A new women’s professional hockey league will drop the puck in North America in January, a move that came to fruition after rival groups announced a merger on Friday.

The initiative is led by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Mark Walter and wife Kimbra, team president Stan Kasten and tennis icon Billie Jean King. The league will be financially supported by the Walters, whose firm purchased assets of the seven-team Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).

Per the release announcing the move, the new league has spent months negotiating with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association. The PWHPA was formed after the collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2019.

“I have always believed that professional sports should bring the highest levels of performance and organization, and this new league will have the backing and resources it needs to represent the very best of women’s hockey,” said Mark Walter, who also is the controlling owner of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, co-general partner of the ownership group of the Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club and holder of a significant interest in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.

King said she feels it’s an extraordinary opportunity to advance women’s sports.

“I have no doubt that this league can capture the imagination of fans and a new generation of players,” King said.

The new league is expected to feature PWHPA chief Jayna Hefford and PHF commissioner Reagan Carey in leadership roles.

The PHF featured the defending champion Toronto Six, as well as teams in Boston, Montreal, Hartford, Conn., East Rutherford, N.J., Buffalo, N.Y., and Richfield, Minn.

–Field Level Media