I wanted to take a look at the opening night of PWHL hockey action which saw PWHL Toronto take on PWHL New York! All that and more on today's hockey video!
You can watch their games on RU-vid. I will probably be in the chat for tomorrow evening's game: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F-6LYXQCMRQ.html
The New York Rangers didn't say anything about the PWHL New York team, because the team doesn't play in New York. PWHL "New York" plays across the Long Island Sound out of Bridgeport Connecticut which is firmly Islanders country. This decision has kind of alienated New York fans not wanting to drive or take the ferry across as well as alienating Connecticut sports fans for not naming the team after Bridgeport or Connecticut. It's almost as bad with PWHL "Boston" who play 20 miles outside Boston in Lowell Massachusetts. Lowell has never had a solid history of supporting hockey at all levels. UMass Lowell, the college that owns the arena constantly struggles to get people to attend their own games never mind the abject disaster that was AHL hockey there. That coupled with the dropping of the Bruins colors the Pride PHF team wore as well as the move from Warrior Arena has really soured fans on this league. Ticket sales might be strong north of the border, but for both the "Boston" and "New York" sales have been sluggish outside the opening night games.
Missed the first game. I spent a lot of years covering sports, esp. hockey, and since I started doing so - way back in the 90s - the progression of women's hockey has been slow. This is going to be a good thing...
@@shootstraight91thats right! It was cool to hear my dad had some buddies who tried to grab season tickets but weren't able to cuz they already sold out in Toronto!
@@shootstraight91 I used to train as a kid w Loren Gabel so its pretty cool seeing how far she went, ima probably be a mix of toronto and supporting boston for her
We all have to support it in the best ways available to us: pay for tickets if we can get to a game, pay for a streaming service that covers it, if we can't?
I disagree, if they fold it’s because they don’t want an identity and they want to be woke degenerates. The front office has to do better for the athletes, but I don’t expect much out of them, props to all these athletes though
I really hope this works out.. People are expecting it to be a fully polished product. It's not, its building, its an investment, it may take 5 years, it may take 10. But if this gets more girls and boys into hockey, thats just flippin' great. Little girls who grew up watching their brothers play might now have a reason to take it seriously. In 5 years when that Lopusanova girl becomes the face of the womens hockey league, little girls are gonna be looking up to her wishing they could be just like her. The same way Bedard looked up to Crosby, and the cycle will continue. The game will only get better over time. But it has to start somewhere.. Let that be here and now.
Well said. It's sad that the world has become so focused on glitz, and so impatient. This is pure, grassroots hockey. The best kind. I'll take it any day over the over-processed mega-business that the NHL has become. I've preferred college hockey for many years now. This looks to be a great parallel universe.
Now if we could only get women to call out the feminist b.s. and support men. If you're curious, google search - " for every 100 girls / women' that should give you an idea of how far the feminist ideology aginst men has driven the misandry.
@@andrewcanoy1708 I'm telling you, as long as this question is not resolved in in favor of biological reality, a woman will get killed. Now would be a good time to nip it in the bud legally.
@@andrewcanoy1708 "but, her hormone level is like a woman". gawd dam I hope it never becomes the news for a month, hearing about it every single day how some dude thinks he's a woman and wants to play hockey with girls.
I love the idea for the short hand removing the penalty as it incentivizes more offense instead of just hunkering down in a penalty kill and I think this could be a really good idea
I mean and why not try stuff like this out right? The league is brand new, if the rule doesn't work in practice, get rid of it, but if it does work then perhaps certain other leagues may look into it👀👀
you hunker down because you're outnumbered. Good teams will simply use their numbers to enter the zone and maintain control. The only reason a penalty killer scores is because the power play unit fucks up.
I’m very excited to see how this league grows over time. I really hope they expand into other hockey cities so I could maybe actually have a chance to go to a game
I'm a minor hockey ref. Reffing U11 and U9, I see these young girls putting in so much effort. They push harder and strive to be better than so many of the boys, and knowing that they can finally dream, and be given the chance to make their dreams come true, it's just so heartwarming. Cheering for new york too, love the jerseys, (already bought one), and the defence looks dangerous.
If I'm being honest the 3 point system is something I thought the NHL should adopt. Glad to see it put to use. Maybe it will become the professional standard soon.
New leagues are always the best place to experiment with this stuff and there just hasn't been enough big and successful new leagues for big changes to stick. The success of this league could finally be the snowball that causes the avalanche and forces the NHL to get off its ass and move forward. Well that and Bettman retiring. Ideally sooner than later.
I wanted to get tickets to see Montreal's home opener with a friend, but they sold out in literally an hour. Meanwhile, I remember just last year seeing the home opener of La Force at the same arena and it was maybe 75% full. This, and the games being televised on a bunch of networks like CBC, Sportsnet and TSN/RDS gives me great hope. Honestly, aside from the obvious with no team names or logos yet, it's very impressive what this league has managed to do in only a few months.
I was watching the Montreal vs Ottawa game and it honestly kept me on the edge of my seat. I also saw you in the comments supporting the PWHL which I thought was super nice of you.
My gal and I are going to the Minnesota opener this saturday. We are beyond excited. She just got into hockey overall, so it'll be a lot of fun to show her that the gals can skate just as hard as the boys.
Fingers crossed when the PWHL allows team names and personalities that the Toronto Six, Boston Pride, Minnesota Whitecaps, and Montréal Force all get a revival. And that New York either renames to Connecticut and revives the Whale or moves full-time to Elmont with the Whale being revived in Bridgeport.
I hope this league makes it. I loved played hockey as a kid and I still remember finding out that while a lot of my friends dreamed of going pro, I just never had that option. I just looked up Toronto ticket sales and apparently they are sold through for this entire year which is unfortunate for the average fan. Hopefully they can get a bigger arena. I hadnt even heard of the one Toronto plays at before tonight.
Mattamy Athletic Center is part of the old Maple Leaf Gardens. Its also the home rink for Toronto Metropolitan University which was Ryerson University before the name change.
The WNBA almost single handedly killed women's sports growth. The way they branded the league just made it hard for people to want to like women's sports, let alone ACCEPT it. I'm glad that we've gotten past that point though
@@Taylor-gb5gf it exists that long because they really really really want it to exist. In fact WNBA is losing them money every year. If PWHL flops I doubt they will keep it around for long. Hopefully they succeed tho
@@Taylor-gb5gfbecause the NBA finances it entirely. The WNBA would have long since folded without that money. Hopefully the PWHL can become profitable on its own and grow.
I'm all for it... My boys play hockey and our organization has some amazing girls teams. We even have a girl on the boys A squirts team and she is a beast!!! To see how hard these girls work in practice and games... it would be awesome to see them make a career out of it 💯
this is my first time hearing about this and i am beyond excited. I've been playing hockey my whole life, the only time you ever get to see high caliber womens hockeys is international friendlys or smaller tournaments. This is so awesome!! I can't wait for this season and i really really hope the leaugue doesn't get cancelled.
the point system is something i hope the nhl adopts. it absolutely drives me nuts that when a game goes to overtime there are 3 available points to hand out.
Its exactly the same in that league... 3 for a win, 2 for an OT win and 1 for an OT loss... Only difference is the extra point when you win before OT.... Edit: 1:50
Its not the same lol, a win is 3 points, now THATS good, makes it worth winning! The NHL has 2 points game, and then 3 points game, kinda lame@@WaaDjooNoBoutDa
@@meliauwm3524 I said that i don't know why you say it's not the same because it is the same, it's 3 points on the table when going into OT. If the original comment meant that they want a 3points game all the time then they worded ir very poorly and made it sound like the OT situation is the part annoying them, which is what i was replying to.
In the NHL, at the end of regulation time if the score is tied each team gets 1 point. They then use 3 on 3 overtime and a shootout if needed to award another point to the winner. How is the women’s league different?
I like that the league is actually trying some rules that hockey fans have been wanting to see. Seems like this league has a ton of potential! I'd love to see Halifax get a team too, that would be so cool.
@@chrisg1556 What's really odd, is that it's also on TSN. Maybe just the first game that all the networks are showing it, but I've never seen an event on both Sportsnet and TSN.
Halifax would rock a team! I left there a few years ago but woman’s hockey there is big! All the old school players like myself that never had this kind of opportunity would be out in full force. New Brunswick where I played high school is also still going strong with lots of girls would definitely make the drive for games
I used to go to a lot of Ryerson men's hockey games played in the same arena, the MAC, formerly Maple Leaf Gardens. It's actually a pretty awesome venue and I think I'm gonna start going to Toronto games.
Exactly. This only helps the sport grow, for both genders really. More interest = more revenue for the players and more opportunities for countless talented players (of both genders) to play at higher levels.
Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but the New York Islanders tweeted out support of the PWHL New York team, which makes sense because the NY team will play a few games in UBS Arena, the home of the Islanders. Still strange that the Rangers didn’t say anything on social media.
Very happy for this. When my daughter was 5 she said that someday she wanted to play hockey on TV so her Mimi (grandmother) can watch. The PWHL makes goals like that achievable, now.
The fact that we can watch this free on youtube is absolutely amazining. I didnt think i would interested really but i watched a bit and it seemed great. Im still bit sad about the logos tho...
I stumbled onto the game right after it started and ended up watching the whole thing. Really good hockey honestly. I enjoyed it. Can't wait to watch Minnesota play soon. Eck, I saw you in the chat. It was good to see you and 12 thousand other folks watching the game.
I think this is great! Although I found it by chance, I was able to watch the first game which I thought was really good! My wife played goal in high level hockey in Michigan for decades in women's leagues when no one was really taking their games seriously. It's about time that this is happening and they're getting the visibility and recognition.
Great to see the contact. Women hockey players are tough. They wouldn’t be hockey players if they weren’t. It’s a huge asset to the game. And it will help sell it. All the power to you ladies. ❤
The arena is in the old Maple leaf Gardens. So I think its so cool to have it there. Obviously you only get the old roof of the gardens but still the history is still there.
I'm super excited for this. I've been wanting something like this to come about since watching women's hockey during the Olympics decades ago. They deserve it and it's more hockey for us!
I watched the historic puck drop this morning! Loved the action and, like you, am stoked for tomorrow night’s game. I pay attention to women’s sports and I can understand the push to get this league going. Yes, the players don’t want to lose a year but also the momentum behind women’s sports is at an all-time high. WNBA. NWSL. WSL. World Cup. US Open Tennis. All graphs are up and to the right. It’s a good time to launch and I am definitely excited to watch this season 😊 Thanks for making a video on it. I’d love to see more videos of yours on their games 🙏
The inaugural game was pretty fast paced and Toronto definitely got goalied. I would definitely watch some more games. Saw one of the Canada Vs. US rivalry games a few years ago and it was a great time. I know travel is a restriction, but would love to have a West Coast team/ division some day
This league thus far is everything i want nhl to become, the points system, the parity, the games easily streamable, really hyped for this season in fact im watching the girls tonight instead of the habs i dont even care
Some hopes: I hope Seattle doesn't have to wait as long for a PWHL team as we did for an NHL team. And I hope that Boston doesn't chicken out and actually names their team the Boston Witches. (And not Wicked like one leak suggested, which is just a coward's version of that name.) Like, come on. There isn't a better opportunity for it, nor a better match as far as sports go. The witch trials were a horrific event in American history, but it'd be cool to have it taken back and used as a cool name to rally behind. And the absolute fucking meltdown fundies would have over it would be awesome.
This is a good thing my granddaughter plays in her 4th season is looking forward to going pro she has me hooked on the sport. Love watching king's and her excitement for all of hockey
I loved watching the game and then went right over to watching the Winter Classic. I'm going to the Boston season opener on Wednesday night. I can't wait.
I watched the NY / TO game earlier. Really good game. What the league has had to do in 6 months is off the hook. I can only imagine the tons of logistical tasks to get it all up and running. I need a Nurse jersey!! =)
Just knowing the average time for creating a new sports TEAM is 18 months it’s insane they’ve put the entire league together in such a short time. While I’m super excited for cool jerseys and merch right now I’m pumped to finally have easy access to watch women’s hockey. Just TSN and then RU-vid for anyone who can’t watch the main channels is awesome!!
@@pdubcentral +nods & nods+ Yea here in the US I'm really happy they'll be on YT. As a guy in the pacific NW, I'd def go see games if they were closer. I'll support any way I can
I went to the first game in Ottawa! Man, my face hurt from smiling so much. It was incredible to see so many women there and so many young girls. There were many really great plays! A called back goal! So many different countries represented (including Japan)! And overall it was an experience that I hope to someday tell my children about how when their mom was 19 she went to the FIRST ever PWHL game in Ottawa. Even now just thinking about it I want to cry tears of joy. I play ringette (an all girls sport) and I’ve been watching hockey before I could lift my own head up and this amount of support for woman’s sports fills me with pride. Also I wish that the men’s hockey would step up their support for the women ( great point made on the video).
Im sure they're going to move into a larger capacity building next season. They sold out all home games weeks ago. Probably just being conservative to see how it goes in the first season. I think they'll move into coca-cola coliseum (the Marlies home rink) next season. That holds just under 8k.
I could see them move this season if they can. The league already has a notice that the schedule this year is flexible, and I'm sure this is one of the reasons.
I didnt know your a dad!, well this is very belated Congratulations 🎉 but you deserve it, your content keeps me updated on hockey, keep doing what you do best! 👍
Eck, the one thing I disagree with you saying is that the Toronto arena is too small. It isn’t exactly large but right now in the early stages of the league, that is what you want. When you have less people viewing but you are still able to pack the barn, it creates an awesome environment and they can eventually switch to a larger arena like Coca-Cola Coliseum (where the marlies play) once they are a bit more steady
something i'm interested in is the league branding. i get that that they didn't have time to the get team names (beyond the city) or unique colors and logos, but i have to say i kind of dig the uniformity of it all, especially just the city name diagonal across for all the jerseys. the colors need a little work and it's clear the jerseys were rushed, at least in the promotional materials as seen by how the materials bunch up around the text. but i really like the uniformity of it all, it's more than beer-league but not all style without out the substance. so many other start up leagues have tried to compensate for a lack or quality on the field/ice/court with flashy uniforms and mascots. i'd rather have a good game with "bland" uniforms that fireworks in the stands/lockerrooms and nothing on the ice.
I've been waiting for this to start for a while and was not disappointed by the first game, New York looked really good for most of it and Toronto had some really good hustle in the 2nd. I hope this expands and Detroit/Michigan can get a team, I'dfollow them as much as the Wings and Griffins.
Just imagine - Toronto might ACTUUALLY win a professional hockey championship in my lifetime ;) In all seriousness, I think the whole 'personality' will come once they have solid team names. My thought is to let the players pick the names rather than have marketing pick-out some generic ones.
It's so awesome to see a new women's league, and I really hope that it flourishes and get expansion teams and proper uniforms/names. I'm cheering for this league
In my opinion the biggest problem with the PWHL is that it has become a race against time for the organization. Some things were left up to last minute interpretation. That said, it's interesting that they introduced a couple of new rules to hockey in North America. Furthermore, the fact that there was a live feed on RU-vid where they were active. Finally, the choice of the time of the first game is not random: they played a little before the only NHL game of the night, on a day when many offices are closed, they wanted to send a message by playing on New Year's Day and, finally, at a time that is as convenient in America as in Europe. This makes it clear that they want to gradually become more and more international with the drafts of the next few years.
This is super dope. Watching Poulin more than just international play is a damn blessing Eck. Can't wait to see what rivalries brew over the coming months! (Go Toronto!)
a 3-2-1 point system is really intriguing SHG/PK rule change I don’t love but it’s understandable why the ladies put it in couple of headshots and non calls imo (already better than IIHF)
I watched it as well, I’m a New York Rangers die hard…and this played out like an NHL past time for me…we were mostly outplayed only for the tender to bail us out 😂…also for me I hope they stay in small arenas and have it packed it feels more lively, I grew upstate, and went to Adirondack redwings games and it was my childhood. And totally agree about announcers I hope they don’t do the WNBA route and just compare with men…I’d love for them to build rivalries and talk about that, like some player from Ottawa hates a Boston player etc. Also, Toronto didn’t get anything done on there 5-3, woulda been nice to have a spicy take on that.
I hope this works. And they GOTTA have that physicality, it's hockey! Hope that stays, it makes things legit. I'll be watching going forward, thanks for this video!
yeah the thing with the rink size... a larger rink will cost more to rent (none of these franchises own their buildings yet of course), and the league has very little money right now, so it's prudent to start smaller. and 3800 seats isn't all that tiny; it's roughly what many European teams play in, plus the Coyotes... edit: one other thing I noticed: while the Toronto team's jerseys are already sold out (and the NY and Ottawa ones only have youth sizes left), the Montreal team's ones aren't even on sale yet for some strange reason. kinda weird.
I'm going to start watching these games from now on. Would be nice to have NHL teams support them. As for team names why not have fans votes and best one wins?
@@Jinxy63he’s actually talking facts, the WNBA is essentially. Welfare league. If you reported losses over a decade a bank would never give you money. They’re being paid for by Men. It is what it is.
Very excited for this league, the addition of hitting hopefully will catch on throughout womens hockey. Personally I think that’s the biggest thing holding them back
I'm not shocked about the physicality, woman are mean and tough when they want/need to be. The league looks decent so far, and like the NHL, New York is better than Toronto here, too
This league will catch fire next year I think. A lot of subdued interest out there right now, but if this season can go off without a hitch and when everything is fully organized and polished next year, it will be a beautiful product for us hockey fans.
If Sportsnet gives me updates and notifications, as well as a schedule to track, and stats to consume, I'll follow it. Watching those hits made me immediately interested! Looks exciting, and only having half a dozen teams will make it easy to get to know all the players!
It needs to succeed on its own. Not be subsidized by the NHL (like the WNBA is by the NBA). Let them get paid based on ticket sales and interest in the game, which could generate TV money. So, the NHL not pushing it isn't a bad thing to me.
I mean it could be worse, you could be a player in the NCAA, you don't get paid at all there, same with Major Junior Hockey like the OHL, unless you play for the Knights
As a women's hockey diehard (went to a D1 school, went to my first game just to check out the rink more than the team...then started going to more games and became a fan for life) it's awesome seeing a) probably the most legit league we've ever had in North America, b) the buzz and crowds (Ottawa was awesome tonight), and c) people seeming to really really like what they're seeing. Hopefully more content creators pick up on it tbh, it'd be nice to see more variety in hockey content creation (as someone who fell out of love with the NHL years ago but still considers myself a hockey main)
you're better off selling out a 3,000 seat arena and creating some demand for the few seats available as opposed to putting it in a 10-12,000 seater and having to give tickets away so it doesn't look empty. Hope this league works out, or will it become a punchline for Bill Burr? If you haven't seen his comedy bit railing against women's soccer and the WNBA, it's bloody hilarious.
Right. Keep it to arenas where it looks full. Plus, that's the first game, will it be full in other cities, not just in their first game but half way through the season? Or in a year or two? I didn't even know this league existed until about a half an hour ago.
@@my3dviews I guess it depends on the market. All of Toronto's home games were sold out weeks ago. The pwhl has been getting a good amount of attention atleast here in Toronto. I even watched the draft.
@@chrisg1556 Well, good for them. But, that's Toronto. Are they going to get the same support with the U.S. teams or is this going to eventually become a Canadian only league?
@@my3dviews only time will tell. All teams are owned by the same ownership group and they already said they're fine with losing money to get the league up and running for atleast a while. How long they keep that attitude is another question all together.
@@chrisg1556 I guess if the owners have deep pocket and don't care about losing money, they can fill the arenas by selling low priced tickets or even by giving many of them away. Just found this: Single Game Tickets for upcoming games* start as low as $20 (including taxes and fees) per game! That is for games in Ottawa.
@@spartuz71 Haha, they are very strange aren't they. You know they're the type to scream homophobic words on call of duty but then laugh at women playing sports. "NO, ID RATHER WATCH MEN!!!!!!!!!!"
@@gohabs8918If “they” would rather watch men, then wouldn’t they support men playing on women’s teams?!? Then they could watch men dominate in men’s AND women’s sports. The fact that they don’t want men in women’s sports suggest they’d rather watch women in women sports and men in men sports. It’s YOUR side that want males/men/boys everywhere……even in female/women’s/girls sports/spaces.
@@gohabs8918 meh it had a spelling mistake, fine, you have to pick on that because you don’t have a valid response. That said, I don’t expect much from Montreal fans
