In the battle for future of women's pro hockey, some fans are left in awkward middle

On Thursday, Helene Michaud crossed an item off her "bucket list."

At 59 years old, she was finally attending her first major women's hockey championship at worlds in Brampton, Ont.

Michaud said she's been watching since the sport made its Olympic debut at Nagano in 1998.

"Since I was a kid, I've been wishing that they could become professional," she said. "And then I was only watching them in the Olympics and then I had to wait four years until I could watch women's hockey again, but now with the PWHPA, it's awesome because I'm consistently watching women's hockey."

For the past few years, those who follow Team Canada and Team USA have been limited to international tournaments and the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association's (PWHPA) Dream Gap Tour series, an irregular weekend showcase without the infrastructure of a proper professional league.

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Canada has had the USA's number lately in women's hockey, and the two countries are gearing up for another showdown at the women's hockey world championships.

The PWHPA will reportedly start that formal league next fall.

But while nearly the entire Canadian and U.S. rosters have plugged away in the PWHPA, the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), seemed to increase its reach. It crowned its first Canadian champion, the Toronto Six, last month. Only one PHF player, forward Becca Gilmore, made either North American roster at worlds.

The impending battle for the future of women's pro hockey between the PWHPA and PHF, and where that leaves the international game, may result in a lack of clarity for fans.

Michaud and Liz Arsenault, 58, came to Thursday's Germany-Sweden game together wearing PWHPA-branded sweatshirts.

Both women lit up at mention of the PWHPA's reportedly incoming league. Neither knew of the PHF's existence.

"This is going to help a lot of the girls coming up, that they can actually see somebody and mentor them and go forward and realize that they can do it," Arsenault said.

On Wednesday, 3,510 fans attended Canada's 4-0 win over Switzerland, leaving just a few empty chairs at the CAA Centre, which has a capacity near 5,000.

The passion was palpable, from loud boos when Canada was called for its third first-period penalty to pure exuberance when Natalie Spooner scored Canada's first goal.

Inside the arena, the excitement for Team Canada was obvious. But unlike Michaud and Arsenault, some were uncertain on the status of the pro game.

Brooke Vaccari is an 18-year-old junior goalie who's played hockey for a decade now. Next year she'll head to Western University on a hockey scholarship, an experience she hopes to parlay into a professional career.

She said she doesn't have her sights set on a particular league.

"I've always just wanted to play in the Olympics or Team Canada, that's basically what I've wanted my whole life."

For the Georgetown, Ont., resident, the PHF has been the only game in town since the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) shuttered in 2019. The Six entered as an expansion franchise in 2020.

Brooke's dad, Tony Vaccari, said the family only started following the team this year, when his son's former coach moved behind the Six's bench. He said they've followed the PWHPA "a little bit."

"Probably if it was one great league, yeah, [we'd follow professional women's hockey more]."

Naomi Witte could not contain her excitement about women's hockey. She was especially proud of the women's hockey card pack she'd recently purchased, where she got the likes of Marie-Philip Poulin and Renata Fast.

Witte plays with boys on the Brampton 45s, and she wears No. 22 in honour of Hayley Wickenheiser.

But neither Witte nor her mom Jackie Witte know much about the professional game. For them, it's Canada or bust.

"We've watched a couple games here and there," Jackie said. "We play hockey all the time, we're at the arenas all the time, so we love watching it, we love playing it. And especially women's hockey with being a girl, it's great to be here."

With two professional leagues gaining steam in different ways, the Vaccaris and Wittes are flush with options — at least for the time being.

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Opening period goals by Natalie Spooner and Sarah Nurse were enough to secure Canada's first win of the IIHF women's world championship with a 4-0 win over Switzerland.

Former CWHL board chair Laurel Walzak told CBC Sports she was unsure whether the PWHPA and PHF could co-exist.

"They're going to be competing for audiences, competing for sponsorship dollars, competing for broadcast time. And so hopefully they're all in different markets or they're doing something collaboratively to grow the game, right?"

Michaud and Arsenault didn't hesitate to say yes when asked if a pro championship could reach international levels, and Canadian defender Renata Fast recently told CBC Sports that that's the goal.

The pro leagues could also gain an easy leg up on Team Canada if they make player jerseys easily accessible.

Only no-name Canada jerseys are available in the concourse at worlds for $125. If you want to add a name and number, it takes three days and costs an extra $79.

Still, the concourse on Wednesday was dominated by Hockey Canada, with a few PWHPA logos around and at least one person wearing a Six jersey.

The big question now is how different that mix looks in the years to come.