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The Women’s World Championship came at the right time this year thanks to a postponement, in the dog days of summer when all hockey fans have to do is refresh Twitter to see if a decision has been made by the Habs on the Kotkaniemi offer sheet yet. Let’s face it, that’s almost as entertaining as watching paint dry. Last night, instead of doing that, a fair part of hockey fans tuned in to watch Canada and the USA battle once more for Women’s ice-hockey supremacy.
I won’t rub in Canada’s 3-2 win in overtime too much, since it’s not the point. The point is that there was some serious skill and talent on display on the ice last night and it’s completely unacceptable that such good players do not have a proper league to play in. I know, there’s 1 league in the USA, but it’s not a league that could allow them to earn a living by solely playing. This is what I mean when I say a proper league.
In 2019, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded due for financial reasons. Since then, Canadian aces like Marie-Philip Poulin, Nathalie Spooner and Melodie Daoust have not been able to play professional hockey, the same goes for American ace Hilary Knight. Yes, they could have joined the NWHL in the USA, but they didn’t. Instead, they decided to form a players’ association and create the Secret Dream Gap Tour. For them, it was a way to display their talent and get people talking about women’s hockey.
To be fair, it didn’t exactly work great. They got more visibility when the NHL allowed the best players to play in a 3 on 3 game as a prelude to the NHL’s all-star game, and that’s the key, the NHL could definitely help these players. In the USA, the NBA has been instrumental in the creation and operation of the WNBA, in England, the English Premier League has done the same by not only creating a women’s league, but by having Ladies teams of the bigger teams like Manchester City and West Ham for example.
The beauty of the English model is that the revenue generate by the men’s game is used to grow the women’s game and it allows them to earn a living playing football. That’s why Canadian football players such as Adriana Leon, Janine Beckie and Desiree Scott ended up playing across the pond. Sometimes, before West Ham plays a game, West Ham Ladies have a game scheduled, that makes an interesting double header for the fans. Season tickets holder automatically receive tickets for the Ladies’ matches, the aim is not to make money there, but to raise interest and grow the game.
The best women hockey players are in North America, they cannot rely on Europe to create the kind of league they need, there are too many competing sports. Football, rugby, handball, you name it, it’s bigger than hockey over there. Here though, in Canada, hockey is king it’s time for our teams to step up and show the way or even for the league to do so. I know, money isn’t exactly rolling in right now, but we need to give these women a platform to shine before it’s too late for some of them… Caroline Ouellet, Julie Shue, Hayley Wickenheiser and Cammy Granato are already done, don’t let Marie-Philip Poulin end her career without being able to inspire as many young girls as possible. If ever women’s hockey had a poster girl, it’s now and it’s Poulin, time to give her a suitable stage to perform on. Until then, we’ll see the USA and Canada battle again in February at the Olympics and I for one cannot wait.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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