The Premier Hockey Federation is more than doubling each of its six teams’ salary caps to $750,000 and adding two expansion franchises next season in a bid to capitalize on the wave of attention women’s hockey traditionally enjoys following the Winter Olympics.

Taylor Girard was drafted 1st overall by the Connecticut Whale in the 2021 NWHL draft.

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2016, photo, National Women's Hockey League All-Star players take time for a photo before an All-Star game at Harborcenter in Buffalo, N.Y. The National Women's Hockey League semifinals and final will air on NBC Sports Network in early February 2021. It will be the first time professional women's hockey games are shown live on a major television network in the U.S. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert, File)Women’s professional hockey will be televised live in the U.S. by a major cable network for the first time when NBC Sports Network airs the National Women’s Hockey League semifinals and final in early February. “As the home of hockey in the U.S., NBC Sports is proud to showcase the NWHL to a national audience,” NBC Sports vice president of programming Michael Perman said. The NWHL fell short of completing its season last spring because of the pandemic.