'An amazing thing for hockey': NHL players excited for PWHL puck drop

John Tavares has spent untold hours honing his skills.

Like the hundreds of NHLers he battles with and against each season, the reward is a career in the spotlight to go along with millions of dollars in the bank.

Women's hockey players — many of them stars on the international stage — have never had the same opportunity at the professional level.

Slated to begin play in January, the new circuit represents a seismic shift in the women's game, which has provided some of the sport's iconic moments at the Olympics and world championships with the heated Canada-U. S. rivalry, but has struggled to gain traction in North America with a financially sustainable pro model.

The PWHL now established with teams in six hockey-crazed markets, the game appears to finally be in lockstep.

And the men are glad the path is finally clear.

"You want to see them flourish," Tavares, captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, said at the pre-season NHL/NHLPA player media tour outside Las Vegas. "The international game, it's been tremendously successful, a lot of fun to watch, and they're great athletes.

"They play a great game that we all love. They do a great job at it and deserve the opportunity to have their own league and develop a history of pedigree — a legacy — just like we have as men."

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Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and the New York City area have been tabbed as the new league's Original Six.

"Gonna be awesome," Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said of having a PWHL team in his backyard. "It's a great market to play in and has a lot of people that care — not only about the hockey side, but the people side.

The Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association was