The Toronto Six celebrated its first Pride game in February 2023. A Bauer hockey skate with rainbow tape is pictured to honor the event. (Photo Credit / Toronto Six Twitter Page)
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Great women’s hockey reporters continue to bring you exciting news, so I’m here for another weekly wrap-up.
After I grumbled in this newsletter two weeks ago about the lack of known progress on the PWHPA’s future, the rumors surfaced once again. Ian Kennedy reported this week that an email circulated to players listed some of the steps the organization is taking to prepare for the launch of a new professional women’s hockey league which could indicate that it’s close to launching. PWHPA lead operations consultant Jayna Hefford reportedly said, “We’re almost there!” in her message to PWHPA players. Check out the article for all the details.
In this opinion piece, Lloyde highlighted how Toronto Six goaltender Carly Jackson lives the mantra of ‘hockey is for everyone.’ Jackson is a loudly happy and positive player with a lovable grin. Her presence on the ice, in the media and online makes her a fan favorite. Lloyde argued that the openness of Jackson on her gay identity, her loving attitude and her success in the game all demonstrate the way hockey can be a game for everyone.
US National Team player Melissa Samoskevich has been announced as a new assistant coach with the Princeton women’s hockey team. Samoskevich previously worked in player development with other NCAA teams and played her collegiate career at Quinnipiac.
“What can the PHF do to mitigate a rising tide of wasted potential? Something to consider is the evolution of practice squads into a developmental squad,” writes Mike Murphy. In this piece, Murphy suggested an intriguing proposal for how the PHF could better support and develop hockey talent. This is a paid piece from The Ice Garden. The Ice Garden shares almost all of its news for free. Some features and fun stories like fantasy hockey, dream rosters and pieces like this are for paid subscribers only. Subscriptions are how the independent website pays its writers for their content. Consider subscribing to The Ice Garden and checking out this article!
Another week brought another list of PHF player signings. The Ice Garden can keep you up to date with all the signings on their website for free. Included in this week’s free agency news was goaltender Kassidy Sauvé. After playing in the PWHPA and Finnish league, Sauvé signed with the Buffalo Beauts of the PHF in 2022-23 but was limited to three games due to injury. Yesterday, the Canadian goalie signed a one-year deal with the Boston Pride for the upcoming season.
My favorite highlight
I’m going to leave you with one of my favorite hockey highlights of all time. It is both beautiful and ugly. Hilarious and concerning. It involves raw determination and the power of giving up.
This is the only video of this I’ve ever been able to find of this goal. If anyone knows where I can find a better video of it, please let me know!
The caption says it all. Nothing holds Christina Julien back. Julien saw an opportunity on the penalty kill and seized it, grabbing a loose puck and heading for the net. The Perth Inferno defender was never going to catch the speedy Julien and elected to grab hold of the forward to prevent a breakaway… or so she thought.
Like a sprinter doing resistance training, Julien kept skating, pulling the defender with her. She dragged her all the way through the neutral zone, kept her course straight for the net and scored the go-ahead goal for the Melbourne Ice.
Christina Julien is a Canadian professional soccer player. She played with a club team in Köln, Germany and on the Canadian national team. But like many Canadian athletes, she has a love for the ice. Julien has contrasted pro soccer with time playing pro hockey in the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey League with the Melbourne Ice. There she has captained the team to multiple championships. There is no one like Julien and there are no highlights like that one. It’s an all-time classic.
That’s it from me and the folks at The Ice Garden this week. Lots of love to you all!
