The PWHL's stars were on full display this week at NHL All-Star weekend at the league's 3-on-3 Showcase where Team King beat Team Kloss 5-3.
The PWHL's stars were on full display this week at NHL All-Star weekend at the league's 3-on-3 Showcase where Team King beat Team Kloss 5-3.
In a weekend filled with celebrities and some of the NHL’s best, PWHL players made the most of the All-Star experience on Thursday.
This started bright and early as both teams took to Nathan Phillip Square for an outdoor practice at eight in the morning
Hitting the ice on the cool Toronto morning was a full circle moment for many of the players, as just a year ago this week the PWHPA Dream Gap tour had a skill competition on the very same ice. It’s safe to say that a lot has changed in a year.
“This morning when I got there, I was like, this is fun, This is almost around a year later. So to be back here and again was fun,” said Ella Shelton. “Just having the visibility that this league has and where we've come and where we're still going is amazing.”
The practice itself was not safe from some antics as we saw smiles and laughs from all involved as well as Brienne Jenner trying her hand at goaltending, diving along the ice to make some saves.
Taylor Heise, with energy that a morning coffee couldn’t give, was taking full advantage of all of the festivities with a smile plastered to her face all morning. After getting off the ice she made it clear that a goal of hers this weekend was to meet one of her favourite artists.
“Tate McRae is one of my favourite artists,” said Heise. “I hope I see her! That would just cap off a great weekend.”
Later that day the players dressed in their best as they took part in the NHL’s Red Carpet where an unexpected demographic in the crowd cheered on the players.
“The amount of boys who I was walking through on the red carpet with (Marie-Philip) Poulin and the amount of boys who are stopping us, that's never happened,” said Sarah Nurse. “We've always had young girls who have idolized us and who will come up to us and talk to us to take photos, but I've taken more photos with men and boys this week than any time ever.”
Once game time finally arrived after the long day the fans didn’t disappoint. All 16,000 plus fans in attendance gave a thunderous applause for local Sarah Nurse during the pre-game ceremony. Something she could not ignore.
“Yeah, it was a really cool feeling. I didn't even hear my name being said to be completely honest. I just heard the crowd and I saw the camera on me,” said Nurse. “It was a pretty cool moment. I just thought, where we were four years ago in 2020, doing this game for the first time.”
As the puck was dropped it didn’t take long for the players to showcase their skill as less than a minute into the game Ella Shelton would score the first goal for Team King.
The fun did stop there as after Savannah Harmon scored her third goal of the game for Team King, her teammates celebrated the hat trick by throwing their gloves onto the ice.
“It was Kelly Pannek that started it. She also wanted to throw her helmet out there and we were like, 'Oh, do we have enough time?' Like, can we all get our helmets off quick enough,” said Ella Shelton. “I think it was the best way for us to engage with Sav after scoring a hat trick, too bad we couldn't throw a hat.”
Despite this celebration, Harmon felt lonely once she made it back to the bench.
“It was a cool moment,” said Harmon. “I came back to the bench and I was by myself because everyone had to go get their gloves. I was like, I can’t believe you guys did that, that was cute.”
PWHL Toronto was also represented well as veteran blueliner Jocelyne Larocque was sprung on a breakaway and scored one of Team King’s three goals during the game.
In the end Team King took home the bragging rights with a 5-3 win.
“It definitely was one of the funnest games, just an awesome atmosphere,” said Harmon. “The group that's here is just incredible. It was just we had a great day and just to end it like that was a lot of fun.”