Should there be a Women's NHL/KHL?

[Jussi]

what's the point of having women's competition in the olympics if it's too 'unfair' to have normal rules? If you have to handicap 2 teams just so the rest can get blown out regardless, what does it prove?

Well if those other teams had the financial backing the US and Canada have, they might catch up to them physically as well.

 

[monochrome]

I would love a Women's NHL situation, but at this stage of the game I don't think it would work as widespread as the real NHL. There would have to be only a handful of teams in big hockey markets. Even then they run the risk of failure as in the NHL, many teams do well in attendance will go for the prestige of plopping their can front row to a championship team. This same prestige, unfortunately, does not hold with female sports.

Adding checking to the game would help. That should have been added a long time ago, many players even do it when they are not supposed to.

This might've killed in the hockey boom of the 90s. Right now I unfortunately do not think theres is enough interest in hockey as a whole to get this done. Once there is, we may have promise looking at how the NWSL's inaugural season last year turned out.

 

[Shootmaster_44]

I am likely a select few on here who actually saw one of the warmup games for Team Canada. I saw them take on the Lloydminster Midget AAA team. Team Canada was missing a lot of their regulars that night and Shannon Szabados was the backup. They did lose, but didn't look out of place playing the Midget AAA team. It was obvious the women were faster and more skilled. It wasn't painful to watch or boring as sin. I actually enjoyed the game and would definitely take in a CWHL game if the opportunity ever arose.

As for a WNHL, that will never happen partly due to the snobbery of sports fans toward women's sports. Even in sports where they are as good as men (or better) like softball, the NPF struggles to compete with minor league baseball. The only time the average sports fan tunes in is if there is major sex appeal.

However, if a WNHL were to play a summer schedule, they may be able to attract some hockey starved fans. Many CHL arenas are largely empty all summer, thus would be willing to rent out the arena fairly cheap to a WNHL team. However, you'd have to find owners who would be willing to take a risk on this. The WNBA was not mandatory for all NBA ownership to take part. Some NBA owners saw potential in it and signed on. However, today you have about half the teams owned by other groups than NBA owners and the league is in a constant state of flux. It is rumoured that the league is about to lose the LA Sparks, if they lose the Sparks, I'm thinking the WNBA is going to have a hard time justifying their TV deal with ESPN/ABC.

That said a WKHL might actually work. It is a very weird notion in Russia that the oligarchs see winning a championship as prestige for them. Thus, they pay ridiculous salaries to players in sports, where they will lose money. I read this about women's basketball in Sports Illustrated awhile back. The owners of the team spend millions on salaries for their teams and have 500 people paying to watch the games. The players are treated like royalty by the owners and fly on chartered planes. One player described it as NBA style treatment, that they don't receive in the WNBA. If the KHL decided to do this, you could see oligarchs flocking to purchase teams for the same reasons as owning a women's basketball team.

Would a WKHL raise interest in the women's game? Not likely. But it may help raise the level of play at international tournaments as the best women would be in this league and paid handsomely to do so.

As for skill level, take this example Hayley Wickenheiser, who has long been considered the female Wayne Gretzky, she initially played in Finland's Suomi-Sarja, which is Division 3, in '02-'03 and she had 1 goal and 3 assists in 12 games. The next season her team was promoted to Mestis, Division 2, and she had no goals and no assists in 10 games. She gave men's hockey a try in '08-'09 and played in Swedish Division 1, which is Division 3, and in 21 games had 1 goal and 2 assists. I mean the Mestis she may have seen some good players, but anything that is Division 3 she is seeing guys who are at best ECHL level and she couldn't do a thing. So that tells you the difference between men's and women's hockey.

 

[Jussi]

Finland's goalie Noora Räty (one of, if not the best goalie in the world) said she was all set to play in Russia and get paid well (a couple of Finn already play there) but the Russian league suddenly banned all foreign goalies from the league (to get their goalies playing time ahead of the Olympics). She said that if she can't play pro hockey, she'll quit. So if they don't change that rule for next season in Russia, women's game will lose one of it's best players.

Update on this: they changed the rule in Russia, foreign goalies can play in 60% of the games and SKIF Nizhny Novgorod signed Räty. She managed to play two games (lost 0-2 and 2-3 after shootout) before the season was over already for the team.

 

[renassi80*]

eventually it will come but when?

 

[Vicente]

I think the whole argumentation by some people highly strange. Why shouldn't it be interesting to see the very best female hockey players of the world play against each other? It's quite entertaining if they all have a certain level of speed and skill.

To compare them with NHL or any other league seems pretty unfair to me.

It's not as good as NHL then don't do it? Why are people watching ice hockey leagues in Finland or Sweden if it's clearly worse than NHL? Why are people watching MLS if it's a ridiculous league compared to real football like La Liga, Bundesliga or EPL?

There are a lot of reasons why such a league could be entertaining. It doesn't have to be close to NHL level...

 

[Siamese Dream]

I think the whole argumentation by some people highly strange. Why shouldn't it be interesting to see the very best female hockey players of the world play against each other? It's quite entertaining if they all have a certain level of speed and skill.

To compare them with NHL or any other league seems pretty unfair to me.

It's not as good as NHL then don't do it? Why are people watching ice hockey leagues in Finland or Sweden if it's clearly worse than NHL? Why are people watching MLS if it's a ridiculous league compared to real football like La Liga, Bundesliga or EPL?

There are a lot of reasons why such a league could be entertaining. It doesn't have to be close to NHL level...

They watch those leagues because the teams are close and they have hometown connections, and the games aren't on at stupid o'clock

 

[Jonimaus]

I think the whole argumentation by some people highly strange. Why shouldn't it be interesting to see the very best female hockey players of the world play against each other? It's quite entertaining if they all have a certain level of speed and skill.

To compare them with NHL or any other league seems pretty unfair to me.

It's not as good as NHL then don't do it? Why are people watching ice hockey leagues in Finland or Sweden if it's clearly worse than NHL? Why are people watching MLS if it's a ridiculous league compared to real football like La Liga, Bundesliga or EPL?

There are a lot of reasons why such a league could be entertaining. It doesn't have to be close to NHL level...

People usually watch whatever sport and team they are most interested in and within reasonable distance from where they live. A womens hockey team would pretty much only be the best hockey team in the city if there were no other teams there. A 15 year boys team would challenge any countries womens national team, and I doubt any potential womens hockey league would place a national team roster in a city. 20 mins away from my city is Swedens best football teams, both men and women, guess which one I follow.

You say it doesn't have to be NHL, then what are you waiting for? Plenty of countries has womens hockey leagues, now go and watch them.

 

[voyageur]

I had the opportunity to watch the Women's World Hockey Championship here in Winnipeg several years ago, at I thoroughly enjoyed the action, though watching Canada thoroughly dominate Kazakhstan was quite boring. I have to say that the Americans sure had some pretty ladies too, once the helmets came off.

I would definitely purchase tickets to watch a league that featured the best international female players if it was priced at an AHL level. I think it would make excellent TV viewing, without all the international mismatches. Certainly help to grow the exposure of the game, which is not lacking in skill.

Maybe a 12 team league?

WEST
Vancouver
Calgary
Winnipeg
Colorado
Minnesota
Chicago

EAST
Toronto
Ottawa
Montreal
Boston
New York
Philly

Hopefully one day

 

[Rosy Cheeks]

This would work here in Sweden. Gender equality is something our politicians aim to be the best at in the entire world. There would not be any paying attendance. No viewers on television. But the financing of the teams would be no problem.

 

[Nuggets]

You could easily do this however there are factors:

No one wants to try and put one together.

Teams will fold if they have a bad record.

There's no checking.

However:

TSN could sign rights to an American Women's League where Rogers signed that HUGE NHL contract.

I would definitely watch it.

Why doesn't the IIHF have an Invitational tournament where teams can see what the competition level is? I know that Finland, Sweden and other countries have Women's clubs named after their mens teams.


I for one would watch it if it existed.

 

[saintflannel]

This would work here in Sweden. Gender equality is something our politicians aim to be the best at in the entire world. There would not be any paying attendance. No viewers on television. But the financing of the teams would be no problem.

So for the sake of "gender equality" tax-payers money would finance a women's league despite few, if any, tax-payers having any interest in it? Yuck.

If Halifax had a team, I'd get season tickets but I can't see it being successful overall. The Women's World Championship was here a few years ago and the gold medal game sold out at the Metro Centre. It was a great game and the atmosphere was phenomenal but a women's team with a watered down lineup playing a 40+ game season would ultimately be a flop even here, in Halifax.

 

[Nuggets]

http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/club-events/ewcc/2014-preliminary.html

Link to Women's Challenge Cup of Europe

 

[Yabob]

I know that Finland, Sweden and other countries have Women's clubs named after their mens teams.

Not only that, they are actually part of the same organizations. During the Olympics a former player even suggested that all the clubs in the SHL (Sweden's top men's league) should be forced to have women's team.

Sweden have obviously have a women's league as well (8 teams, 28 games). It's still fairly young and doesn't draw a lot attention (the attendance average is 114 people). From what I gather the games are broadcasted online and they have also started charging people who attend the games. The league does attract players from all over the world though.

At the moment it could at best be described as a semi- professional league, as most players have a job (often full time) on the side. So a fully professional league feels kinda far away. It appears to be attracting better and better players though. Most recently one of this years Olympic champions.

 

[Toffu]

A 15 year boys team would challenge any countries womens national team

This is the fact. True 100%.

Women NHL? NHL have huge base, i dont know is that possible. But if is there enough people to watch that, to give their money.. if are there some sponsors to finance that, why not.


And another fact. Potential women NHL/KHL will never be as popular as men NHL/KHL. And please dont talk about gender equality, its just what average hockey fan wants.

 

[robwangjing]

I don't know why people intentionally or unintentionally misunderstand the meaning that I used when I said NHL/KHL.

The only thing I meant was a true "top league", not an equal to the NHL or KHL.

I don't see why it's so difficult to understand what I mean.

No one has ever said that there should be a Womens-NHL just as the NHL in the USA/Canada with their salaries and width. Of course this is not possible and no one has ever stated that.

The only thing that should be discussed is the possibility of a pro or semi-pro league for women, one that could be described as the very best league for women. And a league like this already exists in Canada, as has been clarified in this thread. So this league should perhaps get more focus and perhaps try to broaden itself.

Attract better sponsors, get ALL the best women from every country to play in this league to get the quality up, and make women better in the long run. Perhaps even allow checking etc.

 

[Jonimaus]

I'm pretty sure most people are like me. We watch the sports we enjoy, at the highest possible level, either world-wide and/or the closest best team. If women were the best at hockey or football, I can guarantee you I'd watch their league before the mens league. But the level of their ice hockey is just so low there's very little entertainment value, and thus nothing I'd ever consider paying even a little to be able to watch. I didn't even watch more than a few mins of the womens olympics hockey games because I didn't feel like it was worth my time.

On the other hand, womens skiing for example still attracts a TON of interest in Sweden, probably more than the mens, or at least comparable (using Sweden as an example), because they still skii at a very high level, and if you had no clocks to meassure the time, at least for me, it would be pretty difficult to see that the men are a lot faster, so it's still a lot of entertainment, if you're interested that is.

There are only so many people in a country that would ignore the lack of quality in womens hockey game (and that is even if they were 100% professional), and watch it.

 

[robwangjing]

So if I understood it correctly, this Finnish goalie will now play in the semi-professional(2nd tier?) league in Finland?

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=291321

Any Finnish posters are welcome to give me(us) more info.

I suppose she is expected to be the 2nd goalie for the team, but how do you think she will do?

I think it's very interesting that Kiekko-Vantaa chose to sign her. But 165cm is not to her advantage.

And I would like to say that I kind of like this team, because they sign many different and unexpected players, as Koreans and Estonians. Players that really stick out, and now a female goalie also. It's a very interesting team.

 

[Alessandro Seren Rosso]

And to resurrect this topic, today Medvedev announced that they are planning creating a KHL-Girls league

 

[IceBlacks]

And to resurrect this topic, today Medvedev announced that they are planning creating a KHL-Girls league

Every team with $6 million player budgets and 200 people attendance? Yeah, sounds very sustainable.

 

[highandwide]

has anyone considered that a main reason for the "lack of skill" is because no one allows for the development?

What incentive is there for female athletes if there is no professional incentive? Think if there was you wouldn't see more coming from it?

 

[Jonimaus]

has anyone considered that a main reason for the "lack of skill" is because no one allows for the development?

What incentive is there for female athletes if there is no professional incentive? Think if there was you wouldn't see more coming from it?

I'm very sceptical considering there's a ton of female 100% pro football players making decent cash and still providing subpar quality.

I don't watch hockey because it's hockey, the same way I don't watch football because it's football. (Well my home-team sucks and I watch them anyways, but I grew up with them ) If they can prove me wrong someday and provide good hockey, I'd like nothing more.

 

[Siamese Dream]

has anyone considered that a main reason for the "lack of skill" is because no one allows for the development?

What incentive is there for female athletes if there is no professional incentive? Think if there was you wouldn't see more coming from it?

Female gymnasts train just as hard and receive just as good coaching as the men, but they can only dream of performing some of the skills that the men can do, because they just aren't as physically able.

I use this as an example because it's a sport where the girls make just as much money, and probably have more fame than the men.

 

[robwangjing]

Going a bit off-topic in my own thread, but are there any women on this website?

 

[forbs02]

I'm a woman.