The TV show has featured men’s hockey since 1952
There are few shows in Canada that are as iconic as Hockey Night in Canada.
For generations, the country has watched their favourite NHL superstars and team rivalries on Saturday nights.
But when the show returns on CBC this winter, it will no longer feature the likes of NHL superstars Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby.
Instead, it will highlight a new league: the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).
Players, including Montreal Victoire forward Marie-Philip Poulin and Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast, will take centre ice.
It’s a huge change for CBC which has been airing men’s hockey games on Saturday nights for 74 years. At least one teen hockey player says she can’t wait.
Good for the game, says teen
The first PWHL game on Hockey Night in Canada will debut at 7 p.m. ET on Dec. 5 between the Montréal Victoire and PWHL Hamilton.
One of the people who will be watching at home is 16-year-old Berkley Wuttunee.
“It’s a really big step for women’s hockey,” she said.
Berkley, who is Cree from Red Pheasant Cree Nation, has been watching the PHWL since the league started in 2024.
The PWHL launched in 2024 with eight teams. This season it has expanded to 12. (Image credit: PWHL)
She counts former Olympian Brigette Lacquette as a role model and said her favourite player to watch is Victoire captain Poulin.
Berkley is a lifelong hockey fan who started skating when she was three years old and now plays defense for the Battleford WPD Ambulance Sharks in Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League.
“My own hockey goals are to play for a university, hopefully NCAA. I would also love to play for the PWHL,” she told CBC Kids News.
Berkley is excited to watch the PWHL alongside her sisters when the season starts. She said the Hockey Night in Canada partnership will provide more exposure for women’s hockey.
“It just shows that it’s real and that I have an opportunity to go somewhere and show that,” she said.
More than just a game
This upcoming season will be the fourth for the PWHL.
The partnership with the PWHL and Hockey Night in Canada comes at a time when women’s professional sports are growing.
The league is expanding from eight to 12 teams this season, adding teams in:
Hamilton, Ontario.
Detroit, Michigan.
San Jose, California.
Las Vegas, Nevada.
One of the players who will be on the ice for the first game on Hockey Night in Canada is PHWL Hamilton forward Brianne Jenner.
The Montreal Victoire faced off against the Ottawa Charge in the 2026 Walter Cup finals. Brianne Jenner (19), right, signed with the Hamilton team this off-season.
(Image credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Jenner grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada in Oakville, Ontario, with a mini hockey stick in her hands and remembers the theme song and the voice of host Ron MacLlean.
“I was always pretending that I was one of those players in the game,” Jenner told CBC Sports.
“And so for young girls that are in similar positions now, for them to see their heroes on Hockey Night in Canada, it’s just so exciting.”
Earlier this year, Jenner signed a three-year contract with the expansion PWHL Hamilton team.
“I think the momentum that we have as a league, it’s exciting for us as players and I think our fan base is going to be thrilled,” she said.
Each PWHL team plays 30 games. The regular season runs from Dec. 5 until April 18, 2027.
In Canada the games are scheduled across several platforms incldung TSN, Sportsnet and YouTube.
The CBC will air 26 PWHL games altogether including eight duriing the Saturday night primetime window on Hockey Night in Canada. Viewers can also watch on CBC Gem.