The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has recently announced its inaugural season schedule. By extension, the Montreal franchise has shared the time and location of its twelve home games, which will be played in both Place Bell and the Verdun Auditorium. Though specific details about tickets and streaming have yet to be released, there has been a clear push to foster excitement among fans of hockey. There has been a disappointing silence from the big brother of Montreal hockey. The Canadiens have not posted anything on social media about this big news, a great disappointment to those of us who hope to see the sport of hockey, in all of its forms, grow.
In fairness, none of the other five NHL franchises who will soon share their market with a PWHL team (Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, New York, Minnesota) have done so either, but they have taken other basic steps that our Habs have yet to themselves. The Maple Leafs, Bruins, and Wild all follow either the PWHL or their respective market’s PWHL team on Instagram, ruling out the possibility that teams are under NHL orders to withhold support from a “rival” league.
Though the NHL in general could do much more to grow the game, particularly among women and minorities, I think it is fair to hold our beloved hometown team to a higher standard. I see no reason why the success of a women’s hockey team should be seen as threatening to the Canadiens. In fact, it is my own opinion that a strong women’s team would simply bolster the entire province’s appetite for hockey, and inspire more women and girls to become fans of this awesome game.
With household names on the team like national heroine Marie-Philip Poulin, there is great potential for an excited backing of a strong hockey team (something that the Canadiens have also lagged at recently). Publicity via social media would incur no cost to Habs ownership, and do wonders for the promotion of the up-and-coming PWHL, which currently stands at staggeringly low engagement rates across all social media.
Of course, this issue cuts far deeper than a few Instagram posts, and well beyond the spectre of a humble hockey writer, but I nonetheless insist that my Montreal Canadiens do more to promote the women’s game, and the exciting arrival of a PWHL franchise to our city.
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