LPHF | Players and managers proud of innovative measures

(Montreal) By creating the Professional Women’s Hockey League (LPHF) on August 29, its leaders sowed happiness among the many women who aspired to earn a living through their favorite sport. Added to this happiness was a feeling of pride among these same ladies, in the face of the innovative measures put forward by league officials over the last six months.

“I think what’s fun about this new league is the innovation,” declared Marie-Philip Poulin after the Montreal team’s training session on Friday at the Verdun Auditorium. .

“We always want to make something more exciting, we always want to improve, we always want to push at the highest level and that’s what we’ve been doing since the beginning with this new league. I’m not surprised what’s happening with the new regulations. It’s fun. It’s brand new,” added the captain of the Montreal team.

In recent days, LPHF officials announced that the team that finishes first in the general standings will be able to choose to face the club that finished in third or fourth place in the first round of the playoffs.

The other measure announced this week led to the implementation of a system dubbed the Gold plan, which will award the first pick in the next draft to the team that has accumulated the most points once it is mathematically excluded in view of the playoffs.

Furthermore, before the start of the season, those responsible for the circuit established the system according to which each match is worth three points in the standings. It’s an idea that the National Hockey League has already studied but never adopted.

At the same time, LPHF officials implemented a rule nicknamed “jail break”, which puts an end to a minor punishment when the shorthanded team finds the back of the net.

All these ideas allow the LPHF to establish its own identity, believes Montreal team player Laura Stacey.

“I think that’s what we wanted initially. Something that was going to last and was going to be forever, but also something that a lot of people were going to enjoy watching. And that’s exactly what they’re doing here,” Stacey added, speaking of league officials.

Poulin and Stacey recognize it: they did not necessarily expect to see so many innovations and original ideas being put forward within the league, at least in its first year of existence.

“I guess these measures were going to come, but maybe not in the first year. But honestly, it’s not something that was unexpected,” Stacey clarified.

“During the last three or four years, while we were inactive, we discussed the issue a lot (among the players). We said to ourselves, “When we start, let’s start the right way, start by being innovative, by being brand new, by being the first to act, in a sense.” “That’s exactly what’s happening right now,” Stacey said.

“We like the new regulations, it’s something different and it allows us to stand out from the others. I think it’s come a long way and it doesn’t go unnoticed. »

Of the four major innovations put forward, the one which provides for the end of a minor penalty in the case of a shorthanded goal is by far the most noticed, because it occurs during a match and can therefore change the outcome of the match. look at all.

Stacey has heard a lot of positive feedback about this measure, and she can even see the difference when she has time to watch an NHL game on the small screen.

“It’s fun to watch NHL games now and see players not coming out of the penalty box after a short-handed goal,” Stacey said on the subject.

“To be honest, I think it’s something we wanted to distinguish ourselves from the NHL. We didn’t want to just follow their rules and continue to follow their plan. We are our own league, we are the LPHF, and it’s fantastic that we can take different trajectories and roads (from the NHL), while still supporting each other. »

One thing is certain ; If the NHL were to decide, one day, to introduce one or more of the regulations put forward by the LPHF this year, the feeling of pride that already exists among the players and managers could well be amplified.

“I think it would be extraordinary because, at the same time, we play hockey,” remarked Danièle Sauvageau, the general manager of the Montreal team who, like Stacey, has heard a lot about the regulation linked to shorthanded goals.

“We try to create situations that also respond to the general public. The fan base is large. If it responds to what people like, so much the better. The people who are here are first and foremost hockey lovers. And so much the better if the National League were to say that what people like could also please people who watch National League teams. »