The third PWHL season may be complete after a rousing victory by the Montreal Victoire, but the league isn’t winding down.
It’s leveling up.
Bigger arenas, bigger crowds, and now, a bigger league. Inside Storied caught up with two of the game’s best, Alex Carpenter of the Seattle Torrent and Renata Fast of the Toronto Sceptres, to talk about the league’s rapid rise.
“In a short four seasons, we’re jumping from six teams to twelve,” Renata said. “It’s amazing to see how quickly the league is growing.”
Attendance continues to climb, with barnstorming games drawing massive crowds. Take the Sirens at Madison Square Garden, where 18,006 fans showed up to watch them take on the Torrent, and more than a million fans have come through the doors this season alone.
“The proof is in the pudding,” Carp said. “Each year the game gets more exciting, we’re filling stadiums, and more fans are getting involved. When people say we’re expanding too fast, I don’t see that. Cities are ready for this and they’re showing up.”
What makes this moment even more striking is how improbable it all felt not long ago. Just a few years back, the idea of a sustainable professional women’s hockey league still felt uncertain.
“There were moments where we didn’t know what was next,” Renata said, recalling the early days and the disruption of the pandemic. “All I hoped for was a league where players could focus on hockey and make a living doing it. We’ve far surpassed that.”
Both players have ideas about improving the game for players and fans at this stage.
Carp wants to to see some charter flights, now that teams are spanning the continent. San Jose, Calif., Detroit, Las Vegas and Hamilton in Canada are the newest arrivals, significantly expanding league geography. When the main league footprint was in the American northeast and Southeast Canada, it wasn’t as much of a priority.
And Renata? She wants to see more scoring. If that means changing some of the rules around high sticks for deflections, fine. Fewer lengthy reviews - was the stick really above the crossbar? - would make the game flow better.
From leap of faith to the takeover. Turns out, some dreams really do come true. Check out the full conversation on the Storied Sports YT page.
