The PWHL will make the league's first ever stop in Manitoba playing a Takeover Tour game in Winnipeg this season. It's another step for the city and NHL partners to help boost women's hockey in the province.
Winnipeg is a city with a long history of women's hockey. For more than a century women have been competing in Manitoba's largest metropolitan area, and the province continues to produce elite players today.
This season, the PWHL will make a PWHL Takeover Tour stop in Winnipeg for the first time visiting Canada Life Centre on March 22.
According to the NHL's Winnipeg Jets and AHL's Manitoba Moose, it's a way to showcase their commitment to the women's game on a larger stage.
“True North, the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose are committed to growing female hockey through a variety of programs and initiatives," said True North's vice president of marketing, Annie Chipman Stockl.
"Hosting a PWHL game in Winnipeg brings an exciting opportunity for young female athletes to see what is possible and what they can strive toward in the sport of hockey. It’s especially exciting to welcome home three Manitoba athletes – Kati Tabin, Jocelyne Larocque and Logan Angers – who are already an inspiration for our community, but this will only grow, seeing them in action, in person on the professional stage. Our whole community is looking forward to cheering them on and seeing an incredible display of talent from both the Ottawa Charge and Montreal Victoire rosters.”
The initiatives in Winnipeg to support girls and women in hockey include the Manitoba Moose Women in Sport Job Shadow Program, Winnipeg Jets Celebrating Women in Sport Game, and True North Youth Foundation Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy.
The official training location for both teams, the hockey for all centre, has also become a community hub for the Manitoba Women's Junior Hockey League and other programming like First Shift and events like Scotiabank Girls’ Hockey Fest.
Along with the PWHL players who will compete in the game at Canada Life Centre, there are several other prominent women's players from Manitoba including goaltenders Kristen Campbell, Corinne Schroeder, and Raygan Kirk. Rising stars like Sara Manness and Kate Manness who are both at Clarkson are others, along with current Canadian U-18 national team member Hayley MacDonald, who will play for Ohio State next season.