International rivalry, professional divide highlight busy women's hockey calendar

Over the next two months, three significant women's hockey championships will be played.

First, the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association wraps the Dream Gap Tour with the Secret Cup beginning March 10.

Then, the Premier Hockey Federation hands out its Isobel Cup in the weeks after the regular season wraps on March 12.

Finally, the world championships begin April 5 in Brampton, Ont.

And that doesn't even include the Rivalry Series, a seven-game Canada-U.S. showdown that concludes in late February in Quebec.

Busy times, to be sure. But a glaring gap remains: the sport's best players reside in the PWHPA, while the logistical structure of a league appears to be in the PHF. All the while, international competition remains the crown jewel of the sport.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman recently said his league continues to have concerns about women's hockey if the factions remain separate.

"They each seem intent on going in their own direction. I think in order for women's hockey to be successful, everybody's got to be maximizing the effort together. Because starting a league is not easy," he said in January.

Sami Jo Small, a three-time Canadian Olympian and president of the PHF's Toronto Six, said that while she doesn't think the separation is hurting the sport, she would be interested in a union with the PWHPA.

"I think it's not a PHF issue at this point. I think that the conversation is very open and Reagan Carey, our commissioner, has always said that we're more than open for that conversation and would love to have PWHPA players and join the two factions," she told CBC Sports.

PWHPA players, meanwhile, continue to hold out for the creation of a "sustainable" pro women's hockey league, something they're working