.
The sold-out stadium saw a returning Olympian Marie-Philip Poulin, lead the Victoire to victory with 4-2. Poulin helped Canada win gold in the matchup against the United States during the 2010 Winter Olympics, which was hosted in that same stadium. The full circle moment for one player marks an encouraging growth and interest in women’s sports.
The history of professional women’s hockey is complex, with earlier leagues like the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) and the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) operating closer to semi-professional levels, as most players needed additional jobs to support themselves. After the CWHL folded in 2019, top players formed the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) to advocate for a fully professional league. Despite the NWHL rebranding to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), the PWHPA partnered with Mark Walter and Billie Jean King to create a new league. In 2023, Walter and King purchased the PHF, shut it down, and established the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) with a ratified collective bargaining agreement (CBA), making it the first fully professional women’s hockey league.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is seen as a groundbreaking achievement in women’s hockey, as it’s the first league to truly operate at a professional level. With competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits as well as a strong backing from institutions, media and fans. With players expressing that this is the first time they’ve been treated like true professionals.
Bringing all women’s hockey talent into one unified league has been pivotal in building credibility and widespread support. Consolidation eliminates fragmentation, enabling the National Hockey League (NHL) and sports media to fully support the PWHL without dividing their attention. Not to mention having billionaire Mark Walter committed to funding the league over the medium term ensures it has the financial stability needed to grow without the threat of teams folding.
As the league continues to break records, sell out stadiums and exceed expectations, it challenges long-standing misconceptions about women’s sports. For years, the prevailing narrative claimed that women’s sports couldn’t succeed because they were uninteresting, less popular and unprofitable. The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is proving those assumptions wrong. With thrilling gameplay, passionate fans and strong management, the league is only gaining momentum.
Young girls fill the stands, holding signs with messages like, “You fought for my Dreams thank you”, to “Play like a girl” and even “Well behaved women rarely make history”. The league has become a powerful source of inspiration to so many and only continues to impress.
If you would like to read more about upcoming games and standings, you can visit the PWHL official website here.