PHOENIX – Little girls sit in the stands holding homemade signs and wearing the jerseys of their favorite players. They cheer as those players skate by the glass. For the first time, girls can dream of playing professional hockey.
That is how Scripps Sports President Brian Lawlor described the atmosphere of a Professional Women’s Hockey League game.
“I’ve spent a lot of time over my whole life going to a ton of NHL games, but I’ve been to a couple of PWHL games and the energy is awesome,” Lawlor said. “Young girls and big signs and tons of merch they’re wearing – they’re all coming in with jerseys. There’s a ton of passion in this space and so I’m excited to see where this can go.”
It’s a sight that was not so common until recently. Women’s hockey has experienced exponential growth as the sport’s popularity rises in the United States, driven by the success of the PWHL and the U.S. women’s national team, which won the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, defeating rival Canada 2–1 in overtime.
A testament to this recent growth is the PWHL’s expansion. In 2025, the league added teams in Seattle and Vancouver. Four more teams (Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose) will join the league in 2026-27, doubling the size of the original league to 12 teams.
“I’m excited for the West Coast to continue to have that opportunity for girls to see up close,” said Lindsey Ellis, ASU’s Division I American Collegiate Hockey Association coach, “I think for the markets they’re in, it’s such a great tool for women to see and have role models.”
In 2023, the year the PWHL announced its 2024 inaugural season, there were just over 93,000 girls and women registered to play with USA Hockey. Now, 103,324 girls and women are registered to play hockey in the US, according to USA Hockey membership statistics for the 2025-26 registration season, representing about an 11.1% increase.
“The growth of the professional women’s hockey league has absolutely increased the visibility of women’s sports,” said Kristen Sagaert, the director of girls hockey at USA Hockey. “Creating that excitement, that aspiration. We have a lot of star female players from the U.S.
“The visibility really matters. At the end of the day, we know that it’s a huge growth factor when we are trying to grow in local markets, but we’ve seen tremendous growth nationally – over 4 percent average over the last five seasons.”
While the PWHL increases the accessibility of women’s hockey, the Olympics offer a unique outlet that also contributes to growth.
Spreading the game on the international stage
On Feb. 19, the U.S. women’s national team beat Canada in the gold medal game in Milan. The game averaged 5.3 million viewers in the United States across USA Network and Peacock, making it the most-watched women’s hockey game in history, according to Nielsen.
“It doesn’t happen without the visibility that we’ve seen in each Olympic quad,” Sagaert said. “The Olympics are the largest platform where we have millions of people watching women’s hockey and where we have a lot of people who don’t typically watch women’s hockey watching it.”
Registration numbers experienced an immediate impact.
“We did have over 3,000 girls and women register from the women’s gold medal game until the end of our registration season,” Sagaert said.
While Olympic success has generated massive interest recently, there has always been a jump in interest dating back to women’s hockey’s Olympic debut.
“If you go back to 1998, the statistics show a massive influx of registrations at the youth levels for girls hockey following that first Olympic appearance in Nagano (Japan),” The Hockey News writer Ian Kennedy said. “Every Olympic year brings a spike in registrations globally for girls hockey.”
At the core of the game, Olympic squads and international play are the foundation upon which women’s hockey is built.
“What’s kept it alive and kind of that potential for this league to exist has rested in the World Championships and the Olympic Games for decades,” Kennedy said. “I don’t think that they’re ever not going to be a crucially important role and moment in growing the game.”
The PWHL and Olympics do more than just showcase the game at the highest level. They provide girls with a clear pathway to the top.
“The kids like to see a pathway,” Sagaert said. “‘Where am I going to play now? Next year?’”
More opportunities to play at a higher level
With growth comes responsibility. As demand for programs rises, insiders say the quality of programs will need to keep up to allow more girls to play at higher levels.
“The PWHL expanding in the way that they have is just going to continue to give more players opportunity to stay in the game,” said 2014 Olympic silver medalist Lyndsey Fry, the only Arizona-born woman ever to play for the Olympic team. “They’re going to all go back to their hometowns and now they’re the hometown hero.
“There’s just so many different ways that it’s going to have all these different domino effects and positively impact the game.”
Opportunities to play high-caliber hockey extend beyond the professional level. As more girls pick up the hockey stick, youth and collegiate programs are expanding to meet the demand.
Arizona illustrates how the sport is growing in a non-traditional market. Even with the Coyotes departing the state in 2024, grassroots programs and college hockey have picked up the slack
Arizona State, the University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University all play at the ACHA Division I level, and the Arizona Kachinas, the state’s lone all-girls youth program which Fry helped found, have their own arena in Mesa.
“A lot of work has been done to ensure opportunities exist,” Sagaert said. “I just hope that we continue to grow the game in Arizona despite there not being an NHL market.”
Sagaert, who grew up playing hockey in Arizona, reflected on how much the game has changed in the desert.
“My experience playing girls’ hockey is very different than the opportunities available to the girls in Arizona right now,” Sagaert said. “There weren’t enough girls playing hockey in Arizona when I was growing up. We had a girls’ team, a couple of different renditions of programs, but I was on the same team from when I was 11 to when I was in high school.”
ASU’s women’s hockey coach also grew up playing hockey in Arizona.
“There’s a lot more resources on the female side,” Ellis said. “Even thinking back to when I was in high school, there were limited resources, limited coaches. You kind of had to be in a good area to get the best of the best, and now you see a lot of states that have really great coaching, and it’s just continuing to get better as time goes on.”
While women’s hockey in Arizona has become slightly more accessible, there is still only one all-girls program in the state that provides an environment where girls can play high-level hockey with other girls instead of being isolated on a co-ed team.
“The Arizona Kachinas provide such a wonderful program for girls of any age and any level to be able to be on an all-girls team starting at the beginning with fabulous coaching and an opportunity to play Tier I and Tier II national hockey in Arizona,” Sagaert said.
While Fry works a lot with girls, her influence has spread, not only introducing girls to the game, but boys as well. The Chandler native was also involved in the Coyotes organization and works closely to ensure the sport continues to grow on all fronts.
“One of my jobs with the Coyotes wasn’t just the girls’ side, it was just like hockey development in general,” Fry said. “Our marquee program is our learn to play program.”
This learn to play program helps put more kids on the ice by keeping costs down and providing equipment for younger players to get started, and that didn’t stop when the Coyotes left town.
“I think we found out on a Sunday, and by Friday we had a foundation incorporated, and we’ve continued to run learn to play through the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation,” Fry said. “We put 600 kids through learn to play a year. We just saw the data on this. That’s more than some NHL teams put through learn to play.”
The late Matt Shott was and will always be a pillar for hockey in the state of Arizona, specifically when it came to youth development.
Shott worked for the Coyotes and was instrumental in developing and supporting youth hockey and hockey in general, exposing people to the sport through youth and adult learn to play programs, female hockey, street hockey and many other initiatives.
Shott’s love and dedication to the game helped the Arizona Kachinas earn Tier 1 status. He lost his fight to liver cancer in 2021 at age 34, but the rapid growth of ice hockey in the state is a testament to Shott’s dedication. A banner bearing his name and number is on display in every rink in Arizona.
Collegiate hockey in Arizona
With rising participation numbers and more grassroots organizations available, players need somewhere to continue their hockey career. Women’s college hockey is feeling that demand.
When the NCAA officially began sanctioning women’s ice hockey in the 2000–01 season, there were 31 teams. Today, that number has grown to 45 teams. The Division III level (there is no Division II NCAA hockey) has witnessed even greater growth over the same time span, going from 30 teams to 79.
ACHA collegiate club hockey is also feeling that demand, going from 20 to 34 teams, with competition for roster spots increasing.
“Our roster has been a little bigger than I would have liked. We had more girls come to tryouts that we had to cut,” Ellis said. “It got to the point where it was like ‘If we have these additional 12-plus girls, why wouldn’t we create another opportunity for them to play competitive hockey?’”
Beginning with the 2026-27 season, ASU’s ACHA women’s program will be adding a Division II team to accommodate the growing roster.
“We see with USA Hockey that the girls’ side is the fastest-growing sector for USA Hockey,” Ellis added. “So it was kind of a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t we create more opportunities for women?”
Not only does this expansion foster room for more girls to play, it provides girls more options to continue their playing career.
“I love that there are so many programs now here that are in Arizona that allow girls to continue to play because you have some who are very skilled and they’re just like, ‘I don’t want to leave home, ‘or ‘I want to get in-state tuition,’ or whatever their reason is,” Fry said. “For them to have an option to play competitively and keep their career going is amazing.
“Having collegiate club hockey does that (helping) them to recognize, like, ‘Oh, if I’m not DI, DIII I don’t have to quit, I can keep playing.’”
Even in the absence of an NHL team, these programs continue to flourish.
“Representation is huge and so I’m thankful that I get to be part of that in Arizona and beyond,” Fry said. “It’s something that we’re constantly trying to make sure is out there for all little girls who want to play.”
Continuing through adversity
For all the momentum women’s hockey has gained over the years, its rapid growth has presented new challenges.
One of the biggest obstacles is ensuring all programs have equal access to ice time.
“What is the ice availability as our participation numbers continue to grow? How do we have enough ice to support practices, games, and development at all different age levels?” Sagaert said. “That growth requires facility investment as well and then creative programming solutions, like how can we ensure ice usage is at a maximum productivity level, versus not utilizing all the ice.”
Help may be on the way with two NHL-style ice rinks scheduled to open in north Phoenix on Sept. 1 at the Fire ‘n’ Ice Sports Arena. Three new ice rinks at the MQ Iceplex near the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson are scheduled to open in the spring of 2027, and Northern Arizona University is working to build an on-campus arena that would also be available to local youth leagues.
But other challenges exist.
Even though the PWHL has shown that women can turn their passion for the sport into a professional career, those aspirations are still not taken as seriously. Working in youth programs, Fry experiences some pushback from parents firsthand.
“I see the parents who have no problem paying the 10 grand for their son to play, but then as soon as they see that price tag for their daughter to play at the highest level of girls hockey, they’re like, ‘I’m not paying that,’” Fry noted. “Why would you not want to give your daughter the same opportunity?”
Despite the challenges of gender disparities and investing in girls’ futures, Sagaert believes the PWHL provides an opportunity to prove that a future in hockey can be both sustained and achieved.
“A lot of parents make choices about what sports their kids stay in based on that longevity decision,” Sagaert said. “Is it available in college? Is it realistic? Is it available as a professional career? Can you make enough money to do this professionally?
“So I do know that comes in as a factor, and since it’s there, I think when all the growth factors interact, that creates that really great area for the sport to have more participants come in.”
Growing the audience
While access to ice helps increase participation, increased media coverage has expanded women’s hockey beyond the rink, introducing the sport to new audiences and creating more visible role models for young players.
“We are seeing more and more dedicated writers, dedicated people podcasting, making video content, content creators in general, talking about the league, dissecting play, and kind of showcasing the talent that’s there,” Kennedy said.
Aside from Kennedy, The Athletic, perhaps North America’s most respected digital sports platform, has a dedicated women’s hockey writer in Hailey Salvian, and the Jocks in Jills podcast, co-hosted by Olympic gold medalist Tessa Bonhomme and broadcaster Julia Tocheri, maintains a near-perfect 4.9 out of 5-star rating across hundreds of verified listener reviews of its PWHL heavy content.
Kennedy said the league’s growing popularity isn’t driven solely by what happens on the ice. Players’ willingness to share their personalities has also helped build stronger connections with fans, separating themselves from other leagues.
“The PWHL’s player pool is far more relatable to fans than National Hockey League players,” Kennedy said. “They aren’t afraid to show their personality … There’s so much more there for fans to connect to than there is in other leagues.”
This connection has also translated to television audiences, creating more opportunities for broadcasters, advertisers and traditional media outlets looking to enter the rapidly growing world of women’s sports.
In 2026, Scripps Sports produced the first nationally televised PWHL game in the United States, broadcasting the Walter Cup Finals.
“We saw great engagement,” Lawlor said. “That happened right after the Olympics and there was so much interest around that group and that team and the sport and that rivalry between us and Canada and so the timing was perfect.”
For broadcasters, the league’s success is not just built off of viewership, but also support from brands, fan engagement and the quality of the product on the ice.
“What’ll move it? Are brands going to support it? Are fans going to watch? And is the game good?” Lawlor said. “I think we’re seeing all of those things. The game’s good and we saw that and these players are excellent so there’s nothing inferior about the game.”
It wasn’t long before brands saw the potential.
“We had brands calling us saying, ‘Hey, any chance you can get some PWHL games? We would like to throw money behind that to support it,’ and that’s continued into this next season,” Lawlor said. “We have brands saying, ‘We would like to see you do more with the PWHL,’ so we’ve got a couple games under our belt, and there was a good audience, which we think is a lot of growth, though you need all three of those things to move together in order to have success.”
Through the years, Scripps Sports and its partner company ION have been home to many women’s sports, providing more coverage to important women’s stories. They have one thing to say to media companies following the trend.
“Welcome aboard, and we think it’s great because the more they elevate the visibility of women’s sports, the more it’s going to benefit all of us,” Lawlor said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to lift up and establish these leagues.”What Next?
The PWHL represents more than just the growth of the game, it offers a promising future for the next generation of girls who love the sport.
“You can see it, you can be it,” Kennedy said. “Someday soon it’s going to be the norm, where kids being born or kids coming up right now can turn on the TV and see a game any night of the week and never have to search for it. So it can’t be spoken about enough how important this league is for those girls.”
Progress is critical to sustaining growth.
“In February, I would have been saying ‘Our goal was to hit 100,000 girls and women playing hockey.’ So now, reinventing,what does that look like for us?” Sagaert said. “Where we see a gap where we would want to continue to have an impact on is the number of females coaching and the number of females officiating.”
The PWHL has spent its early years proving there is a fan base for women’s hockey. Now the league has the opportunity to build a future where girls can go to games or look at their screens and see a clear pathway to achieving their dreams.
“The caliber continues to get better. It’s never been as good as it is right now,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got these generational players now that are coming in that are going to be the faces of the game for decades to come.”
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