TORONTO — The growth of women’s hockey is having another significant spurt in the Premier Hockey Federation.
The women’s professional hockey circuit rolled out its plans for expansion Tuesday with a seventh franchise to be introduced in Montreal for the 2022-23 season.
Up until now the PHF has consisted of six teams — Connecticut Whale, Toronto Six, Boston Pride, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps and the Buffalo Beauts.
Leadership for the new Montreal organization includes president Kevin Raphael and vice-president Emmanuel Anderson. It also features a partnership agreement for next season with Centre 21.02, a High Performance Hockey Center directed by Daniele Sauvageau.
Montreal’s official team name and logo will be announced in the coming weeks along with announcements for the team’s first coaching staff and roster formation as player signings commence.
“This is a very exciting time for the PHF and the growth of professional women’s hockey,” said PHF commissioner Reagan Carey.
“The city of Montreal and province of Quebec have a rich hockey history that the PHF is proud to officially be a part of. In addition to their community pride and passion for the game, the leadership from Daniele, Kevin and Emmanuel provides a trifecta when it comes to hockey, business and promotional experience that will make an immediate and lasting impact.”
Raphael is no stranger to women’s hockey and has been a longtime ambassador for the sport across the province. He regularly uses his platform to raise awareness for the sport and its athletes, including production of a three-part docuseries in 2020 titled `Gap Year’ that examined the state of women’s hockey.
Raphael has been business partners with Anderson for more than a decade with collaborations on many projects in the sports, entertainment and philanthropy fields. Most notably, their annual charity hockey game known as `Classique KR’ features NHL players, women’s hockey stars, and Quebec personalities raising money to support childhood cancer foundations.
“Professional women’s hockey is back in Montreal, and Emmanuel and I are very excited to work with the PHF to help grow the women’s game across the entire province of Quebec,” said Raphael. “We look forward to building a team with strong community partnerships and talented athletes who are ready to make a real difference on and off the ice.
“This is just the beginning for what is going to be a very special season for everyone.”
The city’s professional women’s hockey history includes the Montreal Stars, founded in 2007, and rebranded Les Canadiennes de Montreal in 2015. They competed in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and won a record four Clarkson Cup championships between 2009 and 2019.
In December 2015, the Canadiennes and the Boston Pride made history competing in the first outdoor women’s game as part of the 2016 NHL Winter Classic festivities. This marks the third time the PHF has expanded following the league’s establishment in 2015.
“Expansion is an important part of the PHF’s commitment to grow the game by providing greater opportunities for more professional athletes to develop and compete, while inspiring the next generation to pursue their own dreams in the sport,” said Carey.
“The introduction of one new PHF team in 2022-23 will help us build a solid and sustainable future, one step at a time. We will continue to evaluate additional expansion opportunities across North America beyond next season.”
The 2022-23 PHF regular season schedule is still to be announced, with specific details regarding Montreal’s home games and locations to be determined at a later date.
