PWHL Toronto

Last updated

PWHL Toronto
Toronto PWHL.jpg
City Toronto, Ontario
League PWHL
Founded2023 (2023)
Home arena Mattamy Athletic Centre
Scotiabank Arena
Coca-Cola Coliseum
ColoursBlue, black and white
   
Owner(s) Mark Walter Group
General manager Gina Kingsbury
Head coach Troy Ryan
Captain Blayre Turnbull
Website toronto.thepwhl.com
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2023–24)
Hockey current event.svg Current season

PWHL Toronto is a Canadian professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Toronto topped the standings in the league's inaugural regular season.

Contents

History

Founding and inaugural season

On August 29, 2023, it was announced that Toronto would be home to one of the PWHL's first six franchises. [1] [2] This ensured the continuation of professional women's hockey in the city after the folding of the Toronto Six and the Premier Hockey Federation earlier that summer—the Six were that league's final champions. [3] The PWHL announced on September 1 that Gina Kingsbury, the former vice president of hockey operations at Hockey Canada and general manager of the Canadian women's national team, would be the PWHL Toronto's general manager. [4] [5] On September 15, Troy Ryan, the head coach of the Canadian women's national team, was announced as the team's first head coach. [6] [7]

Toronto's first three players—Canadian national team members Sarah Nurse, Renata Fast and Blayre Turnbull—were signed to three-year deals on September 5, 2023. [8] The team selected 15 players at the inaugural PWHL draft on September 18; the team's first pick, at second overall, was veteran Canadian national team defender Jocelyne Larocque. [9] Ahead of the start of the inaugural season, Turnbull was named team captain, with Fast and Larocque to serve as assistant captains. [10]

In November 2023, it was announced that the team's colours would be blue, black, and white. [11] The same month, it was announced that the Mattamy Athletic Centre in the old Maple Leaf Gardens would become the team's home. [12]

On January 1, 2024, Toronto hosted the first ever PWHL game at Mattamy, with visiting PWHL New York posting a 4–0 victory over Toronto. [13] The teams faced each other again on January 5, with Toronto securing its first win by a score of 3–2; Natalie Spooner scored the first goal in team history in the second period. [14] On February 16, Toronto hosted its first game at Scotiabank Arena against PWHL Montreal, a match dubbed by the league as "The Battle on Bay Street". [15] The game set a league and women’s hockey attendance record with a sellout crowd of 19,285, beating the previous record of 18,013 set at the 2013 IIHF Women's World Championship. [16] Two months later, on April 20, Montreal hosted Toronto at the Bell Centre, selling out the arena and setting another new attendance record at 21,105 in a game known as "The Duel at the Top" because the two teams were vying for first place. [17] [18]

Toronto in action against PWHL Minnesota in 2024. 240110 Minnesota Toronto JohnMc007 (53469513119).jpg
Toronto in action against PWHL Minnesota in 2024.

Toronto became the first team to clinch a playoff spot, and clinched first overall on May 1. Spooner led the league in both goals and points. [19] Toronto elected to play PWHL Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs. [20] Despite winning the first two games at home, Toronto went on to lose three straight and the series and were eliminated from playoff contention. [21] After the season, Spooner was named the league's first winner of the Billie Jean King MVP award; she was also named the league's top forward. Kristen Campbell won top goaltender honours, while Troy Ryan was named coach of the year. [22]

Team

Current roster

As of 20 March 2024 [23] [24] [25]
No. Nat Player Pos S/G AgeAcquiredBirthplace
51 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Victoria Bach F L272023 Milton, Ontario
50 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Kristen Campbell G L262023 Brandon, Manitoba
17 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Samantha Cogan F L262023 Ottawa, Ontario
18 Flag of the United States.svg Jesse Compher F R242023 Northbrook, Illinois
22 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Maggie Connors F L232023 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
14 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Renata Fast  ( A ) D R292023 Hamilton, Ontario
6 Flag of the United States.svg Kali Flanagan D R282023 Burlington, Massachusetts
41 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Brittany Howard F R282023 St. Thomas, Ontario
37 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Erica Howe G L312023 Ottawa, Ontario
70 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Carly Jackson G L262023 Amherst, Nova Scotia
7 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Olivia Knowles D R252023 Campbell River, British Columbia
3 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jocelyne Larocque  ( A ) D L362023 Ste. Anne, Manitoba
19 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Rebecca Leslie F R282023 Ottawa, Ontario
27 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Emma Maltais F L242023 Burlington, Ontario
34 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Hannah Miller F L282023 North Vancouver, British Columbia
12 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Allie Munroe D L272023 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
20 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Sarah Nurse F L292023 Hamilton, Ontario
76 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Maude Poulin-Labelle D L242023 Sherbrooke, Quebec
5 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Lauriane Rougeau D L342023 Beaconsfield, Quebec
24 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Natalie Spooner   Injury icon 2.svg F R332023 Scarborough, Ontario
40 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Blayre Turnbull  ( C ) F R302023 Stellarton, Nova Scotia
10 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alexa Vasko F L252023 St. Catharines, Ontario
28 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Kaitlin Willoughby F R292023 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Reserves

As of 20 March 2024 [23] [24] [25]
No. Nat Player Pos S/G AgeAcquiredBirthplace
23 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jess Jones F L332024 Picton, Ontario
21 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Emma Keenan D L262023 Calgary, Alberta
55 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jessica Kondas D R242023 Calgary, Alberta

Draft history

The 2023 PWHL Draft was held on September 18, 2023, using a "snake draft" format with the selection order reversing after each round; Toronto's first pick was second overall. [26] Toronto made the following selections:

2023 PWHL Draft
RdPickPlayerNationalityPositionPrevious team
12 Jocelyne Larocque Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Defence Team Adidas (PWHPA)
211 Emma Maltais Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Forward Ohio State Buckeyes (WCHA)
314 Kristen Campbell Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Goaltender Team Scotiabank (PWHPA)
423 Natalie Spooner Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada ForwardTeam Scotiabank (PWHPA)
526 Jesse Compher Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Forward Wisconsin Badgers (WHCA)
635 Kali Flanagan Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States Defence Boston Pride (PHF)
738 Victoria Bach Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada ForwardTeam Scotiabank (PWHPA)
847 Brittany Howard Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Forward Toronto Six (PHF)
950 Allie Munroe Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Defence Connecticut Whale (PHF)
1059 Mellissa Channell Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada DefenceTeam Harvey's (PWHPA)
1162 Maggie Connors Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Forward Princeton Tigers (ECAC)
1271 Rebecca Leslie Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada ForwardTeam Sonnet (PWHPA)
1374 Hannah Miller Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Forward Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star (ZhHL)
1483 Alexa Vasko Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada ForwardTeam Sonnet (PWHPA)
1586 Olivia Knowles Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Defence Minnesota Whitecaps (PHF)

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References

  1. ↑ Wyshynski, Greg (August 29, 2023). "Six inaugural franchises revealed for new PWHL". ESPN . Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  2. ↑ Dachman, Jason (January 30, 2024). "Inside the Whirlwind Launch of the Professional Women's Hockey League's Broadcast Operations". sportsvideo.org. Sports Video Group. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  3. ↑ McGran, Kevin (September 20, 2023). "Toronto Six president excited for the future of women's hockey, but mourns a team left in the ashes". Toronto Star . Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  4. ↑ "PWHL names six general managers as teams begin roster construction". Sportsnet . CP. September 1, 2023. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ Kennedy, Ian (September 1, 2023). "Gina Kingsbury To Step Away From Role With Hockey Canada". The Hockey News . Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Ryan, MacLeod headline PWHL coaches". Sportsnet . The Canadian Press. September 15, 2023. Archived from the original on September 17, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  7. ↑ Ngabo, Gilbert (September 15, 2023). "Team Canada coach Troy Ryan adds Toronto PWHL job". Toronto Star . Archived from the original on September 16, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Sarah Nurse, Blayre Turnbull and Renata Fast sign with Toronto's PWHL franchise". The Globe and Mail . CP. September 6, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  9. ↑ Kennedy, Ian (September 18, 2023). "Jocelyne Larocque Goes Second Overall To Toronto In PWHL Draft". The Hockey News . Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ Martin, Curtis (December 30, 2023). "Turnbull Named Toronto's Captain". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  11. ↑ Kennedy, Ian (November 23, 2023). "PWHL Releases Jersey Designs". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  12. ↑ Glennie, Drew-Anne (November 3, 2023). "MAC Confirmed as PWHL Toronto's Home Rink". ontherecordnews.ca. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  13. ↑ Donkin, Karissa (January 1, 2024). "New York shuts out Toronto in 1st PWHL game as Canada's Shelton leads the way". CBC Sports . Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Maltais' short-handed goal lifts Toronto over New York for 1st PWHL win". CBC Sports. AP. January 5, 2024. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Scotiabank Arena to host PWHL's 'Battle on Bay Street' between Toronto, Montreal". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. January 25, 2024. Archived from the original on January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  16. ↑ Ibrahim, Abdulhamid (February 16, 2024). "PWHL Toronto tops Montreal 3-0 in front of record-setting crowd at Scotiabank Arena". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  17. ↑ Rainbird, Daniel (April 20, 2024). "PWHL-leading Toronto clinches playoff berth, wins in OT before record crowd in Montreal". CBC Sports . Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  18. ↑ Rowe, Daniel J. (April 20, 2024). "Nurse OT winner breaks Montreal hearts as Toronto wins PWHL 'Duel at the Top'". CTV News . Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  19. ↑ Kennedy, Ian (May 6, 2024). "Spooner Wins PWHL Scoring Race, Hits 20 Goal Mark". The Hockey News . Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  20. ↑ Sadler, Emily (May 6, 2024). "Toronto chooses to face Minnesota in first round of PWHL playoffs". Sportsnet . Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  21. ↑ Ganter, Mike (May 19, 2024). "Not the ending they wanted, but PWHL Toronto's first year a success". Toronto Sun . Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  22. ↑ "PWHL Toronto forward Natalie Spooner named league's inaugural MVP". CBC Sports . The Canadian Press. June 11, 2024. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  23. 1 2 Donkin, Karissa (December 12, 2023). "PWHL teams release final 23-player rosters ahead of Jan. 1 season opener". CBC Sports. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023. Teams will also carry 3 reserve players for 2024 season
  24. 1 2 "PWHL Toronto Roster 2024 Regular Season". ThePWHL.com. Professional Women's Hockey League. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  25. 1 2 "Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Roster Updates". March 19, 2024.
  26. ↑ Burgess, Melissa (September 2, 2023). "PWHL Introduces General Managers, Announces Draft Order". The Victory Press. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
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