We sat down with Jocks In Jills hosts Tessa Bonhomme and Julia Tocheri to hear all about the PWHL, the postseason, and how the league is making its mark on women’s sports.

Women’s hockey has been around for a long time, but like many other women’s sports, it’s experienced incredible growth. What factors helped propel the women’s hockey boom?

Julia: The 2018 Olympics were so good and the PWHPA had just been founded — it really felt like there was momentum in 2018. It felt like we were really close to having a league. Then COVID happened and it felt like that was all stalled. Women's worlds got canceled — it felt like a tumultuous time. But then through that time, women's hockey was able to get on the same page, which was what it kind of always needed — folks getting into the same camp. Tessa could probably speak to it better because she played in different iterations of what was professional women's hockey before [the PWHL] existed. 

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I would say the biggest impact is having funds, and a financial backer that knows what it's going to take to have a professional league — because this league is professional. Not just in name, like the old ones were. This one is professional all the way through the way. The players are treated, like the day-to-day experience, and that just wasn't the case before. 

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Tessa: Yeah, it does feel like a long time coming, but I always say the appetite was always there. Whenever we went to events, or even after our games, people would ask how they could find out more about us. 

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But I think it was a female sports movement. When Megan Rapinoe and crew fought for their contract with U.S. soccer, and then in 2017 when Team USA hockey did the exact same thing, that was big. [USA Hockey] was going to boycott a home world championship tournament, and it literally came down to the last hour. There was a ton of pressure on them to say they weren't going to be playing and they managed to pull through, win that world championship, and then go on and win the first Olympic gold in 20 years. So I feel like that was momentum. 

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There was a lot of talk about the CWHL folding and wondering what was going on with the PHF and everything else — and everyone became interested all of a sudden. Julia’s right, [COVID happening] did allow the ladies a chance to really put their heads together, figure out how to do this the right way, and put a really good business plan together. 

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I feel like it was a matter of all the stars aligning, but the ladies needed to really come together and decide as one that it doesn't matter who's at the helm — we just need to have this happen. That’s where Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight were the perfect leaders. Obviously, there are other ladies that were on the board with them, Liz Knox, Sarah Nurse, and Brianne Jenner were in a ton of boardrooms all the time. All the other players deserve the recognition as well for sticking with it and committing to keeping this PWHPA group together. 

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Then obviously the decision on Kendall Coyne Schofield to just call Billie Jean King on a whim and say, “Hey, how the hell do we do this?” And Billie said, “Here, let me show you.” The Mark Walter group, understanding that it's not gonna be a three to five year commitment of some type of money. 
He is committed long term and spending the money properly to make sure that it does look and feel like a true professional league, not only for the fans that are experiencing it, but for the players who are sacrificing a lot to make sure that it gets off the ground properly. 

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So, yeah, it was a long time coming, but it's so nice to see. Everyone's always asks if I’m envious — but I am so excited. I've got a daughter and a son. They know everything that's happening in the league and they’ve got their favorite players — that's what's important to me is that it just keeps gaining momentum and growing, so that it's there for when it's time for her to play hockey.

We've seen leagues fold and lose momentum before, but it seems like the PWHL has only been like climbing since its launch. What moment made you realize that this league is the real deal and here to stay?

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Tessa: Day one. The line was around the block and I asked a scalper what he was selling his ticket for, and he said $250, I thought: we made it. We don't have enough seats in here. There's way too much interest in this team, and then every subsequent game after that, it was just like, “Holy smokes, this is what everyone's been waiting for. Why hasn't this happened before?” Day one, that was it for me. Then on New Year's Day, [the PWHL] got like, Hockey Night in Canada viewership numbers on that game. It was so cool. 

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Julia: My favorite “You Made It” story isn’t mine, but it’s from Sarah Nurse. She said the first time somebody came up to her in Toronto, recognized her, and was so excited to see her. Then [the fan] immediately asked, ”What's going on with the power play?” It’s a great story.

There have been a lot of firsts this year for the PWHL. We had the takeover tour, first fight, and the first expansion teams. What's been your personal favorite moment of this season?

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Julia: Mine was the Michigan goal, honestly. New York was kind of out of contention at that point and needed something to cheer about. Abby Roque’s always willing to deliver on that and she's just got such a great personality. She has such an underrated personality in the league — she's kind of an underrated player, too. I really like Roque, and her being the first player to score a Michigan goal, when she's the first player from Michigan (NHL or PWHL) — that was mine. 


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Tessa: If you're talking about this season alone, it would be Carly Jackson getting the win in her first start and not allowing a shootout goal, which is also pretty cool. 

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Julia: It was on Unity Night as well, in Toronto. You couldn't have asked for anything better. Just how proud, how happy her teammates were after it as well. It was just really cool, and the place popped off. It was really neat. Everybody understood. 

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Tessa: You know, she's probably the biggest celebrity third string goalie you'll ever meet in any type of sport. And to see her own that moment… Not only for her team — there's an expansion happening and for her to have the opportunity to prove herself as a goaltender, not just as a cheerleader, but as a third string goalie — that was huge for her. It just speaks volumes to Troy Ryan and Gina Kingsbury understanding what that moment could be for her, granting it to her, and letting her succeed in that moment is huge.

What's one storyline you're excited to see play out in the Finals?

Both: We want to see if Minnesota can go back-to-back despite ending their regular season on a bit of a rocky note.

If you got to pick, what would your dream stop be on the next takeover tour? Where should the PWHL pull up next? 

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Julia: On the coast. On April Fool's, we tried to sort of pick that. We said that the PWHL is going to Oahu, so maybe I’ll pick that.

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Tessa: I'll pick something different since she strolled that way. I would like to see a stop in Vegas. I think that it would be very well received. What a place to go to a takeover game — sign me up. 

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If you could pick one person from anywhere else in women's sports, not in the hockey realm, that could hold their own on the ice, who would it be? 

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Julia: I want to see Ilona Maher play hockey. Rugby is kind of adjacent and such a tough sport — but everything is aligned for Ilona to be an excellent hockey player. Also, I don't think she gets scared. 

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Tessa: It’s a toss-up between two. I grew up a Mia Hamm fan, but I also went to school at the same time as Diana Taurasi. She’s just a boss — what a leader for your team. I would picture her as a defender. She drained threes, so I feel like she could clap hard down, run the power play — I can see it.

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Give us one hot take for what's going to play out the rest of the postseason. Make it spicy. 

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Both: Ottawa is a contender to look out for in the postseason. 

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Editor’s Note: They were right. Ottawa made it to the Finals and will take on the defending champion Minnesota Frost for the Walter Cup.