The Women’s National Hockey League, founded in 2017 is a play off of the six origin cities that the National Hockey League started in. Currently the WNHL is made up of six member clubs, four in the United States and two in Canada. Headquartered in New York City, the WNHL is the first women’s professional hockey league. The WNHL branches off of the NHL drawing in the top talent across the world in women’s hockey league. The league will have a draft every year drawing in players from college programs as well as those playing internationally. The idea for the creation of the league stemmed from the popularity of women’s colligate ice hockey becoming extremely popular, and that a women’s professional league would become extremely popular as well.

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THE ORIGINAL SIX CITIES

NEW YORK. BOSTON. TORONTO. MONTREAL. DETROIT. CHICAGO

 

COMISSIONER MANON RHÈAUME

Born on February 24, 1972 in Beauport, Quebec Canada. Manon Rhèaume became the first and only woman to sign a contract and play in the National Hockey League. In 1992 she signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning and stared in preseason exhibition games in 1992 and 1993. From there she played for seven minor leagues teams and appeared in 24 games. She was a part of the IIHF Women’s World Championship in 1992 and 1994, where she won a gold medal. She is also a silver medalist from the 1998 Winter Olympics. In 1997 here autobiography was released; Manon Alone In Front Of The Net, this was the same year she retired from professional hockey. She then became the goaltending coach for the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women’s ice hockey program from 1999-2000. Shortly after in 2000 she startedon  a different career track, business. From 2000-03 Rheaume became the marketing director for Mission Hockey based out of Irvine, California who developed and promoted girls’ hockey equipment. Following that she landed a stunt in the marketing department for the Powerade Iceport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and worked alongside the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. She has continued to have smaller professional stunts and was apart of the Minnesota White Caps team that was in the Clarkson Cup finals. Due to her extensive knowledge in business and historical steps for women in hockey, Rhèaume was named the commissioner of the Women’s National Hockey League in December, 2016.