To the Left: Will the PWHPA lose another New England Hub? — Interview with Alexis Moed — Must-Click Links
The IX: Hockey Friday with Erica L. Ayala, July 16, 2021
Hi! Howard Megdal here. The IX helps build the necessary infrastructure for women’s sports media. By connecting these worlds, it gives women’s sports the networking boost men’s sports can take for granted.
Continue reading with a subscription to The IX
Get unlimited access to our exclusive coverage of a varitety of women’s sports, including our premium newsletter by subscribing today!
Already a member?
Login
Those of you who are our satisfied subscribers, tell the world! We are grateful for your support. And you can share the gift of The IX with those who would love us as much as you do.
To the left (of the Atlantic Ocean)!
The latest WoHo News has me singing Beyonce.
Everything you own in a box to the left
It appears we are headed into a turf war.
Is this a bit dramatic? Maybe, but let’s have some fun with it!
The NWHL announced two league-wide scouts, Ken Dufton and Bill Flanagan, who “will be responsible for scouting collegiate talent competing across NCAA and U SPORTS. They will provide reports on prospective players and help establish rankings that will assist the league and teams prepare for the annual NWHL Draft and evaluate free agent profiles.”
The IX, alongside Mike Murphy and DF Pendrys, heard from Riveters GM Anya Packer that Lisa Haley did the majority of this work in the past. Formerly, Hayley Moore and Michelle Picard handled these tasks as the Deputy Commissioners under the single ownership model of the league.
So why is this a turf war?
Well, Flanagan is the former(?) head coach and main bankroller of the PWHPA New Hampshire hub. He is the father of USA Hockey/PWHPA defender Kali Flanagan (no official announcement from the PWHPA has been released regarding New Hampshire).
Spencer Fascetta has been reporting for months there are problems with the PWHPA system. I have not personally verified these reports. That said, I value Spencer’s reporting and we should all pay heed to what he is hearing.
Based on Spencer’s reporting, I asked Courtney Turner if she was still considering the New Hampshire hub in her 2021-22 hockey plans. Here was her response:
“Uh, you know, I’m not sure. I don’t really know what’s happening, per se. Hopefully, but we’ll see what happens.”
Turner was a first overall draft pick for the Boston Blades ahead of the 2017-18 season. The Union College alumna attended NWHL Free Agent camps for the Riveters and Whale in New Jersey and Connecticut. When asked where she hopes to land, Turner replied:
“I just wanna keep my options open and play some great hockey, whatever/wherever that may be.”
If this is the end of the New Hampshire hub, that leaves the PWHPA with Toronto, Montreal, and Minnesota. In my last conversation with Jayna Hefford shortly following Montreal’s Dream Gap Tour victory, she expected the PWHPA to be in operation next season despite being sans Olympians. Both the CWHL and NWHL have gone through Olympic cycles, as a bit of background.
USA and Hockey Canada players that have been named to their respective residency/centralization rosters accounted for nearly a quarter of the PWHPA’s 125 rostered players in 2021.
Help send Erica to the Olympics to cover it!
Hey everyone, I’m going to the 2022 Winter Olympics!!!
Here are a few ways to can help support my work.
-
Donate through my GoFundMe campaign
-
Send some love via PayPal
-
Tell a friend to subscribe to The IX and The Next
-
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
-
Share these links far and wide!
You can also shop my PWRFWD store, which includes my #BlackRosie design!
Week in Women’s Hockey
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MORE COVERAGE FOR WOMEN IN SPORTS? Good, click these links and show decision-makers that if you post it, we will read it! If you have any hot tips for great stories or voices you’d like to see in The IX, email me: erica@ericaLayala.com.
Must-Click Links
The NWHL adds Flanagan & Dufton as talent scouts.
Saroya Tinker debuts a new podcast, Anne Tokarski reviews ‘Shut Up & Play’.
USA Hockey names it’s residency roster.
Danielle Larouco steps in as Boston Pride GM.
Elena Orlando & Kristin Lewicki retire.
Michelle Picard joins Princeton coaching staff.
RMU players form Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation, keeping hope alive for displaced RMU players.
The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom
Introducing The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited, and photographed by our young, diverse staff, dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives, and projections about the game we love.
Subscribe to make sure this vital work, creating a pipeline of young, diverse media professionals to write, edit and photograph the great game, continues and grows. Subscriptions include some exclusive content, but the reason for subscriptions is a simple one: making sure our writers and editors creating 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage get paid to do it.
Tweet of the Week
Shannon is a Queen! #NeverForget
Five at The IX: Alexis Moed, Connecticut Whale GM
Excerpts from my chat with Moed at last month’s Free Agent Camp in Danbury.
Moed on being on the job for about a week
Well, it’s certainly been very busy. You know, I’ve gotten into the mix pretty quickly. So the last few days has been hectic, but it’s all a lot of good things. And I think there’s a lot of progress that’s going to be made in the upcoming season and a whole restructuring of the club. I think it has a really bright future … there’s a lot of potential here.
Moed on her career in hockey and whether she will continue on with the New York Islanders girls program
I’m definitely looking for a lot of crossover, I’m still going to remain in my full time job with the Islanders and running the girls program and all the adult programs for them. But as far as the Islanders girls program, I mean, that’s cross marketing that just seems to make sense. And the Whale just got about 100+ new fans this past weekend. You know, I’ve said to Laura (Brennan) the focus is going to be on building that youth market that youth fan base. And you know, certainly the Whale and all the players in the NWHL are a huge inspiration to all the youth girls out there.
DF Pendrys asks about the recent partnership with the CT Pride Center
Well, unfortunately, since I’m kind of new to things I don’t know too much about that. I know that our Director of Ticket sales and service Jessie Olam has been handling that and she had presents. I think it was last weekend at a women’s pride Music Festival and the Whale had representation there. Certainly the the Whale’s involvement in the LGBT community has always been a staple, in my understanding of the organization. And we’re going to continue to bring in all aspects of inclusion and continue to work with all of these community-based groups and really just have the Whale … be the leader and at the forefront of interacting with all aspects of the community.
