Jocelyne Larocque and Renata Fast have an unbreakable bond. Their chemistry on the ice has led Canada to gold, and has been key to PWHL Toronto's success this season.
Jocelyne Larocque and Renata Fast have an unbreakable bond. Their chemistry on the ice has led Canada to gold, and has been key to PWHL Toronto's success this season.
The streak had to end sometime. On Saturday, PWHL Toronto’s historic run ended with a loss to Ottawa. The team had looked vulnerable in its previous game against Boston. Versus Ottawa, they allowed a comeback from two goals ahead and lost 5-3. Perhaps the absence of Jocelyne Larocque spoke louder about her value to the team than any other statement could.
The streak was the longest for any of Toronto’s current professional sports teams. After starting the season 2-5, the team roared through February into March without dropping a game (one win was in overtime, one in the shootout), and leaped from the basement all the way to the top of the standings.
Many credit coach Troy Ryan and his staff for the improvement, and also point to the turnaround of goaltender Kristen Campbell, who had a save percentage of .953 during the streak.
But watching the team in action shows you a critcal piece of Toronto’s amazing progression: they have arguably the best D pair in the league in Jocelyne Larocque and Renata Fast, and when they hit their stride, the rest of the team followed.
"I think early on in the season there was just so much information thrown at us through training camp, and we have such a great group of girls, and everyone wants to go out there and execute what we're being told to execute, and people were gripping their sticks tightly and not just playing that free game,” Fast said.
“A lot of it was just players getting comfortable with what we were doing, and our confidence literally never wavered in our five games that we were not doing well, and it's paying off going through that adversity."
Success has followed Larocque and Fast since they were paired together at a Team Canada training camp in 2015. Fast remembers feeling nervous before her first game, and a note from Larocque was encouraging.
“I got to the rink for game day, and I had a little note from Joc to keep the game simple, and that she’s excited to play with me. And that was an incredible moment to just relax and be like, ‘hey, I can play my game.’”
They have played in two Olympics (2018 and 2022) and seven World Championships, and will play together again in April’s World Championship in Utica, New York. Team USA are the defending champions, winning five of the last seven tournaments.
Team Canada (and PWHL Toronto) coach Troy Ryan said, “I never have to worry or wonder if they're doing the right thing, ever. Ever. I've coached a long time, and I don't know if two people, definitely two D, have ever given me that feeling.”
After Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury signed the initial free agents for the team (captain Blayre Turnbull, Sarah Nurse, and Fast), speculation grew that she would draft Larocque in September. They held the second overall pick, and most observers thought the smart choice would be Swiss star Alina Müller, a dynamic forward from Northeastern University. But they held firm and selected Larocque.
“We had a plan,” Ryan said. “When we were able to sign Renata as a free agent, we know how good Renata is, but we know how good she is with Larocque."
"It's more having that pair and how dangerous that pair could be in a league like this."
And as well as they’ve played defensively, their contributions on offense have been equally notable. Fast has nine points on the season (eight during the win streak), and Larocque has eight points, five of them during the streak.
"In the past, I would always think the least amount of mistakes I'd make, the better I play,” said Larocque.
"But (Ryan) really stresses that you have to take calculated risks and you have to play to win and not play to [not] lose. So it's definitely helped me become a more complete player and I find that I do contribute more offensively since he's been my coach."
Larocque noted, “We read off each other well [and] for me it's been great. When you get to play with the fastest skater on the ice, it makes my job pretty easy."
Assistant coach Rachel Flanagan said, “Some coaches might look at it and go, ‘Wow, we could split up our top D pair and then we could spread out some of our talent across our back end.’ But they're just so good for each other in the way they play."
“And not only that, they come to the bench and have an opportunity to chat with the rest of the D based on their experiences. They're building confidence in our younger D, giving them confidence to try things, but also talking to them about times where maybe they have made some plays that they used to make in their past, and they've sort of played themselves out of that, and had opportunities to be coached out of some of those situations," Flanagan continued.
“And so that is such a huge asset to our younger group of D that are playing and they're learning so much from them.”
Without its veteran defender, who was suspended one game for a hit to the head of Müller, against Ottawa, Toronto’s defense was shaky and out of rhythm. Saturday’s game also marked the first time Fast has played without #3 at her side since the two played separately in the CWHL in 2019.
Larocque and Fast also lead the league in ice time, each of them averaging over 28 minutes per game. So far, it’s worked for the team just the way they envisioned. And the workload isn’t fazing them, or their coach.
“We monitor them closely and if we think they need a break from practice or a strength workout, then we give it to them,” said Ryan. “They’re exceptional athletes.”
The league’s TV timeouts, three two-minute breaks each period, are new for the players, and have helped pace the pair’s heavy ice time.
Flanagan remarked, “Each game we say that we're going to try to pull back a little bit on their time, but they're such good athletes and they're so fit and – you know, they get matched up against other teams top line."
“So not only are they are they great at what they do, they also are taking minutes against everyone else's best players and they're still creating offensively, which is a part of their game that is really continuing to take off," she said. "And they're not just a defensive shutdown pair, they're creating offense for everyone else with the way they play the game.”
As they head to Utica to skate for Team Canada together, Fast and Larocque bring that knowledge and on-ice chemistry to one of the fiercest rivalries in hockey. And when they return to Toronto to continue the PWHL season at the end of April, there’s no reason to expect anything but the best from this formidable duo.