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TORONTO — Darryl Watts thought she’d retired from hockey after a stellar NCAA career.
At Boston College, Watts became the first freshman to win the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top player in women’s Division I hockey. She recently finished her career at Wisconsin, ranking second all-time in NCAA scoring with 297 points in 172 games.
Last fall, the 23-year-old from Toronto was accepted into the University of Wisconsin’s masters commercial real-estate program after a summer internship in the field. But a week before returning to her alma mater in Madison, Watts changed her mind about what she wanted to do with her life.
“I backed out seven days before. My dad was so upset,” Watts told The Canadian Press on Wednesday. “He supports everything I do, and he was so supportive after he kind of got over it.”
The game-changer was the Premier Hockey Federation’s announcement on Dec. 14 of a salary-cap doubling next season to $1.5 million per team. Watts made public on Wednesday that her salary will be a league-record $150,000 in 2023-24, just days after the Toronto Six signed her to a two-year contract.
“That was the turning point,” Watts said. “The conversation with my family was playing women’s professional hockey is a very viable financial option and it can support a really great lifestyle for a 23-year-old. Why wouldn’t I pursue this and see what the options are?
“I’m also disclosing this because I hope this will attract other players, which will then accumulate into the establishment of one single professional women’s hockey league.”
Toronto forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis was the PHF’s highest-paid player heading into this season after signing an $80,000 contract with the Buffalo Beauts.
The seven-team PHF, with clubs in Toronto and Montreal, has upped the financial ante in its bid to be the North American women’s pro hockey league of record. Other teams in the league are located in Boston, Buffalo, New York; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Simsbury, Connecticut and Minneapolis.
The…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/35532201/toronto-six-forward-daryl-watts-lands-phf-record-salary
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Publish date : 2023-01-26 19:52:05
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