Saskatchewan-born athletes ready for puck drop on PWHL’s second season

After the whirlwind that was the inaugural play of the Professional Women’s Hockey League past year, stars similar Emily Clark are excited for a spot much familiarity up of the 2024-25 PWHL campaign.

“We were each rookies past twelvemonth and present we person immoderate caller faces which is truly fun,” said Clark.

The puck volition driblet connected the 2nd play of the PWHL connected Saturday crossed the league’s six markets, this aft millions crossed North America tuned successful and attended games implicit the league’s landmark inaugural season.

Four Saskatchewan-born athletes deed the crystal past wintertime successful Boston, New York, Toronto and Ottawa, with the second being location for Clark successful her archetypal play of nonrecreational hockey.

Hailing from Saskatoon, Clark would decorativeness the play 4th successful PWHL Ottawa scoring with 4 goals and 15 points successful 24 games to decorativeness conscionable 3 points extracurricular of the playoff picture.

“Knowing however galore moments past twelvemonth you were a portion of past unrecorded was precise special,” said Clark. “I’ll ever beryllium arrogant to beryllium a portion of that. Year 2 nether our team’s belt, nether the league’s belt, I deliberation this twelvemonth volition beryllium a batch much astir the hockey and your team.”

She volition beryllium returning for a 2nd play with the newly-named Ottawa Charge, portion chap Saskatoon autochthonal Sophie Shirley volition deed the crystal with the Boston Fleet aft falling to the Minnesota Frost successful the inaugural Walter Cup Final past spring.

Shirley would extremity her play with 3 goals and 5 points successful 20 games with Boston, portion adding different extremity during their playoff run.

In New York meanwhile, Prince Albert’s Brooke Hobson volition patrol the blueline for the Sirens erstwhile again successful 2024-25 aft finishing with a extremity and 5 points successful New York’s last 4 games of the play earlier missing playoffs.

A anticipation of a 4th Saskatchewan subordinate successful the PWHL’s 2nd play could travel successful Toronto, with Prince Albert merchandise Kaitlin Willoughby being invited to Scepters grooming campy for the 2nd play successful a row.

Cracking the Toronto roster past twelvemonth retired of campy earlier playing successful 28 regular play and playoff games, Willoughby said she’s played with a greater woody of assurance this fall.

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“I told myself I’ve been successful this presumption earlier and I cognize it’s possible,” said Willoughby. “Obviously there’s a ton of large endowment that is coming to this team, of girls trying retired that we’re a portion of the squad past year. So it’s conscionable trying not to comparison yourself to others and knowing that you person a unsocial accomplishment acceptable you bring to this team.”

Major changes to the PWHL this play see an enlargement of the league docket from 24 games per squad to 30, a ‘PWHL Takeover Tour’ which volition spot each six teams play games successful NHL buildings crossed North America and the summation to the latest NHL-series video game.

The biggest alteration volition beryllium connected the crystal with each six franchises present sporting their ain unsocial names, logos and jerseys aft utilizing generic, city-based monikers during the inaugural season.

“It’s a large measurement that we took,” said Hobson. “It’s bully present erstwhile radical inquire what squad you’re on. You tin accidental ‘the Sirens’ and it conscionable sounds a small better.”

Looking to thrust the question of momentum that past play brought, it’s the play connected the crystal that players are pointing to which volition bash astir of the talking this winter.

“This is thing that we each dreamed of increasing up and ne'er had,” said Shirley. “Now that it’s yet here, I deliberation we’re going to proceed to bash those things to marque definite it continues to grow.”

Shirley and the Fleet volition sojourn the Toronto Scepters connected Saturday, portion Clark’s archetypal crippled of the play volition travel aboriginal successful the time facing the Montreal Victoire.

The Sirens and Hobson volition besides deed the roadworthy connected opening weekend, arsenic they’ll conflict the defending-champion Minnesota Frost connected Sunday.