PWHL Blows Out NHL Teams' Attendance Numbers in Embarrassing Manner
Photo credit: DirecTV
The NHL has serious competition from the upstart PWHL which grew out of the PHF, as it broke attendance records with the Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens game.
The PWHL has been a popular league since its inception. It was established after the Premiere Hockey Federation collapsed in 2023.
The league itself has found itself in the shadow of the NHL but has quickly found popularity with hockey fans around the world. Its easily accessible games on YouTube help it reach a wider audience than the conventional streaming platforms the NHL uses.
While women's hockey continues to grow, the latest record the league broke has put the NHL to shame.
The league announced that it's achieved a historic milestone, as it surpassed over a million fans in attendance since the league's launch in 2023.
«Reaching one million fans is a huge milestone for our league,» said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. «To see the league grow so rapidly is a reflection of the dedication of our players, who demonstrate their world-class talent every day, as well as the countless individuals behind the scenes who work relentlessly to ensure the league's success. The passion and support from our fans has been incredible, and this is only the beginning.»
Who'd have thought that a rogue league, independent of the clutches of the NHL would flourish without conventional input?
They seem to have done their work well, as the 14,288 in attendance during the "Takeover in Detroit" at Little Caesars Arena on March 16th helped the league set the record.
The league would celebrate their achievement by having players of both the Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens throw signed pucks into the audience. A true sign of a hockey league that appreciates its fans.
To date, the game has put the league at 1,001, 6488 fans total who have attended PWHL games.
That's with a league that only has six teams at the moment.
The PWHL movement is gaining steam, and it's free of the clutches of Gary Bettman and the NHL's Board of Governors.
Maybe one day we could have nice things too.
NHL Attendance Woes
To help put this into perspective, this league has surpassed the attendance of NHL teams like the San Jose Sharks, Utah Hockey Club, and Winnipeg Jets.
The Winnipeg Jets' attendance this season has been abysmal with a record of 14,189. While the Utah Hockey is worse off, with a whopping 11,131 average.
How are the rebuilding San Jose Sharks doing? 13,926.
The NHL needs to do better, but it seems the last few years of regressive decisions, and keeping the league on multiple streaming services have alienated fans.
While individual NHL teams follies like the Hawks at the start of the year with CHSN continue to disenfranchise fans at home and abroad.
| POLL | ||
MARS 21 | 379 ANSWERS PWHL Blows Out NHL Teams' Attendance Numbers in Embarrassing Manner Do you think the PWHL can steal a majority of the NHL fan base if Commissioner Gary Bettman and the league continue to make bad decisions year by year? | ||
| Yes | 190 | 50.1 % |
| No | 189 | 49.9 % |
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