This weekend is all about the girls.

It’s International Ice Hockey Federation World Girls Ice Hockey Weekend around the globe, and for our MHR Weekend Preview we are highlighting how the event is being celebrated in North America while also shining the spotlight on one of the season’s top U18 girls tournaments.

It wasn’t that long ago, 24 years in fact, that the first IIHF Women’s World Championship was held. That tournament, hosted in Ottawa, Ontario, featured eight teams and was dominated by Canada and United States. Canada and the U.S. combined to compile and astounding plus-81 goal differential in their six pool play games, winning by an average margin of 13.5 goals per contest.

Fast forward to 2024, and 45 countries sent teams to compete in IIHF World Championship events around the world. At the 2024 WWC held in Utica, N.Y., last April, 10 teams competed in the top division alone, and while the U.S. and Canada perennially still produce the best players and teams in the world, the gap has narrowed considerably.

The U.S. outscored its opponents in pool play by 11 goals, while Canada skated to a 10-goal advantage over its opponents. For the math majors out there, that’s 60 goals fewer than that ridiculous differential from 1990, and in recent years, both countries have been defeated in international play.

It’s no longer a slam dunk that the United States and Canada will face off for a gold medal in an international tournament, and that is a testament the growth of the sport among girls and women around the world. The 2026 WWC will feature two equal pools of five teams for the first time instead of placing the five teams ranked highest in the world in one pool and the second five in another. That format also recently was adopted for the U18 Women’s World Championship. These changes provide further evidence of the sport’s continued growth and improvement around the world.

"The flagship competition will continue with 10 teams, but the two groups will be established using ‘snake seeding’ to create two sections of equal rank," the IIHF wrote following in making the announcement at their recent congress in Greece.

Perhaps the biggest indicator of how far women’s hockey has come since that first championship event is the Professional Women’s Hockey League. After years of failed attempts at creating a viable professional league for women in North America, the PWHL burst onto the scene in 2024.

The concept of the PWHL was unveiled in June 2023, and just six months later the puck dropped on the league’s inaugural season. Never has a women’s professional league in North America been greeted with such fanfare and anticipation, and the league proved to be far more successful than anyone could have anticipated.

Despite a shortened inaugural campaign because of the Jan. 1 start date – in future years the PWHL will begin its seasons in November – the league drew nearly 400,000 spectators for 72 regular-season dates. Along the way, while average better than 6,000 fans per contest the league set six women’s hockey single-game attendance records and formed more than 40 corporate partnerships. In addition, the PWHL generated 238 million social-media impressions, 1.04 million social-media followers and more than 100,000 YouTube followers. League games were viewed via webstream in 88 countries.

For the first time ever there appears to be a financially viable professional hockey league for women in North America. The PWHL will continue with its six-team format in 2024-25, but the popularity of the inaugural season has spawned publicly stated interest from large markets around North America. In 2024-25 the PWHL will have teams that call Boston, Minnesota, New Jersey, Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa home. League teams were known by the names of their host cities or states last season, but that all changes for 2024-25 as team names and logos have been unveiled.

“The unveiling of these new team identities marks a significant milestone for the entire PWHL community,” Amy Scheer, PWHL Senior Vice President of Business Operations, said when the names and logos were announced. “Over the inaugural season, we rigorously developed the most authentic team brands for each city. The PWHL has united the professional women’s hockey community, and we are excited for these new identities to deepen the connection between the teams and their local communities. We want these to become symbols that our players and fans alike can rally behind as we move forward in this new chapter of our journey.” 

For the first time ever, girls playing hockey – or interested in playing hockey – have an opportunity to watch the best players in the world compete on a regular basis instead of just once or twice per year. The league’s fan-first approach and the accessibility of game broadcasts via over-the-air television and the internet allow women’s hockey enthusiasts around the world to watch the best players competing against one another while also getting to know them on a more personal level than previously had been possible.

More opportunities to watch and get to know the sport’s top players provides more potential role models for young athletes and brings what often has been considered a niche sport the type of visibility and acceptance necessary to be viewed as more of a mainstream participation and entertainment opportunity.

There’s little doubt that the presence and popularity of the PWHL will spur even more hockey participation among girls and women in a sport that already has seen participation explode in recent years. The overall increase in the popularity of women’s sports thanks to what is being described as the “Caitlin Clark Effect” also should help continue grow participation numbers.

According to USA Hockey, there were only about 6,300 girls enrolled in its sanctioned youth hockey programs nationwide in 1990, the year of that first Women’s World Championship. That number reportedly grew to 60,000 by 2010 and more recently eclipsed the 70,000 mark. Similar growth has been seen in Canada, with enrollment in girls and women’s programs exploding from about 8,100 in 1990 to nearly 90,000 in recent years. And according to the IIHF, between 2007 and 2022 the number of registered female players worldwide grew from 153,665 to 229,754.

While girls and women still make up far fewer than half of the hockey participants in North America, the increased attention given to women’s hockey at the international and professional levels has spurred interest along with free or inexpensive programs such as learn to skate and learn to play as well as events like World Girls Hockey Weekend.

 

IIHF World Girls Ice Hockey Weekend 2024

World Girls Ice Hockey Weekend is back for its 13^th rendition this year with programs and events being held all over the world to celebrate the game and its participants – and to encourage those who are new to the sport to give it a try.

Thousands of girls and women in at least 30 countries and six continents will participate in ice hockey events during the weekend, with many of them trying the sport for the first time. The celebration provides an opportunity for girls and women of all ages to come together and learn the basics, play the sport, be active, have fun and make new friends.

CLICK HERE for a look at last year’s festivities.

 

In the United States, USA Hockey encourages rinks and associations around the country to participate in Girls Ice Hockey Weekend activities. Associations, clubs and rinks around the U.S. can register their Girls Growth Initiative to earn credit towards the USA Hockey Hat Trick Growth Challenge and be eligible for giveaways.

USA Hockey provides ideas and resources to enhance an organization’s Girls Ice Hockey Weekend experience and to promote growth in participation at rinks around the country. Players and associations participating in the festivities this weekend are encouraged to engage and document their experiences via social media. Participants can post photos of their favorite women’s players, post photos of themselves playing hockey, post a favorite USA Hockey memory or tag a friend and ask her to come out and try the sport with them. Those tagging @USAHockey on their social-media posts might be featured online by USA Hockey.

Participating associations and rinks are encouraged to host season kick-off parties as well as Try Hockey for Free and Bring a Friend to Skate events.

If you’re looking for an event to attend in the U.S., you can contact your local youth hockey association or email comeplayouthhockey@usahockey.org for a list of girls hockey events in your area.

 

Hockey Canada also encourages participation in International Girls Ice Hockey Weekend activities. According to the Hockey Canada website, “The goal of World Girls Ice Hockey Weekend is to have events from coast to coast to coast that recruit, retain and engage players, coaches, officials and fans – old and new. It aims to celebrate and grow the game while uniting Canadians through grassroots programming led by girls hockey associations, minor hockey associations and communities.”

Local Canadian hockey associations can apply to host events through their provincial/territorial governing member. Hockey Canada and its members supply funding reimbursements, gifting and additional support or resources to approved events on a first-come, first-served basis.

Hockey Canada recommends that local hockey associations host their weekends at a time that is convenient for their members during the months of October and November and that is likely to generate the most interest and participation. More than 50,000 Canadians have celebrated World Girls Ice Hockey Weekend since 2019 at better than 500 events that have been held from coast to coast. From games and skills sessions to classroom activities and road hockey, participants of all ages have helped to continue the growth of women’s hockey throughout Canada.

CLICK HERE for a list of the events being held in Canada to celebrate International Girls Ice Hockey Weekend in 2024.

 

Canadian Crown U18 Prep Tournament

In honor of this exciting weekend for celebrating girls and women in hockey, we are highlighting one of the top North American girls tournaments of the fall. Play began at the Canadian Crown U18 Prep Tournament Friday, Oct. 11, and runs through Monday, Oct. 14.

The tournament is being hosted by Northern Alberta Xtreme, with games being played at GFL Twin Arena in Devon, Alberta. Games will be played there at both the Shayne Zender Memorial Rink and the Dale Fisher Rink and can be viewed via webstream at HNLive.  

This year’s Canadian Crown U18 Prep Tournament features 12 teams competing in four three-team pools. Each team will play three pool-play games Friday and Saturday followed by playoffs on Sunday and Monday. The 2024 tournament field includes two of the current top 10 U18 girls teams in Canada, according to the latest MHR rankings, and four of the nation’s top 30.

Sawmill Leduc Pool

#7 Lloydminster Steelers

#9 Regina Rebels

#75 Thompson-Okanagan Lakers

N/A OHA Edmonton

 

Landale Signs Pool

#24 Winnipeg Ice

#52 Swift Current Wildcats

#59 Sherwood Park Reign

N/A North Shore Warriors

 

Devon Dental Associates Pool

#29 Rocky Mountain Raiders

#62 PA Northern Bears

#75 Northern Capitals

N/A Northern Alberta Xtreme

 

CLICK HERE for the U18 Canadian Crown Schedule

CLICK HERE for the U18 Canadian Crown Standings

CLICK HERE for U18 Canadian Crown Results

CLICK HERE for U18 Canadian Crown Statistics