Before the PHWL was established, there was the PWHPA (Professional Women's Hockey Players Association) a group of professional women's hockey players who said they would not play professional hockey until they had significant funds and resources to adequately support them. In 2023, Mark Walter, co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and EPL Chelsea F.C., helped the PWHPA start. He funded the entire league, giving money for stadiums, jerseys, anything a team would need. His main funding contribution was raising teams’ salary caps to $750,000 per team, “salaries that were once below $30,000 had quadrupled. With the cap rising to $1.5 million, players could sign substantial contracts” said Ian Gisiger, Assistant Sports Editor of The Colgate Maroon News. There was a clear need for professional women's hockey, not just for the players that wanted to be recognized as professionals, but also for the fans. he league is located is in the northern United States and Canada. The Canadian teams play out of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto and the American teams play in Boston, Minnesota and New York. With the combined force of the recently collapsed Canadian Women's Hockey League and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association, the Professional Women’s Hockey League was born.
