Five Manitobans earn spots on PWHL opening night rosters
The Professional Women's Hockey League has named 157 players to its opening night rosters, with teams set to begin play come January 1, 2024.
Toronto will host New York at Mattamy Athletic Centre as the league kicks off its inaugural campaign in the special New Year's Day contest between what are expected to become rival clubs.
The league has recently announced its official equipment partnerships with CCM and Bauer, released its first line of apparel, while also having just named Cassie Campbell its special advisor.
But the big news out of the PWHL is the release of its 23-player rosters leading up to opening night puck drop.
Of the 157 players, teams were able to draft up to 15 players at its first annual PWHL Draft, this past September. Teams were then given the green light to sign players to standard player contracts or provide training camp invites to other young women hoping to earn a spot on a roster of one of the six PWHL teams.
Of the six clubs, each has 26 players listed on their roster, including 13 forwards, seven defencemen, 3 goaltenders, and 3 reserve players
Players serving on the reserve will be allowed to train with their respective clubs throughout the season and can join the active roster of their respective team via a standard player agreement, including a short-term SPA if needed based on injuries, releases, etc.
Leading the charge is Canada, which sees 90 players listed on team rosters, while the United States boasts an additional 53. In terms of international players, there are 14 that will be suiting up overseas in North America for the 2024 season - Austria (1), Czechia (5), Finland (1), France (1), Germany (1), Hungary (1), Japan (1), Sweden (2), and Switzerland (1).
85 of the league's rostered players were chosen through the PWHL Draft, while 54 came on as training camp invites. Another 18 (three per team) were signed through the PWHL's initial free agent period. 33 players will begin their professional careers following graduation from their respective collegiate programs this past season, making up over 20 percent of each team's roster.
“The positive energy, depth of talent and skill on all teams, and the fierce competition displayed during scrimmages at our pre-season evaluation camp in Utica, New York, was an exciting sign of what PWHL fans will enjoy when the puck drops in January,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. “Among the camp takeaways was a commitment from the league to provide additional opportunities for players to be a part of the PWHL this season, leading to the decision to increase the number of roster reserves from two to three players per team, which is reflected across all final rosters.”
Five players with Manitoba roots will get their feet wet in the PWHL this year, including two on Toronto, and one on each of the Montreal, Ottawa and New York based clubs. Those players are as follows:
Defencemen:
Jocelyne Larocque - Ste. Anne, MB, Toronto
Ashton Bell - Deloraine, MB, Ottawa
Kati Tabin - Winnipeg, MB, Montreal
Goaltenders:
Kristen Campbell - Brandon, MB, Toronto
Corinne Schroeder - Elm Creek, MB, New York
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