The return of Canadian women?

Journalists and fans aren’t the only ones excited about what the future holds for women’s hockey, with the prospect of creating a major professional league. The players too.

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Quebec striker Mélodie Daust, who met at the end of the week, in the Verdun region, said on the sidelines of the Vitrine Quartexx event, a “show” type course. Currently, we don’t know. We hear things, but we don’t know the truth, we’re not in all the meetings [de l’Association des joueuses professionnelles de hockey féminin (PWHPA)].

“It is sometimes difficult to know exactly where we are, but the latest news is very exciting,” she added. We think we are well surrounded. I’m sure there will be an announcement eventually, but we don’t know when.”

Concretely, many hockey players would have done better to wait a little longer before leaving their permanent jobs while waiting for a viable league to be established, thanks to which they could devote themselves to their sport.

At the Verdun room

By chaining a few threads, there was reason to hope for an announcement in the months or even weeks to come. Indeed, Danielle Sauvago, the great ambassador, let us know that the women’s professional hockey club will inevitably develop at the 21.02 High Performance Center, located at Salle Verdun. At least that’s part of the plan.

In addition, right in the middle of the track, the name “Canadians” already appears on the logo representing the high performance center. You don’t necessarily have to draw a conclusion from this, but it may be indicative of a desired association with the Montreal Canadiens. As in the past, until the end of Canadian Women’s Hockey League events in 2019.

Famous striker Marie Philip Boleyn decided: “To achieve great things, it takes time. There will surely be a team here, whether it’s with the NHL or not. It’s coming and we have good people working to put everything back in place.

“It’s been three long years since the previous league ended, we created the league for one reason, which is to have a new league,” Bolin continued. The fact that we’ve been together for all these years says a lot. We still have to be patient, we would like to say more, but we currently have people working for us and we will see later.

Played in the Vitrine Quartexx final against Minnesota on Sunday and Montreal won 6-3.

incomplete puzzle

In this fascinating puzzle surrounding the creation of a lasting professional league by the PWHPA, it must be remembered that another circle of women’s hockey wanted to continue to develop, without necessarily relying on the best players in the world.

Last January, the First Hockey Federation (PHF) announced the arrival of a team in Montreal next season. There is so much to get lost in! Thus, last month, it was the National Hockey League that asked the two leagues to sit down together in order to find an agreement on the union. The goal is really to have a professional women’s hockey club in Montreal. Not two…

“We hope and would like to have the support of men’s hockey and that has been proven over the past few years,” commented Ontario hockey player Laura Stacey, a member of the PWHPA, of a potential association with the NHL. We want to create the best league possible for the future of women’s hockey and to inspire young girls. It is a fact that the NBA has already contributed to the WNBA, but there are also other ways to do so, if necessary.

We do not necessarily know the content of the discussions [avec la LNH et la PHF]We know we want a league where the best hockey players in the world can compete professionally every day without having to work at another job,” Stacey added. And we want this league to last forever.

required depth

In the meantime, the Vitrine Quartexx, fifth stage of the 2021-2022 season of the Secret Dream Gap Tour organized by the PWHPA, will undoubtedly allow the identification of talented players, during the weekend, in Verdun. Recall that Stacey, Mary Philip Paul, Melody Doust and the other players of the Canadian team were not on the ice this weekend and are considering a respite before their preparations for the next world championship, which will begin in August. 25. , in Denmark.

“There are about 50 players that make up the Canada and United States teams. The league needs to have 50+ players and there are all these girls pushing for the other positions if you’re creating a pro circuit,” Stacey noted, emphasizing the importance of bringing depth.