Looking across the National Hockey League, a number of hockey fans can often find it a struggle to find someone that looks like themselves or identifies religiously or culturally with the way they do. For the young kids that dream of becoming NHL players, that lack of representation can be another barrier to showing that anyone from any background can make that dream a reality that, consciously or not, the sport needs to overcome as it continues to grow.
If you look at youth sports participation trends, you might be surprised to learn that the largest growing segment of people getting involved in the game early on are girls. From 2013 to 2020, male registrations with USA Hockey increased by 18 percent. Comparatively, female registrations increased 26 percent. It’s a trend line that’s been steadily diverging as participation amongst males has not kept up with that of their female counterpart.
But today, those very girls growing up falling in love with this game don’t see people like them in high places in the NHL today. They aren’t female presidents of teams. There’s no female general managers. You won’t see a female coach behind a NHL bench.
Yet.
If you ask Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill, the time we see women in visible, high-level roles in the NHL hockey operations side are coming…and soon.
“Yes, I definitely see it. I follow other sports. You see the sport of baseball with women general managers. They’re gaining experience like everyone else is,” Nill said. “The Professional Women’s Hockey [League] is going to create more women getting their resumes built out because of that, and you see more and more colleges now have [female] coaches. We’re starting to see more women as coaches in the minors. It’s coming.”
This past summer, the PWHL was created. There’s a lot of history in getting a professional women’s league off the ground with long-term financial stability. It hasn’t been an easy time getting this one of the ground, but with a single-owner corporation backing the league, a higher minimum salary for players, and an eight-year collective bargaining agreement in place from day one, the league is building that foundation.
The other thing it’s building is a potential pipeline for talent in hockey operations at the NHL level by providing women with a multitude of job opportunities to gain valuable experience necessary for jobs at the highest levels of hockey today.
“I think it will because of this new league being created,” Nill said. “It’s a more visible league. There’s more women involved, which is good; they should be. And they’re going to have a voice. They’re getting experience at a level that will help them lead up to NHL opportunities. The big thing is getting opportunities at this level of experience.”
Nill said that the experience operating a hockey league like the PWHL could put women’s resumes on equal footing with their male counterparts, that often get those opportunities at lower men’s professional leagues. That diversity in experience could give NHL teams a competitive advantage in the future by bringing in different backgrounds, not only from an experience standpoint but also a demographic and socioeconomic background. “I get resumes all the time. We’re always talking to people. We’re interviewing people all the time. We’re always looking for the next big idea,” Nill said.
Until those opportunities start filling and young girls and women that love hockey see representation in the NHL for themselves, proving that those dream jobs can one day be theirs, what can girls and women do to be ready when that day comes?
“That love and that passion, continue to harvest it,” Nill said. “I look back when I was 10 years old, and I never thought I’d be where I was. But [with your] love for the game, you just find your way. There’s going to be highs and lows. If it’s your passion and you stick with it, you’re going to find your way. I think the biggest thing is just that they know that there’s opportunity. In the past, unfortunately [in] our society, maybe it wasn’t. The opportunity’s there. The doors are open.”