The PWHL billed their recent announcement as a significant milestone for the game. The launch of an All-Star game is a major moment for the league, but there have been several past women's hockey All-Star games before this moment.
The PWHL unveiled their first league-sponsored All-Star event slated for March 7 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
While the 3-on-3 tournament featuring PWHL rosters of PWHL Canada, PWHL USA, PWHL International, and PWHL Rookies is a milestone for the league, and was billed as such, it's not a milestone for women's hockey.
In fact, it's not even the first women's hockey All-Star game held at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. That honor goes to the 2014 CWHL All-Star Game, held at what was then the Air Canada Centre. That game, which welcomed 6,850 fans, was televised on Sportsnet and NHL Network bringing North America-wide coverage. The game, which included three 15-minute periods, was followed by a skills competition as well.
Notably, current PWHL players Hilary Knight, Jocelyne Larocque, Natalie Spooner, and Jamie Lee Rattray all participated in that 2014 All-Star game, as did current PWHL Hamilton general manager Meghan Duggan, Ottawa Charge assistant coach Haley Irwin, Montreal Victoire assistant coach Caroline Ouellette, and several others with PWHL connections.
The first ever NWHL All-Star game took place in 2015. It was a game that included Duggan, Hockey Hall of Famer Brianna Decker, and current PWHLers Hilary Knight and Shiann Darkangelo.
More recently, the professional women's hockey iterations that immediately preceded the PWHL both had All-Star events in the 2022-2023 season.
The PHF's event, held at Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, involved a Team Canada, Team USA, and Team World playing a 3-on-3 tournament. That event featured more than 30 players who went on to compete in the PWHL including current PWHLers Tereza Vanisova, Katerina Mrazova, Kali Flanagan, Aneta Tejralova, Corinne Schroeder, Sidney Morin, Taylor Girard, Denisa Krizova, and Shiann Darkangelo.
The PWHPA held an All-Star weekend in Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre, current home to the PWHL's Ottawa Charge, in December 2022. Similar to the rest, the PWHPA held a 3-on-3 All-Star competition, and also included a skills competition. Current PWHL executive vice president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford was a guest coach at the event that featured dozens of PWHL stars like Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin, Megan Keller, Abby Roque, Erin Ambrose, Jessie Eldridge, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Kristen Campbell, Micah Zandee-Hart, Alex Capenter, Kristin O’Neill, Nicole Hensley, Sarah Nurse, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianne Jenner, Renata Fast and many more.
The game, which will be broadcast in the United States on Scripps Sports and in Canada on TSN, brings the league back to Toronto where they played their first ever game on January 1, 2023, albeit this time at the much larger Scotiabank Arena compared to that game at Mattamy Arena.
The PWHL previously participated in an NHL All-Star week showcase game during the inaugural campaign. This however, will be the PWHL's first ever All-Star event in what is set to become an annual feature of the PWHL's schedule.
