NWHL players tweet inspiring #TBT posts ahead of inaugural season

Members of the new National Women’s Hockey League​ tweeted inspiring #TBT posts on Thursday ahead of the league’s inaugural season.

Members of the new National Women’s Hockey League​ tweeted inspiring #TBT posts on Thursday ahead of the league’s inaugural season.

In an effort to garner attention for the new league, several players took to Twitter to post pictures of themselves in their younger years, along with the line, “To when playing professional hockey was just a dream. #HistoryBegins October 11.”

The NWHL, which is the first-ever American women’s professional hockey league to pay its players, formed in March and consists of four teams—the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale and New York Riveters.

Prior to the existence of the NWHL, the only professional option for elite women’s hockey players in North America was the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, which did not pay its players. According to league founder Dani Rylan, the NWHL will pay an average salary of $15,000 to its players in the inaugural season.

Each of the league’s four teams will play nine home and nine away regular season games between October and February.

The puck will first drop for the NWHL on October 11, as the Riveters and Whale face-off at Chelsea Piers in Stamford, Conn.

• The Holdout: Lynx's Sylvia Fowles seeking redemption in WNBA Finals

Check out some of the #TBT tweets below:

#tbt to when playing professional hockey was just a dream! #HistoryBegins October 11. pic.twitter.com/QYv7qhlTqx

— Celeste Brown (@celestebrown8) October 8, 2015

#tbt to when playing professional hockey was just a dream. #HistoryBegins Oct 11th ✨ @TheBostonPride pic.twitter.com/jEm65XUj3L

— Alyssa (Gagliardi) Sleasman (@AGagliardi92) October 8, 2015

#tbt to when playing professional hockey was just a dream! #HistoryBegins October 11. pic.twitter.com/S5tiXvm0ST

— Dani Rylan Kearney (@DaniRylan) October 8, 2015

- Kayla Lombardo