“I want to be a good example for everyone here in my team. Obviously, being one of the more experienced players, I want to be one you can count on everywhere on the ice, to be a two-way player and just give my best to the team, and also give my best so my teammates can be their best.”
Before the 2025–26 season began, media asked Vancouver Goldeneyes forward Michelle Karvinen what some of her personal goals were for her first season in the PWHL.
“I want to be a good example for everyone here in my team. Obviously, being one of the more experienced players, I want to be one you can count on everywhere on the ice, to be a two-way player and just give my best to the team, and also give my best so my teammates can be their best.”
The sample-size is small so far — but from what she has exhibited within the Goldeneyes’ first few games, Karvinen has brought everything she has been hoping to and then some. Not only has she amassed two assists in her first five PWHL games, she has also provided her team with strong leadership and excellent play on all sides of the ice.
“She’s a great human being, and she’s a super good hockey player,” Goldeneyes Head Coach Brian Idalski said of Karvinen’s play throughout her first few games in the PWHL. “When she’s on her toes and she’s F1 and finishing through her checks and playing with pace, she’s a special player. There’s no doubt about that. Probably someone who may eventually get an IIHF Hall-of-Fame nod. That’s the kind of player she is.”
As Vancouver’s first-ever draft pick in franchise history, Karvinen came into the season with a lengthy list of accolades to her name. With eight World Championship medals, three Olympic Bronzes, as well as Olympic best-forward and Olympic most-points titles in her trophy case, the next prize for Karvinen to collect will be her first-ever Walter Cup.
“For me, personally, to come over here and be able to play pro hockey, it’s something I’ve dreamt of as a little girl.”
For a player like Karvinen, joining the PWHL was a no-brainer. With the sky-high level of talent in the PWHL, represented by national team legends such as Marie-Philip Poulin and Kendall Coyne Schofield, it felt as though Karvinen’s move to North American pro hockey would only be a matter of time.
“It’s just the level. There’s nothing like it anywhere else. Being a fan the last couple years, every game you tuned in, it was exciting. I think it’s something that a lot of people have seen. It’s hockey players on an extreme, higher level, and it’s teams that are very, very close. Every single game is going to be a battle to win.”
The PWHL may have seemed like a shoe-in for Karvinen, but the forward didn’t end up officially joining the league until this year. Due to commitments to her SDHL team at the time, Frölunda HC, she didn’t end up declaring for the draft until the end of the 2024–25 season.
“They had a vision to do something great long-term for women’s hockey in Sweden,” Karvinen explained regarding her decision to stay in Sweden before moving to North America for hockey. “I wanted to stay true to my commitment there. When I felt like the program was in a good spot that I could kind of leave and maybe live out my own dream to come over here, they announced Vancouver [expansion], and they ended up drafting me. I think maybe it was meant to be that I shouldn’t [have] come the first year.”
Credit: Ellen Bond @ THN That fate that Karvinen references is none other than the fact that Vancouver holds close ties to her personal career. It was in Vancouver where Karvinen won her first Olympic medal with Finland’s national team, of which she has become an icon of.
For nearly the past decade, Karvinen has been a key member of Finalnd’s national team’s leadership core. Most recently, she captained her team to a Bronze-medal finish during the 2024–25 World Championship. Already, Karvinen is proving her leadership at the PWHL level, as she served as an assistant captain against Vancouver’s 4–0 win against the New York Sirens in place of the injured Sarah Nurse.
“For her to wear the letter today in place of Sarah was a big moment for her, and I thought she responded super well. Gave us good leadership,” Idalski said.
Leadership has come easy to Karvinen throughout her first few games as a member of the Goldeneyes. From treating lighthearted interviews with fans with grace, to supporting BC’s other professional sports teams, it’s clear that Karvinen entered the 2025–26 season ready to bring her A-game to the Goldeneyes. With the bulk of the season still ahead of her, Karvinen’s performances will only grow stronger and stronger as the team continues finding its groove.