PWHL announces team locations, free agent and draft process

The Professional Women's Hockey League has arrived.

The newly formed PWHL officially unveiled its name along with key details regarding the inaugural six teams and the player selection process in a video conference call on Tuesday.

Six teams based in Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto will comprise the first PWHL campaign. Arenas and team names were not announced.

A free agent period begins Sept. 1, where each team can sign up to three players before Sept. 10. A 15-round draft will take place Sept. 18 in Toronto, after which point undrafted players can sign as free agents or tryout for teams.

Training camps commence the week of Nov. 15 ahead of an anticipated regular-season start in Jan. 2024.

Brian Burke was officially introduced as the PWHL Player Association's executive director. Most recently the Pittsburgh Penguins' president, Burke was an advisor for the defunct Canadian Women's Hockey League.

The Mark Walter Group purchased the Premier Hockey Federation in June to unify the North American women's hockey landscape with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association.

Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, and Toronto each had active teams operating in the PHF last season. The Metropolitan Riveters were based in New Jersey and previously played out of Brooklyn from 2015-17. Ottawa had a CWHL team from 2007-10.

Buffalo and Connecticut - two original PHF cities dating back to 2015 - didn't receive a franchise.

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