No farm system: How PWHL players without a roster spot continue their development

When the dust settled on this season's PWHL rosters, only 138 players found themselves with a full-time contract in the top women's hockey league.

Another 18 were placed on reserve, where players aren't entitled to a full salary or benefits like a housing stipend, but have a good chance to sign a contract to fill in for an injured teammate.

For some, this creates a gap: What happens to the players who have the talent and skill to play at the highest level, but who have found themselves on the outside, looking in? Or what about a young player who has a ton of potential, but isn't quite ready for the top league?

It's a problem the PWHL is grappling with, and it's one that will only continue to grow as more players get drafted into the league.

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Part of the issue is that the PWHL doesn't have a development league akin to the American Hockey League, and building one from scratch isn't so simple.

"In a perfect world, we'd have the ability to build a minor league system and everything else," Jayna Hefford, the PWHL's senior vice president of hockey operations, said in an interview during training camp.

"We're not even barely a year old, so we just can't do everything all at once."

Unlike the NHL, where players are drafted into pro hockey at 18 years old, PWHL players tend to turn pro a bit older. Most finish their college eligibility, giving them a few extra years to mature on the ice.

Once they're drafted, the team has only two seasons to ink that player to a contract.

Boston Fleet GM Danielle Marmer said it can make developing players a challenge.

"They're either ready or they're not, and it's hard for these players [because] there are so many players who are exciting, especially players that we brought to our camp who are exciting," Marmer said during training camp.

"But can they figure it out quick enough to be able to impact our team right now? Because if not, we just don't know where to put them."

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