NWHL Adjust Season Schedule, Names New NWHLPA Director.
New York Riveters and Buffalo Beauts Battle in NWHL Action
On Thursday, rumors started on social media that the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) would shorten its 2017 season. MyWSports was able to confirm, through multiple league sources, the validity of an upcoming announcement. The league released a statement shortly after confirming the “major decisions pertaining to the future of the league.” The shortened season would now conclude on March 19, instead of late April. The adjustment would include a shortened Isobel Cup Playoffs. Rather than a three game series, the playoffs would shift to one game series in both the semifinals and final. The changes come ahead of the IIHF Women’s World Championships in 2017 and the Pre-Olympic roster announcements that will follow that tournament. The league also announced Anya Battagliano as the new director of the NWHL Players' Association effective immediately.
"One of the primary missions of the NWHL is to help women realize Olympic dreams and national team aspirations, so concluding our season prior to the world championships is the right thing to do," NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan said. "We always want to be supportive of our national team players, so we're glad to have worked something out with the player reps. In the end, we all want what’s best for women’s hockey, and you’ll see that in the sprint to this year’s Isobel Cup."
The league reported the change was requested by the players, which first came up this past summer before the start of the second season. Meghan Duggan, U.S National Team member and a player on the Boston Pride released this statement following the announcement.
“The desire to adjust the schedule was taken into careful consideration and discussed at length before determining that this would be the best course of action for everyone – the players, our league, the national programs, and supporters of women’s hockey.”
It's no question that this change will allow the national team players to get a much needed break. The national team requirements can be grueling ahead of an Olympic year, and this slight rest will give players a chance to prepare for the international stage in both 2017 and 2018.
Duggan’s Agent, Brant Feldman told MyWSports, “Any player that went to the U.S National Festival (August 12-15), as well as any international player that may have had to attend a training camp these players their season really began in August… That’s a long year!” He continued, “You can’t be a robot, your body has to break down before it can train back up again…there wasn’t going to be a full rest period that these athletes would’ve had before they would’ve had their pre-Olympic camps”
Without a doubt, the recent changes affect the national team players primarily, but what happens to non-national team players? Well, that will now rest on the shoulders of Anya Battaglino. The 2014 Boston University graduate has been a member of the Players Association since the inaugural season and has been an avid proponent of the league throughout the first two seasons. Anya will now have the opportunity to help represent the players as the league moves into their third season next year. “It is extremely important for the players to get a seat at the table to advocate for the betterment of the league,” said Battaglino. “We are so excited as a unit to continue to forge a strong relationship with Commissioner Rylan and the league office and I am honored to have the support of the NWHLPA as I step into this role.
“It is humbling to be able to continue to pioneer for women's sports in a leadership position and even more of an honor to represent such amazing athletes. Being the voice of the athletes is an extremely important task. I’m grateful to have the support of all of the representatives to continue our conversations into the off season to grow the league and strive for success for all of women’s hockey.”
Rylan added. “I look forward to collaborating with Anya and all of the player reps on our vision for next season and beyond. The input of the players is vital to everything we do.” Feldman confirmed the league will be without the National team players for the upcoming season. “There will be no [USA] Olympic athletes playing in the NWHL for the 2017-2018 season” As for this season, Duggan said, “as a member of the Boston Pride, I can tell you our focus as a team has and will continue to be to put ourselves in a position to lift the Isobel Cup in March”
The NWHL has promised to continue in for a third season, and promised to continue to pay its players. This will all get very interesting with the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) also going forward to pay its players next season.
The league also announced multiple interested markets for potential expansion opportunities in the coming years.
Catch MyWSports Sports Sunday at 12pm EST for our thoughts on this recent announcement.
