The Professional Women’s Hockey League has announced it will begin its inaugural season in January 2024 with six teams based in Canadian and U.S. cities.

The league will feature six teams – Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York City and Minnesota – to play 24 regular season games each.

League activities begin with free agency on Sept.1, followed by a draft on Sept. 18.

“Today, we look ahead to a phenomenal future for the PWHL,” Jayna Hefford, PWHL senior vice president of hockey operations, said in a news release. “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.”

The league said it is in the final stages of securing general managers for the six clubs, who will then be in charge of forming their teams in advance of the season.

Mark and Kimbra Walter are financially supporting the new league. Mark is the part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and CEO of Guggenheim Partners and the two run their philanthropic arm, The Walter Family Causes.

For years, women’s hockey had been divided into two entities, the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).

That changed earlier this year, when the Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises – already financiers of the PWHPA – bought the PHF and essentially paved the way for the unified league.