The PWHL's big reveal is a 3-on-3 All-Star, and the format is right

The PWHL's "major announcement" wasn't the thing everyone guessed. It was the league's first All-Star event, and the format is better than the rumor mill deserved.

On March 7, Scotiabank Arena gets a four-team, 3-on-3 tournament: PWHL Canada, PWHL USA, PWHL International and PWHL Rookies. The league rolled it out Thursday at the Hockey Hall of Fame, with Jayna Hefford, Amy Scheer and players' association president Laura Stacey in the room.

My take: 3-on-3 is the right call, and the Rookies team is the best idea the league has had all fall.

How it works

Each roster is 10 players: six forwards, three defenders, one goalie. The four teams play a round robin. The top team goes straight to the final, and the second- and third-place teams play a semifinal for the other spot.

Fans, players and media vote in the starters. Hockey operations picks the reserves. Anyone in her first PWHL season counts as a rookie, whatever her age.

Scripps Sports and ION carry it in the U.S. TSN has it in English in Canada, and Radio-Canada in French. A countdown clock goes up at Union Station on Friday, because this league knows its best market.

Hefford's pitch was that 3-on-3 "creates an intense, fast-paced style of play." For once, a league exec undersold it. This roster pool is built for open ice.

Why the format fits this year

The league opens its fourth season in December with 12 teams, adding Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose. That's a lot of new rosters and a lot of new names. A skills-and-speed weekend in Toronto is how you introduce them.

The International team is the quiet win. Finland, Czechia, Sweden and Switzerland have been feeding this league since day one, and they usually get lost between the two superpowers. Now they get their own bench and a real shot at the final.

And the Rookies team is a marketing gift. The college-to-pro class gets a national TV window in its first season. That's how you make a kid from Wisconsin a household name before she's played 20 games.

The fine print

Nobody's announced ticket prices or dates yet, just a presale sign-up. And if you had "Hockey Night in Canada deal" in the pool, hang onto your ticket. That wasn't this.

The W read

It sells out, PWHL Canada wins it on home ice, and the Rookies beat somebody famous in the round robin. The men's-hockey guys will discover the PWHL again in March. This time they'll be watching 3-on-3 hockey at its best.