NHL hires former WNBA exec Ackerman

The NHL has hired former WNBA executive Val Ackerman to look at how it can help women's hockey.   

Ackerman was the first president of the WNBA, the 12-team women's professional basketball league that has operated for 15 years.   

Ackerman was at the women's world hockey championship Saturday to learn more about women's hockey.   

"I have been hired by the NHL as a consultant and am in that role looking into women's ice hockey and helping them develop a strategy for how they could be supportive short-term and long-term," Ackerman told The Canadian Press.   

"They were interested in hearing a perspective about how a men's league could be of support to the women's version of that sport. That's something I know a little bit about, so we'll see how that goes."   

Ackerman says the NHL brought her on board in January.   

"I don't have the hockey background that others have, but I can say I am a strong advocate for women's sports," she explained. "I do think an organization like the NHL can bring a great deal to women's hockey in terms of what its teams could offer, what the league could offer in terms of promotional support and firepower."   

Ackerman, who lives in New York, launched and operated the WNBA in its formative years. Ackerman says the NHL hasn't yet given her a deadline for her findings.