CWHL to discontinue operations

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

You pretty much have to pair Calgary and Edmonton for it to be viable.

Also, the one thing I wish they would have done with the Inferno is tie them to Hitmen (or even Flames) games as double headers. You might only have a couple thousand fans take advantage of such a format, but it would be better than the hundred or so they got at Winsport B.

Putting much lesser hockey with high level junior hockey with fans already having sat for 3 hours of hockey would result in hundreds, possibly under a hundred fans sticking around.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Agreed the rules are different which makes the game different. Les exciting?? I'm not sure about that.

When the Women's national team plays their series against the MAAA male teams as part of their run up to an Olympics you can clearly see the difference in the games. The boys are slightly out of their element because they cannot body check but otherwise play a very fast and heavy game. They shoot harder, dump and chase, and generally overwhelm other teams with their size. The women play a much more skilled focussed and passing oriented game. Point to point passes, redirects etc. They cannot hope to match the boys strength but beat them positionally. It really is interesting to watch those games if you get a chance, the difference really stands out. I would not say one is superior to the other but both sides obviously play to their strengths and you only really notice this when they are playing each other. Oh yeah, the girls can get pretty nasty too if they want to just in a different way.

Good points all around. It's just weird that the rules are different, especially considering a lot of players want body checking in the game.

I think we still are a culture that craves violence in our sport tho. Damn the fastest growing sport is MMA these days.

[Phagoof]

Big surprise no one cared about a professional Female sports league... Who would of guessed.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Phagoof

Big surprise no one cared about a professional Female sports league... Who would of guessed.

what a weirdly flippant post

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

i just can't help but feel that no matter how much you marketed the team and the league in larger cities, they will be in tough to find a lot of paying customers. Similar to the Calgary AJHL teams, they may find a better market in rural alberta; however, that would likely limit some of the educational and employment opportunities for the players.

It is unfortunate for the younger girls who are moving thru minor hockey right now as it closes a door for them to continue to play at the highest level they could possibly play at.

The thing to keep in mind is that these women make almost nothing playing hockey. Most, if not all, still have full time jobs. They don’t have 7 days a week to dedicate themselves to practice and training. If they had that, I am sure the quality of the game would increase a lot. And the only way to do that is to have a viable league. These girls are trying to build something and I feel terrible for them that they have this set back.

I wonder if having a league in smaller towns would be better. Start off being a big fish in a small pond instead of trying to draw in cities that are already saturated with entertainment options.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Maybe there's room for a different business model. Maybe a barnstorming league that moves around to different venues, but heavily televised. WWE has done well with this.

[soulchoice]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The thing to keep in mind is that these women make almost nothing playing hockey. Most, if not all, still have full time jobs. They don’t have 7 days a week to dedicate themselves to practice and training. If they had that, I am sure the quality of the game would increase a lot. And the only way to do that is to have a viable league. These girls are trying to build something and I feel terrible for them that they have this set back.

I wonder if having a league in smaller towns would be better. Start off being a big fish in a small pond instead of trying to draw in cities that are already saturated with entertainment options.

They make almost next to nothing because they don’t bring in the revenue required to deserve or be paid a higher amount. Hence, I can’t see it ever happening nor should it, from a business standpoint. Unless there are owners willing to take an almost guaranteed loss. Owners are millionaires for a reason, as they for the most part make wise investment choices.

As far as small town, how much smaller would suffice? If it’s a place like Leduc for example, they already would have hockey teams which are better quality. ( junior B and AAA) and some that don’t have junior A, junior B or AAA midget will have a senior mens contact hockey team like Lacombe (Generals) etc. So the ladies still wouldn’t be the best quality option in town or the only team to give money to.

Unfortunately it’s not just a women’s hockey issue. It will always be an issue for women and sports. Reality sucks at times but it is what it is. The demand just isn’t there to be profitable. It’s not about being politically correct or equality but more about viability and profits(consumer demand).

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by soulchoice

They make almost next to nothing because they don’t bring in the revenue required to deserve or be paid a higher amount. Hence, I can’t see it ever happening nor should it, from a business standpoint. Unless there are owners willing to take an almost guaranteed loss. Owners are millionaires for a reason, as they for the most part make wise investment choices.

As far as small town, how much smaller would suffice? If it’s a place like Leduc for example, they already would have hockey teams which are better quality. ( junior B and AAA) and some that don’t have junior A, junior B or AAA midget will have a senior mens contact hockey team like Lacombe (Generals) etc. So the ladies still wouldn’t be the best quality option in town or the only team to give money to.

Unfortunately it’s not just a women’s hockey issue. It will always be an issue for women and sports. Reality sucks at times but it is what it is. The demand just isn’t there to be profitable. It’s not about being politically correct or equality but more about viability and profits(consumer demand).

It’s a catch 22. People don’t go because the product is not as good, but it will never improve if there are fewer professional teams. It is going to take a long time. If you take men’s hockey teams for when the NHL was in its infancy, it would be an inferior product as well.

[sureLoss]

Emily Kaplan
@emilymkaplan
Just spoke to Dani Rylan, have some women's hockey news to share: the NWHL board has approved investments in two Canadian markets. League expects to have teams in Toronto and Montreal this upcoming season. NWHL will have 7 teams.

Emily Kaplan @emilymkaplan
In addition, Dani Rylan met with Gary Bettman yesterday. The NHL has agreed to significantly up its contribution to the NWHL. The NHL is now one of the NWHL's biggest financial sponsors.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Emily Kaplan
@emilymkaplan
Just spoke to Dani Rylan, have some women's hockey news to share: the NWHL board has approved investments in two Canadian markets. League expects to have teams in Toronto and Montreal this upcoming season. NWHL will have 7 teams.

Emily Kaplan @emilymkaplan
In addition, Dani Rylan met with Gary Bettman yesterday. The NHL has agreed to significantly up its contribution to the NWHL. The NHL is now one of the NWHL's biggest financial sponsors.

That's not surprising, those would be the two simplest markets to add and make sense geographically. This is a good first step, hopefully they can find a way to get Calgary back in the league too.

[sureLoss]

Okay the significant up to the NWHL by the NHL was worded badly. It implied that the NHL had greatly increased it's funding to women's hockey league. But according to LeBrun instead of giving the CWHL and NWHL $50k each, it will give the NWHL $100k.

[troutman]

More than 200 players call for overhaul of women’s pro hockey

https://www.tsn.ca/more-than-200-pla...LsTnufhnj6X1cs

A bold statement, both literally and figuratively, that could mean there will be no high-level women’s hockey league in 2019-20.

“We will not play in ANY professional leagues in North America this season until we get the resources that professional hockey demands and deserves,” says a prepared statement released Thursday morning by a group of women players that is believed to number at least 200.

“We cannot make a sustainable living playing in the current state of the professional game,” the statement adds. “Having no health insurance and making as low as two thousand dollars a season means players can’t adequately train and prepare to play at the highest level.”

This stand by not only the game’s high-profile players but so many of the rank-and-file players would seemingly put the five-team U.S.-based National Women’s Hockey League out of business for the coming season or damage its credibility beyond repair.

[troutman]

[VladtheImpaler]

I don't understand. Do they want government subsidies? If nobody wants to pay to watch you play, you don't get to be a "professional". Nobody (so far) wants to pay to watch Slava and I play bridge, so until then we need to have other jobs to sustain ourselves.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I don't understand. Do they want government subsidies? If nobody wants to pay to watch you play, you don't get to be a "professional". Nobody (so far) wants to pay to watch Slava and I play bridge, so until then we need to have other jobs to sustain ourselves.

My completely uninformed take is that they are wanting the NHL to create a professional women's league. The problem is, as you state, that there is no demand here and therefore, no business case. The brutal truth is that the vast majority of the public only care about the women's game for about 8 days every 4 years.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Put some teams in cities that don’t have pro teams already! How hard is this???

[Locke]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

I don't understand. Do they want government subsidies? If nobody wants to pay to watch you play, you don't get to be a "professional". Nobody (so far) wants to pay to watch Slava and I play bridge, so until then we need to have other jobs to sustain ourselves.

And thus far my Museum of Antique Accounting Curios has yet to hit paydirt requiring me to continue working.

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by Locke

And thus far my Museum of Antique Accounting Curios has yet to hit paydirt requiring me to continue working.

The problem is you only have one exhibit - the abacus.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

The problem is you only have one exhibit - the abacus.

But what an exhibit!!

[transplant99]

Yeah I am all for womens hockey and the existing of it in any sustainable way.

I am just not sure what it is that can be done to get it to a standard that these women want (and deserve).

This is all about money and that means having a business model that allows them to exist the way they want too. So does that mean they want some one (NHL?) to take over and make that happen? What happens when/if they dont sell enough tickets/advertising/etc that allows the league to exist as its own separate entity?

Are the NHL/whomever owners now expected to foot the bills? Lose money so womens professional hockey can continue along unfettered?

Really not sure what the end game is here but I certainly hope they find a way to continue as i think its so important for all these young women/girls to have something to aspire to.