The National Women’s Hockey League has been rebranded as the Premier Hockey Federation from this season onwards. The competition becomes the first to remove the tag ‘women’ in a bid to reach gender equality. This is the first time that a women’s professional competition in North America has removed that tag.
All of this is becoming possible much thanks to the new commissioner Tyler Tumminia. There has been a whole restructuring of the organisation and that included Dani Rylan Kearney stepping down from commissioner, the NWHL changing from a single entity to a joint venture ownership model.
“The Premier Hockey Federation is home to some of the best professional athletes in the world who deserve to be recognised for their abilities and to be empowered as equals in sport,” said Tumminia. “This league has come a long way since its inception in 2015 and we believe that this is the right time and the right message as we strengthen our commitment to growing the game and inspiring youth,” Tumminia said.
“We’re excited to build on all of our momentum from the last year, ‘Raise the W’ and embark on this new era with our athletes, teams, partners and fans. No labels, no limits.”
The new restructuring has seen the league take new leaps. New sponsorship deals mean the salary per team is higher than ever at $300,000. Moreover, an expansion into Montreal, Canada is also being planned.