I know you all remain unaware of the discussions going on between the leagues, except for random whisperings you may have heard. These discussions needed to be kept private while the details were getting ironed out.
Changes are coming, and none of them are small. You are going to face some unease heading into this new season, but know that all of this has been worked out in the best interests of everyone involved.
Axis Arena is home to two of the most incredible teams in professional hockey: the women of the Denver Dragons and the men of the Denver Lizards. This city has embraced both teams wholeheartedly, and you’ve all shown us what it means to come together through sport.
As a former Lizard myself, I have been absolutely honored to be involved in the team again, this time as the owner. Gettingthe opportunity later to own the Dragons once the women’s league was introduced was better than anything I could’ve ever dreamed.
With that said, the chapter of separate teams is officially closed. In many talks between team owners and the commissioner of both leagues, we’ve come to a joint decision to combine forces and operate as a single league comprised of both men and women.
The decision was not an easy one. The NHL and WHL have rising viewership with every game, but the divide is still there. The divide between men and women when all should be able to play the sport they love, regardless of gender or gender identity. The new NHL will be a more inclusive space for all athletes to perform at a professional level.
The specific details about these changes are coming, but for now, I will say this: welcome to the era of the Colorado Comets. The Comets will be a combination of players from both the Lizards and Dragons, and the new NHL will be made of teams with a similar makeup.
Please join me for a conference this Friday at five p.m. We will discuss everything in thorough detail so everyone understands where they fit in this new era.
I look forward to seeing everyone later this week and can’t wait for our first season as Comets.
Sean Eckhart
Owner, Colorado Comets
one
Zhuri
Myfrontdoorswingsopen, and Isla marches into my apartment on a warpath, pink hair flowing wildly behind her.
“What the fuck is this shit?” she yells, joining Elisabet and me in the living room where we’re already commiserating.
“I’m just as surprised as you,” I sigh.
“We’ve spent our entire careers as Dragons,” Bet says sadly. “I’m not ready to give that up.”
Isla plops down on the floor beside us, and we all sink against the sofa at our backs.
This was going to be my eleventh season as a Dragon. I entered the WHL draft after my freshman year of college and got drafted first overall, the only black woman to ever be drafted that high. And now we’re expected to just be okay with negating everything we’ve done as women to play with the men?
I know Bet and Isla share my feelings.
Elisabet Almr was drafted the year after me, coming into the league at eighteen straight from her home in Iceland. We took Isla Morin two years after that, and she was just shy of nineteen when she played her first pro game.
The three of us have spent our entire careers as Denver Dragons, and now that’s just gone.
It’s a hard pill to swallow.
“Maybe this will be a good thing,” I state softly.
Bet chuckles. “That’s our Z. Always trying to put a positive spin on things.”
“I have to try something. This situation sucks.”
“No kidding,” Isla groans. “Who knows if I’ll even make the Comets. You two were our captain and alternate captain, so I know you’ll both be there. What’s going to happen if I don’t? What will happen to my career? I can’t give up hockey.”
“Take a breath, babe,” Bet says, rubbing Isla’s back softly.
I chime in now. “You’re a first-line center, Icy. You’re going to be on the team.”
“I don’t think I can believe that until I actually hear it from Sean.”
