PWHL broadcaster Daniella Ponticelli is thrilled with how the year has gone and couldn't be more excited for playoffs, the overall growth of the league and expansion announcements.
In part two of a two part conversation, Ponticelli delves into the expansion, it's pivotal role in the future of the league, the importance of media and more.
Welcome to The Show
At the start of the year, league expansion was a dream but it became a reality when the league announced two new teams that would be coming in for 2026-27. "We have Vancouver, they were the first announced, becoming the 7th team in PWHL history," Ponticelli explains. "A week later, Seattle was welcomed. Both on the west coast and I can imagine there is already a built in rivalry. I think it'll be a great one for everyone in those two markets. It's so close, you can double up your PWHL games and enjoy that. It's exciting, it felt like there was a time in this season, even though it goes by so quickly, it felt like we were eagerly awaiting and people would ask if I had a clue as to what was going to happen, and I didn't. Once the reports came out that those would be the two markets, of course you feel the hype around that. They are a great fit and I'm so excited that it's a Canadian and American market, so we're not seeing one lopsided. That was not off the table, having two Canadian markets or two American markets, they talked about that early on in the season, it wasn't for sure to be one and one. Very glad it worked out that way. Canadian markets have shown up in a big way and Vancouver had an incredible 'Take Over' game.
Take Over Tour
Ponticelli explains the 'Take Over Tour', how important it has become, and the hope that it continues. "They are neutral site games, they turned out to be very popular with both fans and the players. I don't know if it's going to continue next year, I sure hope it does. Because, even if it's not just in the hunt for expansion, it's so great to take the PWHL on the road. It exposes the league to more people and people show up, it's great. It's a great celebration of the league, too, in those markets. Vancouver and Seattle both pulled really great numbers. I'm extra excited for Vancouver as they'll be the primary tenant in their building and that means so much, they'll get the logo at centre ice, they'll get their own dressing room. In some cases, there have been spaces made for teams like New York, they have a beautiful dressing room, so it's not as though teams don't have spaces but being a primary tenant, that means so much. It shows the investment in the community to the team early on. Now we await the names and I have no idea what order it'll come in, the names and logo vs the players on the team. Either way, it's just so exciting and it harkens back to year one when people were just so hungry for information and had so many questions, it's so exciting."
What Expansion Means to the PWHL
Having two new teams enter the league is massive on several levels from corporate sponsorships to season ticket revenue, as well as more roster spots and positions within the organizations, all that is music to Ponticelli's ears. "It's exactly those opportunities that make this whole thing so special. This is a league that has taken itself from the bottom to where we are now in just two years. They have been very honest, the people leading our league, that even they are surprised that the expansion reality is happening ahead of year three. There was not a hard target that this was to happen and the truth is no one knew, no one had really put a product like this out there. Yes, there have been leagues before, but nothing like this, nothing with this backing, a unified league bringing the best of the best to play the best of the best. That's where it's become this incredible moment, because it was a cultural tipping point. People wanted it and now they have access to it. Thinking about the broadcast aspect of it, right now, the league takes care of broadcasts, they work with the partners to showcase those broadcasts on air. Having coast to coast teams could open opportunities there and that matters because now we have east and west. That's a huge part of the national puzzle piece. Add in the fact that you have communities really investing, the corporate investment from within Vancouver alone is enriching and impacting areas already. The league has structured this to know what is sustainable and manageable. The teams are owned by the league, so all of that has an impact as well when it comes to how things are distributed and how it works.
Year Three Could Be Even Bigger
With so much buzz coming from the recent news. Ponticelli is already looking ahead and believes it's incredibly bright. "Next season is going to be so big for women's hockey," the broadcasting star says with pure excitement. "We're not only talking about expanded teams, but each team is going to be playing more games in the regular season. As it is, we don't know what playoffs are going to look like next year. We've also got the Olympics in February, the World Championship is moving forward... that's a lot of women's hockey, a lot of hype, a lot of excitement around the stars that are now being featured in the PWHL."
Preaching and Practicing Patience Pivotal
With all the energy and positivity that has come from expansion, Ponticelli believes the league, which hasn't made many missteps at all to this point, will continue that trend and not rush into more than it can handle at this time. "I look at this and I just think of what I can see behind the scenes in my small role as a broadcaster, so I'm not seeing a lot of the decision making or anything really when it comes to teams or creation of the teams and staffing and all of that... though I have seen a ton of job postings from the teams in the expanded markets, so anyone interested should be reaching out and looking to grab a job, that includes everything from graphic design to team staff, a large number of roles because it takes a whole community to prop up a team. But looking at the growth of the league and if it's too fast or not, I think about what this league was able to do just to be set up, hit day one and game one and how it felt like a race to that finish line, then of course the race still continued because that wasn't the finish line, that was the beginning. We started January 1st 2024 and what comes before New Years Day is a whole holiday period and it was dozens and dozens of people who didn't have a holiday season. This was the sole focus, getting the parts and pieces together to make sure this league was ready to go. It was a 6-month period where we got to go, we have a collective bargaining agreement, we're happening, to it actually happening. Just knowing the people behind the league and the mission of so many that are backing this league, there's a feeling that we have this, we're going to move forward together. I have full faith that with much more than just 6 months until the next season starts, because expansion talks have been a discussion well before the announcement of it, the league is in a great place for that. I think back to the start of things and when the league didn't announce names and jerseys, there were so many people that had mixed thoughts on it. I talked to so many people that were questioning it but to me, it showed it was a smart, responsible league. As much as those are incredibly important pieces to the puzzle, they are not the main pieces. The personnel, the collective bargaining agreement, the product overall, all of those things needed to happen, they were their priority. The league focused on what they needed to prioritize and names wasn't it, despite that people talked about it, it showed that they have the mental strength and the foresight to understand what is needed in the moment and in the future."
Meaningful Media
The PWHL has amazing people that broadcast games but also terrific people in each organization that work really hard at connecting team and community, with that, Ponticelli says it's become a great partnership as the PWHL and media have the same goals, promoting players and the league. "If you don't have that partnership, you don't get to where we are today," she says confidently. "I'm not saying it's all about the media because it's not, there's a whole ecosystem but if you take that away, people are left wondering who or what or when. I'm getting less and less of that, it's so incredible that when I say to people I work for the PWHL, almost everyone I meet seems to at least know the league's name and have a general sense of what's going on. There is a sense that people know and that's what happens when your league is being shown on mainstream television and on mainstream radio. When people are driving around and they always get the scores of the Blue Jays or the Leafs, well, they're now getting updates on the Sceptres. Here's something that's great, the other night before the Leafs moved on from the first round, there was talk of the Leafs on the radio newscast, a note about another team and then it was onto the Sceptres and then it was the Blue Jays. It's not like the PWHL notes are being shoved into at the bottom of a cast, it shows that this is an important league, people care and when you have that backing from media, putting resources into not only ensuring consistent coverage, but they are expanding and telling those personal stories, it makes a massive difference. The CBC has created these powerful, moving, eight-minute video pieces that detail back stories of players. One in particular is Zoe Boyd, I won't go into her story but it's so impactful, it has to do with her mother and her. Everyone that has seen it is blown away and so impacted, they can just say wow. That is a big piece of things, people need to be attached to these players and we're getting a real sense of it as it continues to grow. Social media people are also playing a huge role and I give so much respect to those people, they work so hard. There was so much content that's always coming out. It takes so much time, effort and energy. It keeps people connected and excited, updated and informed. It's an incredible job, it's a lot of hours but the perks are there, you get to travel with the team in most cases and I just love that for everyone involved."
Playing The Name Game
The established teams of the PWHL have names but the two new franchises do not and when asked, Ponticelli says she's very thankful it's not up to her, because it's very hard to name a team. "Oh my gosh," she says with a laugh after a long pause. "I should have given this more thought but oh my goodness. Maybe because I love alliteration, I'm going to go way, way off here, but Vancouver Valkyrie's. For Seattle, maybe something monster themed to stick with the Kraken, that would be sweet but we'd have to find another monster. Maybe like the Seattle Space Needles or Seattle Marina's or Seattle Nirvana's. I never think of these things, I just take whatever they give me and go with it. I'm trying to think about how it'll fit in with the other teams and... I'm overthinking it" she says laughing. "I have a ton of respect and belief those making the actual decisions will make the right ones but I'm also very glad I'm not that person. I think it's safe to say after this, I won't be asked any time soon to be involved in naming teams."
The PWHL regular season has come to an end and playoffs are set to start soon.