Maltais Embracing Long Offseason After "I Told You So" Year

Emma Maltais was named to the PWHL's All-Rookie team following the league's inaugural season which she called an "I told you so" campaign. Now, Maltais is embracing what is set to be a long offseason ahead of year two.

Emma Maltais was confident entering the PWHL's inaugural season.

The 24-year-old, who has gobs of international experience with Team Canada, was coming off of a five-year stint at Ohio State University and, most importantly, believed that she could make an impact early.

Six months later, the impact she had on and off the ice is clear. The Rookie of the Year finalist helped guide PWHL Toronto to a first-place regular season finish before falling to the eventual Walter Cup champions in a do-or-die game-five.

While Maltais' season didn't end in fairytale fashion, she says the professional women's league's first season is an 'I told you so' moment for many women.

"We've been fighting for a league for so long," Maltais said. "I obviously have not put in that work, not even close to how much people have on the older side of it."

"I think that it's so powerful to understand that a lot of women who fought for this league didn't even get the chance to play in it," she continued. "So I feel like the ‘I told you so’ moment was countless years of saying people will want to watch."

And people did.

2.9 million Canadians tuned into the league's opening contest, strong fan turnout across the league's six cities, and the tens of thousand concurrent viewers on the PWHL's YouTube are a drop in the bucket for what the PWHL amassed in viewership in year one.

On the ice, the PWHL Toronto star rookie carved out a two-way role, posing as a triple threat to score at even-strength, the power play and the penalty kill.

Her stout defensive play kept opponents at bay. At the same time, her playmaking prowess and strong forechecking wreaked havoc in the offensive zone — all culminating in a Rookie of the Year nod and a placement on the 2024 All-Rookie team.

"When that happened, I was really proud of myself because I feel like there were other rookies who were way above me in the beginning," Maltais said. "And that's okay. I would have put them there, too, but I wanted to battle back. I wanted to show my effectiveness in the league.

"I feel like being nominated for this reward award demonstrates that, and I hope to continuously make an impact."

Maltais says it is hard to fail when playing with players like Sarah Nurse, Blayre Turnbull and Natalie Spooner. The high praise for her veteran teammates is understandable, especially given Spooner snagged trophies left and right at the PWHL Awards.

The 33-year-old took home league MVP, best forward, top goal and point scorer and was recently named the IIHF's Female Player of the Year.

Looking ahead to year two, Maltais says PWHL Toronto's disappointing end is motivating her and her teammates throughout the summer.

"We want to pick up from the momentum we had in year one," Maltais said. "We dealt well with adversity the first time we faced it, so I think it will help us be motivated this summer to put the work in to be ready for year two."

The Burlington, Ont. native will meet with coaches, reflect on the season that just passed and continue to train to improve on her 15-assist, 19-point campaign. However, Maltais says that the off-season is crucial to do something she's yet to do this year.

"As a younger athlete, we don't take any time off," Maltais said. "I think that I've taken two weeks off of not doing anything — and by not doing anything, I'm still doing but not exercising — and that's probably the most I've taken off since grade eight."

"I feel like rest is very undervalued for a lot of young athletes," Maltais said, adding that it is easier to realize the benefits of piling up rest as a pro.

"Our off-season is going to be long, so there's really no rush to get back into the nitty gritty, and it'll definitely be a process," she said. "That's my focus right now, and it's a challenge. We're all not used to doing nothing."

Amid her rest, Maltais and likely many players and fans alike will continue to take in the season that was.

"Although performance was a big piece of it and figuring that out, I also think there were a lot of other things that we wanted to focus on and take in," Maltais said. "This is only going to happen once — the inaugural season."