When the dust settled on this season's PWHL rosters, only 138 players found themselves with a full-time contract in the top women's hockey league.

Another 18 were placed on reserve, where players aren't entitled to a full salary or benefits like a housing stipend, but have a good chance to sign a contract to fill in for an injured teammate.

For some, this creates a gap: What happens to the players who have the talent and skill to play at the highest level, but who have found themselves on the outside, looking in? Or what about a young player who has a ton of potential, but isn't quite ready for the top league?

It's a problem the PWHL is grappling with, and it's one that will only continue to grow as more players get drafted into the league.

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Part of the issue is that the PWHL doesn't have a development league akin to the American Hockey League, and building one from scratch isn't so simple.

"In a perfect world, we'd have the ability to build a minor league system and everything else," Jayna Hefford, the PWHL's senior vice president of hockey operations, said in an interview during training camp.

"We're not even barely a year old, so we just can't do everything all at once."

'They're either ready or they're not'

Unlike the NHL, where players are drafted into pro hockey at 18 years old, PWHL players tend to turn pro a bit older. Most finish their college eligibility, giving them a few extra years to mature on the ice.

Once they're drafted, the team has only two seasons to ink that player to a contract.

Boston Fleet GM Danielle Marmer said it can make developing players a challenge.

"They're either ready or they're not, and it's hard for these players [because] there are so many players who are exciting, especially players that we brought to our camp who are exciting," Marmer said during training camp.

"But can they figure it out quick enough to be able to impact our team right now? Because if not, we just don't know where to put them."

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For those who don't make the team or accept a reserve position, the best option to keep playing might be to head to Europe. Several players who attended PWHL training camps signed in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) in the last couple of weeks.

That includes players who competed in the PWHL last season, like Maude Poulin-Labelle, Sarah Bujold and Savannah Norcross.

Other PWHL players, like Akane Shiga, opted to sign in Europe in the offseason. Shiga is now playing for Luleå, a top team in the SDHL.

"Could she be on a PWHL team? Is she going to continue to improve? Probably," said Spencer Gillis, an agent who runs 3G Sports and represents Shiga.

"But she isn't going to get the playing time that we thought would be crucial for her development and to really become a prominent player in the world, and so it was just playing time and opportunity that ultimately came down to making that decision."

Expansion on the horizon

The challenge is even steeper for goaltenders, who have only 18 jobs throughout the league, if each team carries three goalies.

Last season, only 13 goaltenders saw regular-season game action. 

"It's the most difficult position out there in so many different ways, but especially when it comes to opportunity," Gillis said.

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One positive is the prospect of PWHL expansion, which could happen as soon as next season, in part because the league feels there is enough strong talent outside the league to fill another two teams without decreasing the quality on the ice.

While expansion is not guaranteed to happen for next season, Gillis said a number of players who aren't in the league are looking for ways to keep active and continue improving, knowing there could be more opportunity for them to return to an eight-team PWHL.

Others are banking on the idea that a reserve position could turn into a contract, as it did for many players last season. It's an option that could work for a player who has another way to make money while they train or who is from the area where the team is playing.

With the league's physicality, and each team playing 30 games instead of 24, Ottawa Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld expects lots of opportunity for players who didn't make an opening night roster.

"Be ready when you're called on and you'll get a chance," Hirshfeld said.

Some others may choose to leave the game entirely, choosing retirement or another career path that feels more stable.

Long-term planning

While the league ponders expansion, Hefford and her staff are working on finding ways for players to continue to develop after college and outside the PWHL. One option could be affiliations with teams in Europe.

In the summer, the league hired former professional player Kristen Richards as the director of player development and grassroots growth. Along with advisors like Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Meghan Duggan, Hefford said part of her job will be think about how to get there long term.

"[We have] access to a lot of people that have a lot of great ideas and thoughts around the game, and so we're still, I think, at that ideating stage," Hefford said.

"As much as we'd all love to be there, it's just not possible to be there."