Engstrom Leaves NWHL with Scathing Last Words for Commissioner Dani Rylan

Molly Engstrom on her decision to play in Sweden

"I'm going to Sweden because of the way things were handled in the NWHL."

theicegarden.com

Highlights:

Last summer Engstrom had received a serious offer from Sweden and she had to chose between Sweden and the NWHL:

“I essentially had two contracts in my hand this summer,” said Engstrom. In speaking with NWHL CFO Steve Skillen, she was assured players’ salaries would be paid for the upcoming season. “He guaranteed the salaries at least, without being able to guarantee, fully, hockey operations, or being able to hire staff,” said Engstrom.

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For Engstrom, being blindsided by the devastating news of the cuts - cuts that came four games into her season - begs the question, at what point, and for how long did the league know salary cuts were necessary? “I’m not going to Sweden because of my Swedish descent,” said Engstrom, "I'm going to Sweden because of the way things were handled in the NWHL."

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“I would be remiss if I did not thank the NWHL for the opportunity to once again play with and against some of the best players in the world and to inspire young girls. At the same time, things do need to change and we are not quite sure how to go about doing that.”

Moving forward, Engstrom hopes that the players and the league can build a relationship and work together. Added Engstrom, “If that means working with Dani Rylan, that is going to take a lot of rebuilding trust.”

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A bigger message she hopes will resonate is the power the players have, especially when unified. Engstrom also wants to be clear; players standing up for themselves and each other is not counter to growing the game or paving the path for the next generation.

“The argument has been made, ‘Well, we don’t want to give up on the little girls.’ Well, the other side of that is, I never want my little girl to grow up and settle.”