In the battle for future of women's pro hockey, some fans are left in awkward middle

On Thursday, Helene Michaud crossed an item off her "bucket list."

At 59 years old, she was finally attending her first major women's hockey championship at worlds in Brampton, Ont.

Michaud said she's been watching since the sport made its Olympic debut at Nagano in 1998.

"Since I was a kid, I've been wishing that they could become professional," she said. "And then I was only watching them in the Olympics and then I had to wait four years until I could watch women's hockey again, but now with the PWHPA, it's awesome because I'm consistently watching women's hockey."

For the past few years, those who follow Team Canada and Team USA have been limited to international tournaments and the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association's (PWHPA) Dream Gap Tour series, an irregular weekend showcase without the infrastructure of a proper professional league.

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The PWHPA will reportedly start that formal league next fall.

But while nearly the entire Canadian and U.S. rosters have plugged away in the PWHPA, the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), seemed to increase its reach. It crowned its first Canadian champion, the Toronto Six, last month. Only one PHF player, forward Becca Gilmore, made either North American roster at worlds.

The impending battle for the future of women's pro hockey between the PWHPA and PHF, and where that leaves the international game, may result in a lack of clarity for fans.

Michaud and Liz Arsenault, 58, came to Thursday's Germany-Sweden game together wearing PWHPA-branded sweatshirts.

Both women lit up at mention of the PWHPA's reportedly incoming league. Neither knew of the PHF's existence.

"This is going to help a lot of the girls