Loren Gabel, the PHF MVP discussed her first season in the league and getting back to Team Canada Loren Gabel is the PHF's Most Valuable Player and leading scorer. The former Patty Kazmaier winner as the NCAA's top player and past Canadian national team member had a standout season with the Boston Pride. For Gabel, coming to the PHF this season was a way to get more repetitions, and to continue the process of competing to get back on Canada's national team. "The PHF this year was a really great experience for me," said Gabel. "Boston was really welcoming for me when I got here, and all my teammates were really great. They work hard both on and off the ice, obviously the coaching staff and support staff are really great too. I had my eyes set on Boston for a couple of years now...I think it's been in the best decision for me." Gabel, who scored 20 goals and 40 points in 22 games this season, used the structure and added opportunities afforded in the PHF to improve. "It's more structure for me and just having those regular games every weekend...like I've told everyone since I graduated school, I was missing that, I was missing playing in games," she said. "I'm the type of player who needs to play in those games to get better, you can only do so much in practice and skills sessions... In order to see improvements, you have to see how it goes in a game. That was something that I was really missing and obviously the PHF has been a really great experience with that... played 24 games this year and had really great structure. I was on the ice every day and just got the opportunity every single chance I got to get better." Gabel, who spent the last three seasons in the PWHPA, believes the PHF is on the right trajectory, not just for her and other current players, but to be a destination for future generations as well. "It's really great to see where the PHF was at the beginning, to see where it is now. Obviously, huge improvements in every aspect, not just the money portion." "We're not just doing this for us, we're doing it for those little girls that look up to us and want to be a professional hockey player one day...really have to give a lot of thanks to the players who have been in the league for however long they have been in here...we couldn't be where we are today without them and pushing and striving for the best for everyone," Gabel said. With a strong season behind her, and Team Canada inevitably looking to make changes [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/international/candidates-for-canada-team-canada-needs-change] following a gold medal defeat at the women's Worlds and a near quarterfinal upset to Sweden, Gabel is setting her sights on a return to Team Canada in time for the 2026 Olympics. "Definitely hard and obviously not something that people don't want to go through in life," said of not being called back to Team Canada following the 2019 Worlds when she scored six goals and seven points in seven games. "But you know there's going to be ups and downs and positives and negatives and it's what you do to overcome those negatives to eventually make it a positive." While she works for those goals, Gabel is enjoying the game again, and will continue to be one of the league's top players when she returns to the Boston Pride for her second season in the PHF. "I had a lot of fun this year with hockey and really just focused on myself and growing both on and off the ice."
