Founder Of National Women's Hockey League On Leadership And Love Of The Game

Dani Rylan, 30, founded the National Women's Hockey League in 2015. Before she became a pioneer in women's hockey, she spent time hawking bottled water at Fenway to pay for graduate school and started a coffee shop in New York City.

She recently sat down with WBUR's Shira Springer to talk about starting the league, the importance of paying players, and why she fell in love with hockey.

The Boston Pride will play the Metropolitan Riveters this Saturday, December 16 at the Warrior Ice Arena in Boston.

Dani Rylan, founder and commissioner of the National Women's Hockey League, the first professional women’s hockey league in North America that pays player salaries. She tweets @danirylan.

Shira Springer, WBUR sports and society reporter. She tweets @shiraspringer.