Breakaway
The PWHL and the Women Who Changed the Game
When the first puck dropped in the Professional Women’s Hockey League in January 2024, it had been a long time coming. Women have been playing hockey since at least 1890 and playing professionally for decades. But until 2024, even the highest-level female players had never been compensated as professionals: some paid for their own gear and worked second jobs, earning a pittance, if anything, from their chosen profession.
In Breakaway, Karissa Donkin tells the story of the players’ efforts to create the PWHL, long before the first full season in 2024. Following the unnamed 2024 Montreal PWHL team, with some of the best players in the sport, like Marie-Philip Poulin and Erin Ambrose, Donkin takes readers through the League’s founding, the draft process, the practices, and the dramatic arc of the first season. Defying all expectations, with larger crowds and higher revenues than anticipated, this first season was a gamechanger for professional women’s sports leagues.
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“Karissa Donkin paints an entertaining and intimate portrait of the history of women’s hockey. To know where you want to go, you need to know where you come from. This book will make the lives of future generations better.” — Diana Matheson, founder of the Northern Super League and two-time Olympic medalist
“Karissa Donkin’s Breakaway is a deep and brilliant dive into the creation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. This formidable piece of work details the pain and perseverance of the hockey players and their allies who fought for sustainable working conditions and elite opportunities in women’s sport. Surviving the heartbreak of shuttered leagues and uniting with opponents in order to strengthen advocacy for the sport they love, these athletes are not just hockey players. They are advocates and builders who refuse to give up on fighting for what they deserve. Breakaway is an exemplary chronicle of the PWHL, and a necessary read not just for sports fans — but for anyone who believes in their own potential and the power of possibility.” — Shireen Ahmed, multiplatform journalist and senior contributor to CBC Sports
“A must-read for all hockey fans. Karissa Donkin brilliantly outlines the long, challenging path it took for the PWHL to arrive, takes us behind the scenes of its formation, and shares stories of the women making memories for future generations. She has done hockey a real service with this book.” — Jeff Marek, host of The Sheet, The Nation Network
“Breakaway is a must-read for any women's hockey fan, whether you've been following the sport since the days of the CWHL or are just being introduced today. It is essential reading that will undoubtedly teach even the most seasoned, experienced fans (and reporters alike!) something new about the inner workings of the PWHL's inaugural season.” — The Ice Garden
“This is going to be a key text in the history of hockey.” — The Miramichi Reader
Karissa Donkin writes about women’s hockey and the PWHL for CBC Sports and has worked in newspapers and broadcasting for more than a decade. Since 2016, she has been working with CBC’s Atlantic investigative unit, covering stories that regularly air on national programs across all of CBC’s platforms. Her recent work on New Brunswick’s Child Protective Services was profiled on The Current. She has won a National Newspaper Award and several Atlantic Journalism Awards for her investigative work. Her journalism was also nominated for the prestigious Michener Award. Breakaway is her first book.
