'We Need A Sustainable Option': Women's Hockey Players Demand Better Conditions

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – There will be fewer elite female hockey players taking the ice next season.

About a month ago, the Canadian Women's Hockey League made an abrupt decision to cease operations due to financial issues.

Olympic gold medalist and National Women's Hockey League star Hanna Brandt says it's time for a change.

"We're trying to figure out what's the next step for women's professional hockey," said Brandt, who plays for the Minnesota Whitecaps.

Brandt says women hockey players can't properly train and play at the highest levels because of the way the league is structured.

"We need a sustainable option to play professional hockey for a long period of time. Every league that has come up has failed and we haven't seen the right model we think we need," Brandt said.

Brandt is part of 200 elite women players who have banded together, prepared to sit out next season to reach a different kind of goal. Their protest comes on the heels of the Canadian Women's Hockey League folding, leaving U.S. athletes concerned about their future.

"The word 'professional' should come with something and right now it doesn't feel like it comes with a whole lot other than we are paid something and that's great, but most players in professional women's hockey right now work full-time jobs," Brandt said.

Brandt says the pay is bad.

"Our minimum in the National Women's Hockey league is $2,500. For the entire team, the salary cap is $100,000," Brandt said.

And that's just one aspect of players' concerns – resources, having more practices, more games and national TV exposure for teams in the league are all things players believe are needed to catch the business side of the league up with talent.

"No one wants to sit out. We love the game, we love the sport. The last thing we want to do is not play, but I think that shows how bad this needs to be done," Brandt said.

Brandt believes a sustainable league could look a lot like the arrangement the WNBA and NBA have. She says coming together for those two leagues has worked and she says it is an option for the NWHL and NHL.

The women's league is made up of five teams. The NWHL says it is open to talks to address concerns.