Will Goldeneyes forward Sarah Nurse be back in time to take on her former team in Toronto?
Sarah Nurse has not played in a game since the Vancouver Goldeneyes’ historic home-opener against the Seattle Torrent on November 21. Contrary to previous reports, that might not be the case for very long.
Last week, the Goldeneyes returned to Vancouver for a brief couple of days’ worth of practice. During this time, Nurse was scheduled to meet with doctors and medical staff to get a better idea of how much longer she could be out of her team’s lineup. At the time, Head Coach Brian Idalski confirmed that the star forward could be out for a couple more weeks.
Within a couple of days, the narrative around Nurse’s potential return changed. On Friday, Nurse was one of 23 PWHL players listed to Canada’s 2026 Winter Olympic roster, making her one of eight Goldeneyes heading to Italy come February.
Vancouver only plays in four more games before the PWHL pauses for the Olympics in February. The Goldeneyes’ next game, fittingly enough, is their first matchup against Nurse’s former (and hometown) team, the Toronto Sceptres, over in Ontario.
Could Nurse return in time to take part in the Battle on Bay Street?
“I think that I’m just ready to go when I get the call,” Nurse told the media on Wednesday. “Obviously, there’s a lot of decisions to be made based on how I’m feeling, what the medical staff say, when the coaches want to put me in the lineup as well. I’m just ready to go whenever I get the call, but very excited to get back to the lineup.”
To summarize; Nurse isn’t ruling out a return as early as Saturday. As she mentioned, whether she dresses to face her former team or not will depend on a variety of factors. Regardless of who Vancouver’s opponent is, it’s clear that Nurse is ready to get back into action.
“I just want to be back in a game, so I don’t really care who we’re playing. I’d love to be back as soon as possible.”
The discourse around Nurse’s injury has been varied, with many questioning what, exactly, the injury could be. Nurse clarified that the injury, now revealed to have been to her arm, was something that happened to her only a few minutes into Vancouver’s home-opener.
“It’s frustrating. I go out in the home opener, and a couple of minutes into the game, I get hurt, and it became apparent afterwards — after the game, the next morning — that things weren’t looking very good.”
And yet, she was still able to pull off a nifty move to score the Goldeneyes’ first goal in franchise history.
Credit @ PWHL Nurse’s talent level has never been a secret. One only needs to look at her personal trophy case to understand how big of an impact she can have on a team. Off the ice, Nurse is one of those players who makes themselves known.
“[We’re] so happy to have her back. I think just her morale around the rink; she brings so much energy,” Goldeneyes forward and fellow Canadian Olympian Jenn Gardiner said of Nurse’s impact. “She’s always just having a good time out there, and I think that's pretty contagious. But importantly, too, on the ice for us, she’s a huge key player on our team, and we’ve definitely missed her throughout the start of the season, so we’re very excited to have her back up there.”
“She’s a fantastic player on the ice, but she’s also a tremendous leader off the ice, and so I think we’re just so happy to have her back in the locker room, around the team more often,” Vancouver defender Claire Thompson added. “We’ve been on the road quite a bit, and she’s been rehabbing at home, which has been tough for us, so I think we’re really looking forward to having her back.”
While she hasn’t played since November 21, Nurse has been skating diligently throughout the eight weeks she’s been recovering. Her injury hasn’t kept her off the ice whatsoever — and she hasn’t been alone when practicing away from her teammates. Goldeneyes General Manager Cara Morey joined Nurse for a skate a couple of days ago, with the forward chuckling about how the GM has “missed being out there.”
The Goldeneyes will get a massive boost whenever Nurse returns to their lineup, whether that’s against her former team or during their final game before the Olympic break. Offensively, she could be the answer to their current goal-scoring woes. Off the ice, she’ll bring the vocal presence and vibrant energy capable of changing the tide of a game.