Happy Hockey Friday everybody! Dylan Nazareth from The Ice Garden here with a very exciting interview this week.
Just like the leaves outside, the Canadian women’s hockey team is in a period of change. This month’s training camp saw a new head coach and general manager at the helm, as well as a number of fresh faces on the ice ahead of next month’s World Championships in Denmark.
Canadian forward Emma Maltais is no stranger to change herself, signing with the Montréal Victoire this summer after three seasons with the Toronto Sceptres. Last Friday, Maltais spoke exclusively with The Ice Garden at the start of training camp for an inside look at a changing Canadian team and the preparation for next month’s marquee tournament.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
THE ICE GARDEN: We’re now one day into training camp, how’s it going so far?
EMMA MALTAIS: It’s fun. There’s a lot of new girls here, so it’s really fun to meet everyone. A lot of young gals who are excited to be here, which is really nice. It’s really refreshing to see everyone come so prepared for camp. The pace was super fast yesterday, so that’s also really exciting and fun.
TIG: Coming off an Olympic cycle and such a long offseason, and with a lot of new talent around, does it feel a little different this year?
MALTAIS: Yeah, I’ve personally never experienced a camp where I don’t know some people coming into it. I feel like that’s definitely a new thing for a lot of us. We had a similar group for quite a long time, and I think to see a lot of new faces is, yeah, it’s different, it’s a change. But I think it’s also what we need, what’s going to be good for the program moving forward. A lot of these young girls are so talented, so skilled, so high energy. So I feel like it’s a great thing to get them started here, and hopefully we can make them feel welcomed.
TIG: As a more experienced player yourself, how do you help those younger players integrate?
MALTAIS: Not too long ago I was in their shoes and I remember being petrified. So I’m just trying my best just to chat with them. I’m from Ontario and I’ve been training with a few of them, so once you know one of them, you know they feel a bit more comfortable. I try my best to be myself around them so they feel like they can come talk to me, but I know it can be very intimidating. So yeah, I just try to joke around with them. Try and make them feel like it’s just any other hockey camp. I think that’s the most important part.
TIG: On that note, Canada obviously has some pretty big absences right now. What does that do for the team mentally entering a major tournament like this?
MALTAIS: I think those who are still around are looking to step up. You know, it’s hard to fill those voids that we have right now with some of our biggest leaders and players missing. But I think we’re going to try do the best we can to, again, make everyone feel welcomed. And although they’re missing, we maintain the culture and the team atmosphere that they’ve instilled in us. So I think that’s still here. You still feel it, and hopefully the young girls can feel it too, and feel what it means to be a part of this team.
TIG: This is also the first camp with Kori Cheverie at the helm. You’ve known her for some time, but now she’ll be pulling double duty as your head coach with both Canada and the Victoire. Could you tell me a bit about your relationship?
MALTAIS: Yeah, I’ve always been able to talk to Kori about a lot of things. She’s always been there for me when I’ve needed a chat. My relationship with her has meant a lot to me over the last five years. I’m excited to have her as a head coach. You can already see a little bit of difference in her stepping up into this role, so I think that’s really exciting to see. And I think it’ll be really cool to see her work with some different coaches, with Kris Sparre and Bruce Cassidy, and Caro [Caroline Ouellette] is still here. I think it’s really cool to see that dynamic shift. And yeah, I’m looking forward to having her in Montréal as well.
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