Canadians dominate first Professional Women's Hockey League rosters

Players of the Toronto squad of the Professional Women's Hockey League break after training camp in Toronto, Friday, Nov., 17, 2023. The six teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League have declared their rosters for the PWHL’s inaugural season starting Jan. 1. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Canadians dominated Professional Women's Hockey League rosters declared Tuesday for the league's inaugural season starting New Year's Day.

The yet-unnamed PWHL teams in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Boston and Minnesota will each carry 23 players, plus three reserves.

The rosters total 157 players from 12 different countries, including a league-leading 90 Canadians. The United States has 53 players on rosters with another 14 women from outside North America.

"It's just that one step closer now to getting things started and further figuring out who we are as a team and what's our identity," Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod said.

The first regular season game will be played Jan. 1 at Toronto's Mattamy Athletic Centre between Toronto and New York. Ottawa will host Montreal the next day at TD Place.

Each of the six teams took 27 players to last week's pre-season camp of skates and scrimmages in Utica, N.Y. A total of 185 players reported to training camps Nov. 15.

"For sure you want to be so careful with your decisions," said Toronto coach Troy Ryan, who is also the head coach of the Canadian women's team.

"You know the decisions you make ... I felt a lot of time when we made decisions for the national team, we know we potentially could be ending someone's career and I think it's similar here. There's not necessarily another way to make a living at hockey at this level.

"The players, there's such a level of pride in the group right now that they're finally here. They've been wanting this and needing this for a number of years and they want to make sure they're a part of it."

Of those who made the cut, 85 were drafted, 54 were invited to training camps and another 18 were signed during September's free-agency window.

The Rivalry Series between Canada and the United States resuming Thursday in Kitchener, Ont., and Saturday in Sarnia, Ont., features a total of 30 PWHL players.

The league, which is financially backed by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, will have 33 players starting their pro careers after graduating from colleges and universities in 2023.

Reserve players will paid no less than $15,000, according to the collective bargaining agreement between the players and the league, and can be added to the roster through a standard player agreement, or short-term standard player agreement.

"When you don't have a farm team, you have to make sure you can maintain the right level of play and the health that's required," MacLeod said. "Those women are vastly important, not only to each franchise, but for the league to be successful as well."

While Marie-Philip Poulin (Montreal), Brianne Jenner (Ottawa), Sarah Nurse (Toronto), Hilary Knight (Boston), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota) and Alex Carpenter (New York) headline their respective rosters, undrafted players earned jobs as walk-ons.

MacLeod's roster includes five players from outside North America, including camp invites Akane Shiga of Japan and Fanni Garat-Gasparics of Hungary. Toronto forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis, an MVP and top scorer in the former Premier Hockey Federation, also made Ottawa's roster out of camp.

Two-time Canadian Olympic defender Lauriane Rougeau made Toronto's lineup as a walk-on, as did goaltenders Erica Howe and Carly Jackson behind third-round pick Kristen Campbell.

"Howe's job is not to come in and just be a backup and Jackson's not just to be a third. They need to push each other and Howe needs to push Campbell," Ryan said. "Ultimately, hopefully, we're prepared to play any of them at any time."

Montreal boasts veteran firepower up front with Poulin, Ann-Sophie Bettez and Kennedy Marchment, Jillian Dempsey of the U.S. and Czechia's Tereza Vanisova.

"We want to be able to score goals. That's a must, but we also want to play fast defence," said Montreal coach Kori Cheverie.

"We feel we have a really good balance of some core veterans who have done it before who know what it takes to play at the pro level. Then we have some exciting younger payers as well, who will continue to get mentored by the experience that we have on the team."

Prominent Canadians sprinkled throughout the U.S. team rosters include Loren Gabel, Jamie Rattray and Sophie Jacques (Boston) and Emma Woods, Jill Saulnier, Elizabeth Giguere, Ella Shelton and Micah Zandee-Hart (New York)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2023.