Rule changes, merchandise sales next on the docket as PWHL races to puck drop

Nine pre-season games hosted in upstate New York last week offered the first opportunity for Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) players to scope out the competition, and for general managers and coaches to make final roster decisions ahead of the league's inaugural season.

But for the league's hockey operations office, it was a chance to experiment with a series of potential tweaks to the NHL rulebook, which the PWHL will use with a few alterations in the upcoming campaign.

Potential rule adjustments ranged from long changes in the first and third periods, to two-minute penalties being served in their entirety, even if the opposing team scores during a power play.

Now, Jayna Hefford, the hockey hall of famer who serves as the PWHL's senior vice president of hockey operations, has to figure out what might stick ahead of the first regular-season game on Jan. 1, when Toronto will host New York.

"We're going to have to look at the data and see if it actually created more scoring chances or more goals, which of course I think is the goal," Hefford told CBC and Radio-Canada last Thursday.

"We'll debrief the event and really understand the pros and cons, and see if it makes sense to implement any of them."

PWHL rosters are set ahead of puck drop on New Year's Day, but behind the scenes, there's still lots on the to-do list. League staff are still working on a number of regulations and policies, including exact details on how the long-term injury reserve, which already has one player on it, will work.

As of last Thursday, the PWHL was also still assembling its player discipline committee, the group that will review plays and hand out discipline when warranted. That needs to be in place by the time the first games begin.

Three people from the league's officiating department were on site in Utica, N.Y., last week to help navigate issues around rules and officiating, which Hefford described as a priority. The PWHL will use a pool of officials from the American Hockey League, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey this season.

"We want these players to know every game, regardless of where they're playing, that the rules will be called the same way, and then they know what they can expect," Hefford said.

The nine games played in Utica didn't count in the standings, but you wouldn't know it based on the intensity on the ice.

Body checking isn't allowed, but there was lots of physical play along the boards. While Hefford said the league doesn't want dangerous plays, slashes and high sticks, physicality will certainly be part of the game. 

Whether to mandate neck guards has also been a conversation within the PWHL, and as of last Thursday, Hefford said they weren't mandatory but strongly recommended.

She said they'll be available for players who want to try them. Some players wore them during pre-season action.