DETROIT — It was a busy afternoon in the lowest level of Little Caesars Arena. With the PWHL’s Entry Draft roughly 24 hours away and Phase 4 — the last expansion phase in which existing teams could lose signed players — concluded, media members gathered to get updates on the league and hear from a collection of top incoming prospects.
First up were Amy Scheer and Jayna Hefford — the PWHL’s executive vice presidents of business and hockey operations, respectively — who took questions for half an hour from roughly 30 members of the media. Then, the 12 prospects answered questions. Here are a few takeaways from the two press availabilities:
The league’s view on existing teams fan’s expansion frustration
The most controversial issue over the course of the expansion process has been the existing teams loss of talent. While that loss is not itself unique to the PWHL’s expansion, the fact that it has been unbalanced (New York has lost six players while Vancouver has lost just three), and is happening for some teams for the second consecutive offseason has caused noticeable anger on social media.
However, in response to a question about the need for roster stability after back-to-back years of expansion, Scheer initially agreed that stability was important, but then appeared to dismiss fans’ anger over the loss of their favorite players.
“We have confidence that our fans are pretty smart and they will be fans of their team no matter who’s wearing that jersey,” she said. “Players come and players go in every league, not just as part of expansion, but through trades, through free agency.
“So it may be we’re going through a different process right now, but it’s nothing abnormal in the world of sports. I can’t imagine people not being a fan of a team because a player was traded or a player moved on.”
That last thought — that people won’t stop rooting for a team even if their favorite player leaves — is eye-opening considering the huge followings that specific players like Hillary Knight and Marie-Philip Poulin have. Plus, the PWHL’s young audience tends to connect with players over social media, which builds strong bonds between individual players and fans, often outside of a team-based settings.
How the Entry Draft order came to be
Monday’s reveal of the draft order surprised some by putting expansion teams at spots three through six — instead of at the end of the draft like a year ago.
According to Hefford, the draft order was based on the Gold Plan, but fully came together later in the expansion process because the league wanted more information about how each team would look going into the draft.
“The order itself is in line with what we’ve said all along, in terms of the Gold Plan winner having the No. 1 overall pick,” Hefford said. “As we went through the process, we wanted to have all the information we could to make the best decision. … In terms of the order, it’s all been outlined previous to when it was announced yesterday.”
Later, Hefford indicated that the struggles of Vancouver and Seattle’s first seasons may have influenced the decision not to place expansion franchises at the end of this year’s draft.
“Look at what happened last year. I think it’s pretty safe to say almost everyone in this room thought that Vancouver and Seattle were going to be playing for the Walter Cup,” Hefford said. “These things are tough to predict, this is a really hard thing we’re doing, adding four teams to an eight-team league and trying to maintain competitive balance.”
Quick Hits: No clear updates on a national U.S TV deal, further expansion or an All-Star Game, but the Takeover Tour will continue
On further expansion: “I think our focus now is just making sure we get these [four] teams up and running,” Scheer said early on in the press conference. “We work at the direction of our Board of Advisors, and if and when they determine the next round of expansion comes, then we’ll undertake that.”
On the Takeover Tour: “The Takeover Tour will be back, we will have some of the same markets, we’ll have some new markets. All of those are under evaluation right now,” Scheer said. “I’ve got a lot of emails in my inbox that need to get combed through to review responses from markets, but it will very much be back and as healthy as ever.”
On the possibility of an All-Star Game or an outdoor game: “[An] All-Star Game is in our sphere of wanting to do. Is next year the right year? We’ll see, we’re still having those conversations. Also, we would love to have an outdoor game, but it’s got to be the right venue, the right economics and the right location,” Scheer said. “So all those on the radar and all under discussion.”
On an American TV rights deal: “Having a TV rights deal is on our roadmap, and I think we’ve been very intentional about ensuring whatever our media rights deal is, that it values our league the same way we value our league,” Scheer said. “[There are] a lot of conversations out there, but it’s got to be the right deal for us in terms of the way they value us. So, when that deal comes along — and again, we’ve had multiple conversations — we’ll do it.”
Prospects address the media
After Scheer and Hefford’s press conference ended, 10 of the draft’s top prospects (Andrea Braendli, Lacey Eden, Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey, Tessa Janecke, Abbey Murphy, Petra Nieminen, Kirsten Simms, Sara Swiderski and Issy Wunder) answered questions from media members. Here’s what a few of them had to say:
Consensus No. 1 pick Caroline Harvey on what she has heard about the biggest differences between playing in college and the PWHL: “It’s definitely different. [There’s] no school, you wake up, play hockey, workout, and then your day is like wide open. You’re traveling a lot — we’re used to not going too far within our conference, but this will be cross country, so it’s definitely a lot different.”
Fellow Badger Kirsten Simms on what fans of whichever team drafts her should know about her: “I want to be part of a winning culture on a winning team. And then off the ice, I’m positive, funny, light-hearted, I like to have a smile on my face every time, and I just love hockey, and I love getting to bring that to the community and bring that to people and put a smile on people’s faces every day. I think that that’s something I really enjoy doing. The best part of my day is when I can make someone smile, and so I think that’s something I really pride myself on.”
Princeton’s Issy Wunder on if she’s excited about being able to use more of her physicality at the next level: “I am. I think that I definitely want to try my best to stay who I am. I’m confident in what I bring to the table, but I know it’s going to be an adjustment going from playing with girls [who are] 18 to 22 is a lot different than strong grown women. So I think that I’m going to need to probably level it up a little bit. I’m excited for the opportunity.”
Penn State’s Tessa Janecke on coming from a non-WCHA conference: “I don’t think league matters. Obviously, I’m going to be the one that says that because I didn’t play in the WCHA, but we’ve had players transfer out of the AHA and [be] the best on their team.”
If you haven’t already, take a look at The Ice Garden’s extensive pre-draft content before today’s draft begins at 5 p.m.
