Hockey fans plead for Halifax to have future Professional Women’s Hockey League team

Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens (35) stops Toronto Sceptres' Blayre Turnbull (40) during PWHL Takeover Tour action in Halifax on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Riley Smith

HALIFAX — Thirteen-year-old Addie Keys’ eyes lit up when some of her Professional Women’s Hockey League idols took the ice in a Halifax arena last month, and she’s one of many fans pushing for the city to have its own team.

The AAA minor hockey player got to see Nova Scotia-born star Blayre Turnbull represent the Toronto Sceptres at a PWHL takeover series in December. It was one of two sold out games in downtown Halifax.

“It was a really cool experience … to see the players from here and the coaches, it’s really inspiring to see them in our hometown and play a really competitive hockey game,” Keys said in a recent interview.

Her mother, Caroline Mann, says the league is offering Keys and her teammates a group of heroes to look up to.

“To be able to watch women who are doing exactly what Addie dreams of doing, knowing there is a pathway, it sends the message to all girls that you belong in this sport and there is a future here,” she said.

Amy Scheer, PWHL executive vice-president of operations, said fans at Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre were energetic and engaged from the puck drop to the last minute of each game -- both of which had shoot-out finishes.

“Selling out both games was amazing, but what really stood out was the atmosphere. The energy in the building was electric … and the connection between the crowd and the players was undeniable,” Scheer said in an email.

Among the fans at the game earlier this month were Canadian musician Anne Murray and Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid -- who attended both games. There were signs throughout the crowd, some with messages like: “Halifax PWHL team when?” and “Future PWHL star right here.”

“That kind of environment is exactly what we’re hoping to create when we bring the Takeover Tour to new cities, and Halifax absolutely delivered,” Scheer said.

Keys, who played for the under-14 Team Nova Scotia that won gold last fall, was joined at the PWHL game by her good friend and hockey rival who travelled from Newfoundland for the occasion. The two young athletes became friends while on an Atlantic team together, and played against each other in a tournament representing teams Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Keys said the PWHL has been inspiring her and her friends.

“It’s just so cool to be able to turn on the TV and see women’s teams playing, and even cooler to get the experience to watch the players in real life too,” Keys said.

Ashley Beairsto, who went to both games, said it was amazing to be in the crowd. “It felt like there was something exciting happening. The energy felt like this (event) is a big deal,” she said.

Beairsto said she always enjoys a Halifax Mooseheads’ hockey game, “but this was different … It was really incredible.”

She said it’s “obvious” that Halifax is ready to welcome a PWHL team, adding the city is full of fans who would show up to see more women’s hockey.

Scheer said the Takeover Series, where PWHL teams face off outside of their eight home cities, gives the league a chance to see how different markets “engage with the PWHL, which is valuable as we evaluate future opportunities, including expansion.”

Halifax was one of 11 cities involved in the series, and one of five that hosted a second season game.

When looking at a new expansion city, the league considers partnership opportunities, athletic facilities, media reach, strength of youth hockey in the area and fan support, Scheer said.

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore said the “energy in the room was absolutely electric” when he attended the December PWHL game, and there’s an appetite from fans and the business community for more women’s sports.

But the mayor declined to say if he would support the municipality financially contributing to the creation of a PWHL team, nor would he say what kind of support he thinks the municipality should offer the league if it were to expand to Halifax.

“I’m encouraged by the broader conversation this is sparking on the future of professional women’s hockey in our region and the opportunities it brings,” he said in an emailed statement.

Katie Winters, 28, grew up playing hockey, ringette, field hockey and ball hockey in Halifax, and she made it to both games.

“They were so physical and so fast … they’re technical, there’s strategy involved. It’s a lot of fun to watch,” she said, adding that she would have loved the chance to see such a high level of women’s hockey when she was a younger athlete.

Winters said a sign in the crowd that stuck out to her read: “for the girls who dressed in storage rooms.”

In many communities, girls who didn’t have access to a local girls league ended up playing on boys teams, where they’d have to dress in the referee room or the storage rooms because they couldn’t get ready with their teams, Winters said.

“But now, there’s huge clubs and girls hockey associations, high-level girls hockey camps. So that was a really special sign to see,” she said.

Keys, who plays on the same youth hockey team that Nova Scotia hockey star and Boston Fleet player Jill Saulnier once played for, dreams of making it to the PWHL. “It’s a really great inspiration, it proves to me how kids that were once my age can play at the top level.”

To her mom, the visibility and momentum that women’s hockey has been awe-inspiring.

“As a mom, you want your kids to follow their dreams and have role models along the way, the PWHL has made it a reality,” Mann said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2026.

By Lyndsay Armstrong