Jayna Hefford
As women’s hockey basks in the glory of another successful Olympics, I can’t help but look back at my own career and how much things have changed.
When I reached the highest levels of the game as a player, we didn’t have a true professional league to call our own.
Those leagues were really just a place where a collection of the best players played as they tried to make their national teams. Others I played with simply wanted to keep playing the game they loved as long as they could—while working full-time jobs off the ice.
In addition to competing in the league, the dream was to play for your national team. To wear your country’s colours at the IIHF Women’s World Championship and, every four years, the Olympic Winter Games.
But that was then.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has changed the game for everyone involved—players, coaches, management, officials, fans. It’s a whole new women’s hockey.
The dream of young girls to play for their national team will never go away, and it shouldn’t. But now they can embark on their own journey in the game with the dream of playing in the PWHL and winning a Walter Cup.
After previous Olympics, driven in large part by classic Canada-United States showdowns for gold, there was always a spike of excitement and interest in the women's game, but then it would die down again until the next one. It was really difficult to be a women's hockey fan, because you never knew when the next game was. You never knew where you could go watch the athletes compete and, if there was a game, sometimes it was hard to find.
Not this time.
Anyone who became fans of our athletes in Milan—who witnessed their world-class talent, learned their stories and fell in love with their game—can now keep following them through the PWHL. Whether they watched women’s hockey for the first time or they’re the avid fans we love so much, they now know where to go and where to watch. And that's a game-changer.
I think that allows us to finally, in a meaningful way, drive the growth of the game.
And that growth comes in a variety of ways, starting first with the players themselves.
Research suggests that new fans follow athletes and not teams. We have a group of athletes with an amazing range of interests and passions beyond hockey, and they're incredible ambassadors. They represent the game itself so well, but they have another side to them. That’s how we connect with the new fans.
And then once people become fans, it’s about providing an environment that makes them want to come out to games. I think that’s where we really excel as a league across all eight markets.
The atmosphere in our buildings is special. There's such a happy, joyful, passionate vibe, because, together, we've created this community that people love being a part of. And we're creating an open, welcoming space for new fans to the game—and for anyone who may not have felt welcome in hockey in the past.
And we're really trying to build out our grassroots clinics and camps to help young girls and boys discover and enjoy hockey.
Even if they never play in the PWHL, hockey, and sports in general, is beneficial to kids in so many ways, and we want to give as many of them as possible the chance to experience it.
While the main focus is on the present and the future of the game, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the past. About the players who helped push the game to where it is today—whether they were the players before me, the teammates I played alongside or the current generation—the road to where we are now hasn’t always been easy.
In the history of how the PWHL was formed, it was critical that the players stuck together and put the common goal of a sustainable professional league above all else. Guided by the advice of Billie Jean King telling them they needed a united voice, it was about growing the game and providing stability that hadn’t ever existed for the sport. It was incredibly powerful to be part of a movement where people from so many different places and experiences came together with one goal: to build something meaningful they could leave behind as their legacy.
And it wasn’t easy. I don't think many people who weren't in the midst of it could appreciate how difficult the journey was to get here. Those four years with the PWHPA, the ups, the downs, the days where you didn't think it was going to happen, people suggesting you should just accept the status quo, people questioning your motives and the people telling you it simply wasn't possible.
That’s what makes the success we’ve found so special. It not only changes women’s hockey—it reflects a broader societal shift. And that, to me, is a legacy everyone can be really proud of.
As for the former players from my generation, there are so many that have been—and still are—involved in the PWHL, as coaches, management, advisors and so many other roles. We have a remarkable collection of people who care deeply about the game who want to build it to heights never reached before. And while we talk so much about the opportunities the PWHL creates for players, we’re also providing opportunities for women in coaching, officiating, the front office, leadership—and more.
There are so many women who have been in the game for so long and have so much experience and knowledge to give. We’re truly excited and proud that there's a place for them to keep contributing.
Now, we go forward.
We had 61 PWHL players at the Olympics, with all eight of our teams represented, across eight of the 10 competing nations, and 39 of our players were in the gold medal game, which proved to be another instant classic. The competitive balance at this Olympics was the closest it’s ever been, and it’s just going to keep getting tighter as the PWHL grows. I can’t wait to see where the game will be in the years ahead.
The spotlight on our Olympians, and the spotlight on women’s hockey, has never been brighter.
In just the first few weeks back from the Olympic break, the PWHL set an all-time U.S. attendance record (more than 17,000 in Seattle), sold out buildings across the league and set new high-water marks for merchandise sales. We are seeing more and more young girls walking around in Poulin jerseys, Spooner jerseys, Fillier jerseys.
Even before the Olympics, our games at Madison Square Garden and TD Garden were already on the verge of selling out. And we just announced that we’ve officially sold out both venues for the PWHL’s debut at these historic arenas in April.
These are ‘pinch me’ moments. Five years ago, no one thought this would happen this quickly. But we continue to grow, fans continue to show up, and the game continues to develop.
The hope is that this momentum will lead to more young girls registering to play minor hockey, with their sights set on the 2042 or 2046 Games, a chance to represent their country and be the next Olympic gold medallist. But they can also aspire to be a Sceptre or a Goldeneye or a Siren— opportunities that simply didn’t exist before.
It all comes back to visibility. As Billie Jean King likes to say: if they can see it, they can be it.
I have loved this game since I was six years old. It has given me so much. Seventeen seasons and more than 250 games representing my country. Four Olympic gold medals. Seven world championships. It has given me my family and the people I call my very best friends.
So, I feel incredibly fortunate that I get to be a part of helping to give back, to ensure the game is in an even better place for the generations that follow.
The women’s game continues to get better every single day. It’s fast, it's entertaining, it's skilled, it's physical. The PWHL is just in its infancy, and we're just getting started.