Do We Still Need The Rivalry Series?

We're less than a month away from the start of the 2024-2025 Rivalry series and I think it's time to raise the question: do we still need The Rivalry Series?

Yes, and also no.

Firstly, some history.

The Rivalry Series started in 2018-2019 and featured a three-game series between Team Canada and Team USA. It expanded to a five-game series in 2019, and then to a seven-game series in 2022. Now for 2024-2025, the series will return to five games.

In 2018, most professional players were either playing in the CWHL (which would fold in March 2019) or the NWHL (later the PHF). By having two leagues, it was rare for fans to be able to watch their National Team favourites play together, or against each other, with these options mainly being the World Championships and the Olympics.

This was further complicated when the CWHL folded and the PWHPA was formed. In Canada especially, most of the National Team players joined the PWHPA, a league that only played through a series of exhibition games on the Dream Gap tour.

With players split across different leagues, including internationally, it only made sense to have a series where Team USA would face-off against Team Canada a few times a year outside of the regular international events.

It also offered a way for players to build up chemistry with each other and practice as a team before facing off at the World Championships.

But now, with the formation of the PWHL, is there still a need for this?

We don't yet have Team Canada's roster, but for Team USA, every single non-college player is playing in the PWHL, many of them on the same team.

Both teams also held camps earlier this year to help build rosters for International competition. These camps included games between Team USA and Team Canada (although these were not televised).

Not to mention that holding the Rivalry Series means (at this point) starting the PWHL season later in order to fit in the first three games, and then taking a break partway through the season to hold the remaining games. Last season, we saw how impactful that break was on all six teams.

The other alternative would be to continue playing and simply lose the Rivalry Series players for a few games, which would likely cause just as much of an impact on the teams and the viewership.

We're already getting to watch best-on-best every single night in the PWHL - do we really need another best-on-best series?

On the other hand, the Rivalry Series does offer a chance for college players looking to make the World Championship or Olympic rosters to prove their worth against the best players in the world.

Team USA's Rivalry Series roster is made up of eight NCAA players who don't get a chance to play with their professional counterparts very often. It also gives them a chance to play against some of their future linemates or competitors and show that they'd fit in well in the PWHL.

There's also a segment of women's hockey fans who only tune in when Team Canada and Team USA play against each other, so the Rivalry Series does provide an opportunity to bring more eyes to the women's game. The final game of the 2019 series broke the record for the most-attended women's national hockey game on US soil.

The series also gives fans from different locations a chance to watch their favourite players compete live. The five games of the 2024-25 tournament will be hosted in the Western US and Eastern Canada, all places that don't have PWHL teams.

So, all in all, I think we could take or leave the Rivalry Series. But I'm always down to watch more women's hockey, so while it exists, I'll happily watch!