Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa announced as franchises in newly named Professional Women's Hockey League

Three Canadian franchises are included in the newly named Professional Women's Hockey League that laid out details of where and how it will begin play in January 2024.

Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa will join franchises in Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and the New York area in a 24-game schedule. Players will be allocated to those cities through a September free-agency period followed by a draft.

"Today, we look ahead to a phenomenal future for the PWHL," said Jayna Hefford, a former Canadian national team player and the PWHL's senior vice-president of hockey operations. "We have never seen more excitement and demand for women's sports, and through the launch of this league, the top women's players in the world will have the opportunity to reach even greater heights."

Teams will begin building their rosters with a 10-day free-agency period beginning Sept. 1-10, followed by a draft on Sept. 18. 

The eligibility pool for the draft and free agency will include PWHPA membership in addition to former Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) players. However, current and graduating NCAA and U Sports players — such as Canadian star Sarah Fillier — may only be acquired through the 15-round draft.

Teams may sign only three players in free agency. The first-round draft order will be determined by a lottery, while subsequent rounds will follow a snake format.

Along with the ratification of the CBA, Los Angeles Dodgers chairman Mark Walter, one of the new league's financial backers, bought out and folded the PHF, a rival outfit featuring seven franchises which had been set to raise its salary cap to $1.5 million US this coming season.

The PWHPA was formed in the aftermath of the Canadian Women's Hockey League's 2019 collapse and features