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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where if we're

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Speaker 1: talking hooking in five holes, that means p WHL season

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Speaker 1: is back. It's Thursday, November twentieth, and on today's show.

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Speaker 1: While producer Alex and I are schmoozing with folks on

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Speaker 1: Radio Row ahead of the NWSL Championship, we're also making

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Speaker 1: sure everyone is prepped for the start of the PWHL season,

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Speaker 1: which gets underway tomorrow. First, a team by team previews

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Speaker 1: so you know all the stakes, stars, stats and stories

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Speaker 1: ahead of opening night. Then earlier this week, I caught

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Speaker 1: up with the league's executive vice president of Hockey Operations,

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Speaker 1: Jana Hefford, to talk PWHL from launch to season three.

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Speaker 2: We talk about how the.

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Speaker 1: History of women's hockey led to the launch of the league,

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Speaker 1: the creativity and innovation behind the league's most unique rules,

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Speaker 1: and the thinking behind the expansion process that sent several

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Speaker 1: household names to new teams in far flung places. It's

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Speaker 1: everything you need to know ahead of PWHL Season three,

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Speaker 1: and it's all coming up right after this.

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Speaker 2: All right, slices, welcome back.

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Speaker 1: What's the puck dropping on season three of the PWHL

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Speaker 1: Friday Night let's do a quick preview of each of

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Speaker 1: the league's eight squads using my patented four s's steaks, stars, stats,

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Speaker 1: and stories. And I do want to quickly shout out

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Speaker 1: the pwhl dot com site and the writers over there,

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Speaker 1: because I leaned heavily on their content to put together

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Speaker 1: these previews. That site, by the way, is not to

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Speaker 1: be confused with PWHL dot com, which leads you to

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Speaker 1: Pigeon Wholesale, a handmade linen brand for all your Napkins,

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Speaker 1: du veays and other linen needs. Nope, we're talking the

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Speaker 1: PWHL dot com alrighty. Then no better place to start

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Speaker 1: than the two time defending champion Minnesota Frost, who have

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Speaker 1: taken home the Walter Cup in both of the league's

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Speaker 1: first two seasons, and in both years the Frost won

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Speaker 1: from the number four seat, barely getting into the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: The stakes for this team are either higher than the

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Speaker 1: stadium set to host Denver sum at FC's inaugural game,

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Speaker 1: or lower than the bar the Trump administration has set

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Speaker 1: for human decency. It all sort of depends how you

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Speaker 1: look at it, kind of win or bust when all

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Speaker 1: you've done is win. But they've also set up such

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Speaker 1: a tremendous start to their franchise, there isn't a ton

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Speaker 1: of pressure to prove or establish themselves. The biggest challenge

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Speaker 1: for them might just be to continue to win with

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Speaker 1: more teams than ever and talent more spread out around

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Speaker 1: the league. The Frost Stars include one of the architects

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Speaker 1: of the PWHL captain, three time Olympic medalist, eleven time

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Speaker 1: World Championship medalist, voiceover actor, and inside out to one

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Speaker 1: of the faces of women's hockey, forward Kendall Coinscofield. The

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Speaker 1: team protected her along with alternate captain defense woman Least

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Speaker 1: Deckline during the expansion process. Steckline is another longtime US

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Speaker 1: national team standout with three Olympic medals and nine World

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Speaker 1: Championship medals tour name. The Frost's other alternate captain, Minnesota

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Speaker 1: native and forward Kelly Panic is a two time Olympic

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Speaker 1: medalist and seven time World Championship medalist who even has

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Speaker 1: her own beer.

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Speaker 2: Been there, Won That. You also got to keep an.

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Speaker 1: Eye out for former first overall pick and the first

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Speaker 1: ever PWHL playoff MVP forward Taylor Heisi.

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Speaker 2: Also new addition.

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Speaker 1: Veteran defender Sidney Morin who comes to the Frost from

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Speaker 1: the Boston Fleet and before that played over one hundred

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Speaker 1: games in the Swedish Women's Hockey League, where she was

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Speaker 1: twice named defender of the Year. Also Maddie Rooney and

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Speaker 1: Nicole Hensley. They split time between the pipes, with Rooney

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Speaker 1: getting four more starts over the past two seasons, and

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Speaker 1: Rooney just signed a three year extension to stay in Minnesota.

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Speaker 1: Team also returns head coach Ken Clee for a third season,

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Speaker 1: and they've added newly inducted Hall of Famer Brandon.

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Speaker 2: Decker as an assistant coach.

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Speaker 1: So the story of this Minnesota Frost team for me

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Speaker 1: is adjustment to roster losses and league expansion while they

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Speaker 1: build on previous success. They've got nine back to back

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Speaker 1: champions returning to their roster, including twenty twenty four Rookie

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Speaker 1: of the Year forward Grace Zumwinkle and controversial player Britta

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Speaker 1: curl Salmi, who was re signed ahead of the season.

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Speaker 1: You might remember the forward received a chorus of booze

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Speaker 1: throughout her first season in the league, which stems back

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Speaker 1: to social media activity that included liking anti trends media

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Speaker 1: posts and online support of Kyle Rittenhouse, among other things. Finally,

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Speaker 1: the stat to know for this team is four as

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Speaker 1: in the fourth and final playoff seed. Despite entering the

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Speaker 1: postseason as the fourth and final seed in each of

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Speaker 1: the first two seasons of the PWHL, the Frost still

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Speaker 1: came out on top both years. As Gotham's Jayden Shaw

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Speaker 1: would say, underdog's my ass. Next up the team that

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Speaker 1: fell to the Frost in last year's finals. The Ottawa

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Speaker 1: Charge stakes are high and sphincters are clenched for this team.

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Speaker 1: They are hungry to avenge last year's lost to the

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Speaker 1: Frost in a final series that saw each of the

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Speaker 1: four games go to overtime.

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Speaker 2: They were that close.

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Speaker 1: Stars include captain Brian Jenner, a Cornell grad WOOOO, three

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Speaker 1: time Olympic medalist, eleven time World Championship medalist, and the

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty two Olympic MVP for Team Canada. Also alternate

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Speaker 1: captain forward Emily Clark. She's a two time Olympic medalist

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Speaker 1: and nine time World Championship medalist. She signed a two

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Speaker 1: year extension in the offseason to stick with the Charge,

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Speaker 1: with the AP reporting that Clark is now the league's

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Speaker 1: highest paid player. Defender Joscelyn the Rock, the other alternate

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Speaker 1: captain and three time Olympic medalists twelve time World Championship medalists,

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Speaker 1: was traded by Toronto to Ottawa last season. Also, Jen

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Speaker 1: are not the only Cornell Grod on this roster. Defense

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Speaker 1: Woman Rory Gilday, the fifth overall pick in this year's draft,

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Speaker 1: will suit up with the Charge this season. Two Between

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Speaker 1: the pipes, it's Gwyneth Phillips, who started the season as

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Speaker 1: a backup and ended the season as the Alana Class

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Speaker 1: playoff MVP, despite her team coming up short in the finals.

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Speaker 1: And you know an MVP is good when they're from

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Speaker 1: the losing team. The story of this Ottawa Charge team

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Speaker 1: is heart or is it cardiac arrest? The Charge needed

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Speaker 1: the final day of the regular season last year to

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Speaker 1: secure their spot in the postseason, where they upset the

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Speaker 1: top ranked Montreal Victoire. Fans are hoping they'll earn their

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Speaker 1: spot in the playoffs with a little more breathing room

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Speaker 1: this year, and they're hoping the team's future stadium situation

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Speaker 1: has resolved so there's a big enough barn to hold

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Speaker 1: all the Charge fans going forward. The stat to know

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Speaker 1: seventy one The Charge scored just seventy one goals in

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Speaker 1: thirty regular season games last year, tied with New York

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Speaker 1: for the fewest goals in the league. Of course, New

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Speaker 1: York last place, and the Charge made the postseason, so

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Speaker 1: they'll want to improve their scoring. Let's get to last

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Speaker 1: year's regular season best to the Montreal Victoire first. The

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Speaker 1: stakes for this team. Two straight seasons of semi final

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Speaker 1: losses means the pressure is on for a Victoire team

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Speaker 1: with a ton of talent but no titles or even

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Speaker 1: runner up seasons to show for the team. Star is

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Speaker 1: as bright as you can get. Captain clutch Maurie Philip Puhlan,

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Speaker 1: the reigning PWHL MVP and Forward of the Year, captain

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Speaker 1: of Team Canada since twenty fifteen, a four time Olympic

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Speaker 1: medalist and thirteen time World Championship medalist, perhaps the greatest

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Speaker 1: of all time. You've also got goaltender of the Year

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Speaker 1: last season, a two time Olympic medalist and six time

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Speaker 1: World Championship medalist, and Renee Debien and forward Laura Stacy,

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Speaker 1: a two time Olympic medalist and seven time World Championship medalist.

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Speaker 1: They join MPP in signing extensions in the offseason, ensuring

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Speaker 1: that the Victoire's core three stay in Montreal. Alternate captain

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Speaker 1: Aaron Ambrose, who was the twenty twenty four Defender of

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Speaker 1: the Year, also returns for the VICTIIR and head coach

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Speaker 1: Corey Chvry, who was last season's p WHL Coach of

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Speaker 1: the Year. She'll be back on the bench, and the

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Speaker 1: team added Hockey Hall of Famer and Canadian national team

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Speaker 1: assistant Caroline will Let as a full time assistant coach.

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Speaker 1: The story of this Montreal team is going to be

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Speaker 1: whether they can finish After finishing the last two regular

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Speaker 1: seasons in second and first place, respectively, but getting bounced

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Speaker 1: both times in the opening round of the playoffs, They'll

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Speaker 1: need to show they can translate regular season success to

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Speaker 1: the postseason. And of course the story will be Pucks

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Speaker 1: engash it because we love following the adventures of the

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Speaker 1: first couple of Hockey MPP and Laura Stacey. The stat

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Speaker 1: for this team zero as in zero finals series. Time

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Speaker 1: to get to that next level, VICTIIR. Speaking of getting

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Speaker 1: to the next level, let's talk Toronto Scepters. Last year,

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Speaker 1: for the second straight year, the Scepter saw their season

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Speaker 1: end at the hands of eventual champs, the Minnesota Frost

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Speaker 1: Puff Puff pass because stakes are high as they look.

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Speaker 2: To prove they can get passed the opening round.

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Speaker 1: Finally, stars include returning alternate captain defender Renata Fast, last

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Speaker 1: year's PWHL Defender of the Year, a two time Olympic

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Speaker 1: medalist and seven time World Championship medalist, plus new scepters

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Speaker 1: player elite defender Ellis Shelton, an Olympic gold medalist and

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Speaker 1: multi time World Championship medalist who finished as a top

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Speaker 1: five scorer at her position in each of the last

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Speaker 1: two seasons playing with New York. You've also got three

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Speaker 1: time Olympic medalist and eleven time World Championship medalist Natalie Spooner,

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Speaker 1: who missed half of last season with an ACL injury.

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Speaker 1: She'll looked to return to the fine form she showed

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Speaker 1: in her first year in Toronto, when she scored twenty

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Speaker 1: goals in twenty seven games to lead the entire PWHL

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Speaker 1: in goals and points and was named the league's first

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Speaker 1: ever MVP. You've also got captain forward Blair Turnbull, alternate

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Speaker 1: captain defender Ali Monroe, and forward Daryl Watts. Who finished

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Speaker 1: third in p WHL scoring last season. They're all also

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Speaker 1: back for the Scepters. Gmgina Kingsbury and coach Troy Ryan,

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Speaker 1: who also head up the Canadian national team bench, are

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Speaker 1: both returning for their third year with the team. The

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Speaker 1: story of this team, I gotta say for the Scepters

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Speaker 1: it's betting big. This is a team that made some

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Speaker 1: bold moves on draft Day this year, sending their first

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Speaker 1: and fourth round picks to New York in exchange for Shelton,

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Speaker 1: and sending goaltender Kristen Campbell to Vancouver in exchange for

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Speaker 1: a second round pick and a third round swap. The

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Speaker 1: stat for Toronto won as in one Sarah Nurse, who

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Speaker 1: is no longer with Toronto after being left unprotected in

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Speaker 1: the expansion draft. The two time Olympic medalist and six

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Speaker 1: time World Championship medalists opted to sign with the Vancouver

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Speaker 1: Golden Eyes, one of two.

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Speaker 2: New teams joining the league this year.

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Speaker 1: Onto the Boston Fleet, who found themselves on the outside

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Speaker 1: looking in last season come playoff time. Even though they

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Speaker 1: finished with the same exact number of points as the

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Speaker 1: Charge in Frost, they were kept out of the postseason

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Speaker 1: because a tiebreaker went the way of the other two teams. Now,

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Speaker 1: while expectations aren't as high as they are for other teams,

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Speaker 1: this squad sure would like to get back to the

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Speaker 1: finals as they did in the inaugural season and prove

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Speaker 1: that letting Hillary Knight walk away won't curse them forever.

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Speaker 1: Plenty of stars still on this Boston team, though it's

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Speaker 1: impossible not to lead. With the loss of captain and

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Speaker 1: captain of Team USA, Hillary Knight, the Fleet opted not

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Speaker 1: to protect Night, one of the faces of women's hockey

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Speaker 1: for nearly two decades, and she was scooped up to

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Speaker 1: lead the expansion Seattle Torrent. The Fleet instead chose to

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Speaker 1: protect the trio of Aaron Frankel, Meghan Keller, and Alina Mueller. Frankel,

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Speaker 1: a goaltender with five World Championship medals to her name,

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Speaker 1: leads the league in saves over the last two seasons

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Speaker 1: while putting up the second most minutes. Keller, a defense

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Speaker 1: woman with two Olympic medals and nine World Championship medals

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Speaker 1: on her resume, and Mueller, a forward and member of

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Speaker 1: the Swiss national team. All three of them signed extensions

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Speaker 1: with the team in the offseason. So they're happy to

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Speaker 1: have that trio sticking around. Keller will also fill the

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Speaker 1: very big shoes left by Night assuming captain honors. The

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Speaker 1: team used the fourth protected spot that they were awarded

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Speaker 1: to keep sixth round pick in the twenty twenty four

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Speaker 1: draft forward Shay Maloney in Boston. Couple new additions to

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Speaker 1: watch for include two time Walter Cup winner Liz Sheppers,

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Speaker 1: she of the title, securing overtime goal in last year's

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Speaker 1: finals Game four. She was stolen away from the Minnesota

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Speaker 1: Frost and forward and French national team player Chloe Urard

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Speaker 1: Bouchet from the Sirens. Ur Bouchet and Mueller have history

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Speaker 1: starring together in college at Northeastern, so local Boston fans

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Speaker 1: should be excited to see those two reunited.

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Speaker 2: Also, head coach Courtney.

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Speaker 1: Kessel left to lead Princeton's team, so new head coach

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Speaker 1: Chris Sparr will be behind the bench for the Fleet

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Speaker 1: this season. The story for Boston is moving on without

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Speaker 1: Captain America Hillary Knight. We were shocked when we found

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Speaker 1: out she wasn't protected in the expansion draft, and we

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Speaker 1: weren't alone in fact. During the Team USA summit in

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Speaker 1: New York, Alex caught up with Frost captain Kendall Coin

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Speaker 1: Schofield and got her thoughts on Boston leaving Hillary unprotected.

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Speaker 2: Take a listen.

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Speaker 1: I'm still shocked find I couldn't believe it.

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Speaker 3: I was like, wait, I'm seeing something wrong.

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Speaker 4: I must be reading the wrong the wrong thing here.

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Speaker 1: Like what.

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Speaker 3: I was personally shocked. I'm not a GM, I'm just

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Speaker 3: the player. But she would be protected on my team

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Speaker 3: through and through.

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Speaker 4: So she'll be incredible for Seattle. And what a kickstart

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Speaker 4: to a market. Huh do you think you get a

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Speaker 4: Hillary night? You're like, nah, I won't get her, but

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Speaker 4: here you got her. Yeah, I congress like it's awesome, right,

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Speaker 4: Like so I'm happy for her, and but yeah, I was.

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Speaker 3: I was shocked, to say the least.

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Speaker 1: A good season will help heal jilted Fleet fans dreading

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Speaker 1: seeing Night in a Seattle Jersey. The stats know for Boston,

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Speaker 1: this team dropped five of their last six games last

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Speaker 1: year en route to a disappointing fifth place out of

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Speaker 1: six teams. A new season will help them move past

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Speaker 1: the lingering memories of that.

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Speaker 2: Late season choke.

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Speaker 1: Let's move on to the last of the original six teams,

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Speaker 1: the New York Sirens two seasons two finishes outside the

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Speaker 1: playoff picture. Stakes are high for this team to prove

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Speaker 1: that they can compete with the rest of the league.

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Speaker 1: New York Stars start with last year's PWHL Rookie of

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Speaker 1: the Year and co leading scorer team Canada forward Sarah Fillier,

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Speaker 1: who provides the Sirens with hope that big time draft

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Speaker 1: picks can make an impact right away because they'll hope

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Speaker 1: for the same from first overall pick Christina calton Kova,

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Speaker 1: a check player who played her college hockey at Colgate,

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Speaker 1: setting school records for most goals, game winning goals, and

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Speaker 1: power play goals. Also Casey O'Brien, the third overall pick

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Speaker 1: out of Wisconsin, where she won the twenty twenty five

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Speaker 1: Patty Casmyer Memorial Award, given to the best player in

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Speaker 1: college hockey. Team captain Mike Zandi Hart signed an extension

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Speaker 1: in the offseason, but the team did lose alternate captains

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Speaker 1: Alex Carpenter and Ella Shelton in the off season. Head

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Speaker 1: coach Greg Fargo is back for his second season with

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Speaker 1: the Sirens. He came from Colgate, where he coached calton

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Speaker 1: Kova and two other Sirens players. The story for this

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Speaker 1: team is very simple. Make the postseason for the first

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Speaker 1: time in franchise history, and the stat twenty nine as

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Speaker 1: in twenty nine points in thirty games for Philly a

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Speaker 1: last year who had thirteen goals and sixteen ass for

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Speaker 1: the last place Sirens. How good can she be in

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Speaker 1: her sophomore campaign. Finally, a quick look at the two

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Speaker 1: expansion teams, Starting with the Seattle Torrent. They boast captain

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Speaker 1: Hillary Knight, likely on a scorched earth tour to make

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Speaker 1: sure the Fleet looks silly for letting her go, especially

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Speaker 1: after she finished last season tied for the most points

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Speaker 1: in the league. She's joined by fellow forward's former Sirens

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Speaker 1: alternate captain Alex Carpenter and three time World Championship medalist

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Speaker 1: Hannah Bilka, who scored eleven points in just sixteen games

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Speaker 1: as a rookie last season. The team will play at

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Speaker 1: Climate Pledgarina, hopeing to build on the popularity of building

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Speaker 1: mates the Seattle Storm and attract some hockey fans from

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Speaker 1: the NHL's Seattle Kraken as well. Finally, the Vancouver Goldeneyes

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Speaker 1: Stars include the aforementioned Sarah Nurse, one of hockey's biggest

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Speaker 1: names who has her own Barbie was the cover girl

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Speaker 1: for November's El Canada issue, was the first woman on

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Speaker 1: the cover of an EA Sports NHL game, and boasts

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Speaker 1: an Olympic gold and three World Championship medals. Then there's

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Speaker 1: Claire Thompson, an Olympic medallist and three time World Champapionship

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Speaker 1: medalist who set the Olympic Ice Hockey record for points

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Speaker 1: by a defense woman at the twenty twenty two Games.

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Speaker 1: Won a title with the Minnesota Frost last year, was

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Speaker 1: a finalist for Defender of the Year. Oh and just

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Speaker 1: happens to have the rest of her medical school journey

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Speaker 1: waiting for her when she's done with hockey. The Golden

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Speaker 1: Eyes will play at Pacific Coliseum, former home of the

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Speaker 1: Vancouver Canucks. All right, I think that's pretty much all

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Speaker 1: you need to know that there might be a few

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Speaker 1: more things and for that Jana Hefford stick around.

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Speaker 2: Talk to Jana after this.

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Speaker 1: Joining us now, she's a four time Olympic gold medalist,

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Speaker 1: seven time World champion, one time Olympic silver medalist, and

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Speaker 1: five time World runner up for Team Canada. Now the

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Speaker 1: current executive vice president of hockey operations for the PWHL,

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Speaker 1: a Canada Sports Hall of Famer and Hockey Hall of

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Speaker 1: Famer who played in and then later became commissioner of

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Speaker 1: the CWHL. That league's MVP Trophy was even named in

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Speaker 1: her honor. A Kingston, Ontario native, she's a mom of three,

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Speaker 1: part to Team USA olympian Kathleen Kof, reminding us once

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Speaker 1: again that players from those two sides only get along

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Speaker 1: when they're partners.

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Speaker 2: It's Jana hefferd Hi, Jana Hey, Sarah.

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Speaker 1: We love on this show talking about how the only

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Speaker 1: time a player from one team gets invited to a

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Speaker 1: wedding from players from the other is if they have

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Speaker 1: a partner from that team. Like we like to ask

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Speaker 1: MVP and Laura and others about like how many Americans

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Speaker 1: got the invite and then we found that the loophole

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Speaker 1: was always that the American had to be married to

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Speaker 1: or with a Canadian partner. So we're still working on

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Speaker 1: defrosting negotiations between the two rivalries, but y'all are helping with.

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Speaker 2: The case, which we appreciate.

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Speaker 3: Hazeing.

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Speaker 1: Before we get to hockey and all things hockey, I

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Speaker 1: have to ask you about Ringett because I read that

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Speaker 1: that was your first on ice endeavor and I have

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Speaker 1: never heard of ringett.

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Speaker 3: What is that? So ringette is a sport similar to hockey,

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Speaker 3: I'll say, but no blade on the end of your

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Speaker 3: stick and there's a rubber ring. So typically girls would

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Speaker 3: play ring at and boys would play hockey. I from

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Speaker 3: the time I was very young, always wanted to play hockey.

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Speaker 3: I have an older brother who played hockey. Night in

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Speaker 3: Canada is a thing, and so when I said I

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Speaker 3: want to play hockey, my parents actually put me in

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Speaker 3: a ring at first, and I think I played one

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Speaker 3: game and I said, this is not hockey, Like there's

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Speaker 3: different rules. You can't skate with the ring across the

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Speaker 3: blue line, you have to pass it. So there was

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Speaker 3: just some different parts of the game that I don't

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Speaker 3: think I knew ringet existed until I played a game

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Speaker 3: and then I could. It was so confused why it

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Speaker 3: wasn't hockey. So immediately they were able to get me

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Speaker 3: on a hockey team and the rest was history after that.

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Speaker 1: So you said, no blade on the stick, so it's

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Speaker 1: more like a pole that you put inside the ring

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Speaker 1: and then you move the ring by correct Just play hockey.

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Speaker 1: Just stop making things for women and play hockey. Okay,

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Speaker 1: so we've got opening night for the PWHL on Friday,

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Speaker 1: matchup between the league's newest teams, the Seattle Torrent and

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Speaker 1: the Vancouver Golden Eyes. We're going to get to all

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Speaker 1: things PWHL season three in just a sect, But I

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Speaker 1: do want to go back and figure out how we

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Speaker 1: got here with a thriving, growing, expanding, successful women's pro

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Speaker 1: hockey league, because it took a couple iterations to get here.

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Speaker 1: And you have a very intimate knowledge of the history

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Speaker 1: of women's pro club hockey. You know, I'm using quotes

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Speaker 1: around pro here because sometimes it wasn't quite professional. But

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Speaker 1: you played in three different leagues, scoring four hundred and

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Speaker 1: thirty nine goals in four hundred and eighteen games, including

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Speaker 1: a CWHL record forty four goals in eight o nine.

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Speaker 2: What stood out to about those different leagues? What worked

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Speaker 2: and what didn't?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, more than a few iterations, for sure. You know

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Speaker 3: what I started playing. You know, we call the professional,

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Speaker 3: but it really wasn't professional. It happened to be the

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Speaker 3: best players, but there was nothing as it related to

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Speaker 3: salary or resources, or infrastructure or adequate ice time. You know,

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Speaker 3: volunteer coaches. You know, there was no fans. Really, it

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Speaker 3: was friends and family, and but we were very proud

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Speaker 3: because it was the best players in the world and

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Speaker 3: it still was good hockey. So I played in a

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Speaker 3: few different leagues that would start up and they'd fail,

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Speaker 3: and then realize, well, we need somewhere for these people

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Speaker 3: to play, so we'd start another league and it would fail.

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Speaker 3: My most you know, I think close this example was

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Speaker 3: after I had retired, I came back as the interim

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Speaker 3: commissioner of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, which I had

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Speaker 3: played in as a player, but after retiring, they asked

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Speaker 3: me to come back and take on that role, and

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Speaker 3: very quickly I understood and realized that that wasn't ever

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Speaker 3: going to reach what we had all hoped as it

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Speaker 3: related to a professional league. There was a business structure

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Speaker 3: that never would have support a pro league. You know,

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Speaker 3: it was more of a charity based donation. Who can

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Speaker 3: help out to keep this league going? Again, players really

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Speaker 3: weren't being compensated to play, and so unfortunately the board

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Speaker 3: made a decision they had to shut down the league

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Speaker 3: because it just was no longer going to be viable

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Speaker 3: and as the interim commissioner, I had to actually deliver

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Speaker 3: that message to the players, which was really hard. Many

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Speaker 3: of them were my ex teammates, my friends. So that

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Speaker 3: was one of the most difficult times of my career certainly,

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Speaker 3: was to have to deliver that message, to have to

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Speaker 3: be a part of that. And I also think a

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Speaker 3: huge crash course in the business of sport that I

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Speaker 3: never could have paid for anywhere else, you know, I

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Speaker 3: learned how you have to shut down the league and

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Speaker 3: everything needs to happen. But through that, I always still

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Speaker 3: believed that something better was out there and we could

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Speaker 3: do better than that, and so that that really was

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Speaker 3: what kept me going and I tried to share that positivity,

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Speaker 3: but it doesn't take away the hurt the disappointment that

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Speaker 3: players felt at that time. So the league shut down,

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Speaker 3: and that was when the players got together and decided

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Speaker 3: that they needed to, you know, have a more active

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Speaker 3: role in this. And I think one of the first

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Speaker 3: people they spoke to was Billy Jean King and Alana

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Speaker 3: Class always always yeah, And one of the first things

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Speaker 3: Billy said was, well, do you have a players union

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Speaker 3: or an association? Because if you're not collectively together and united,

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Speaker 3: you can't affect any change. You've got to be united

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Speaker 3: if you want to see change. So they formed a

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Speaker 3: player's association and this all happened in I think May

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Speaker 3: of twenty nineteen. I got to call in August from

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Speaker 3: Alana class in Kendall Coin Schofield and I'd played against

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Speaker 3: Kendall Knewer Meta once or twice but really didn't know

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Speaker 3: where that well. And they called me out of the

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Speaker 3: blue and said, hey, would you consider running the PWHPA,

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Speaker 3: which was the Professional and Hockey Players Association. And my

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Speaker 3: immediate thought was, I don't know if I want to

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Speaker 3: go back there, like this was just hard and sad

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Speaker 3: and disappointing and all of those things and those emotions.

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Speaker 3: And then my next question then was like, is this

433
00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,439
Speaker 3: really what the players want me to do, Like they

434
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,240
Speaker 3: want me to take on this role. And Kendall said, yes,

435
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,480
Speaker 3: they want you to do it. And that was the

436
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:36,080
Speaker 3: point when I said, Okay, I'll do this, because I

437
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,800
Speaker 3: knew the players wanted me to do it, and even

438
00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:40,960
Speaker 3: when I got involved after playing, I only wanted to

439
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:42,359
Speaker 3: do it to make it better for the players, and

440
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,800
Speaker 3: many ways I still felt like a hockey player again.

441
00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:49,080
Speaker 3: Friends and teammates that were still playing, and so once

442
00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:53,719
Speaker 3: I knew that, I jumped on board and it was incredible.

443
00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,040
Speaker 3: Four and a half years. It was hard, it was challenging,

444
00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,920
Speaker 3: it was inspiring. We started with nothing. There was no

445
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:01,920
Speaker 3: money in a bank, there wasn't even a bank account.

446
00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,280
Speaker 3: There was no equipment, there was no ice time, there

447
00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:07,600
Speaker 3: was no teams, like really ground level. All we had

448
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:09,240
Speaker 3: was two hundred of the best players in the world

449
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:12,920
Speaker 3: and Billy, Gena and Alana who wanted to help lead

450
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:16,480
Speaker 3: this or advise this group. And over the course of

451
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:20,520
Speaker 3: those four years, we evolved from you know, having a

452
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,320
Speaker 3: few exhibition games to having a tour, to the Dream

453
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,919
Speaker 3: Gap Tour, to bringing in sponsorship, to selling tickets, selling

454
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,520
Speaker 3: out arenas, getting broadcast time. And it was amazing because

455
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,720
Speaker 3: we really had no infrastructure. There was myself and a

456
00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,239
Speaker 3: few other people that were working full time jobs and

457
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,359
Speaker 3: just helping out because they really wanted to see this happen.

458
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,880
Speaker 3: The players were not being paid, They were sacrificing periods

459
00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,880
Speaker 3: of their career to be a part of this movement

460
00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:48,119
Speaker 3: because they always believed that, you know, there was something

461
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,280
Speaker 3: better out there and they could ask for more, and

462
00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:52,080
Speaker 3: you know, in the words of Billy like not accept

463
00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:55,959
Speaker 3: the crumbs, and the problem was, over four years, it

464
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:59,320
Speaker 3: becomes really hard to keep people together and united. And

465
00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:03,720
Speaker 3: you know, Kendall coin Schofield was a huge, you know,

466
00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:06,080
Speaker 3: the leader for the players who I got to work

467
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,919
Speaker 3: very closely with, and really, you know, cherish that opportunity

468
00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,800
Speaker 3: because Kendall's, you know, an amazing person and you know,

469
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:14,600
Speaker 3: this wouldn't have happened with billiing a lot, it wouldn't

470
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,479
Speaker 3: happen without Kendall, and so, you know, I really look

471
00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:20,720
Speaker 3: back on those years as being so incredible and so powerful.

472
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:22,679
Speaker 3: And there were moments when we thought we were going

473
00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:24,840
Speaker 3: to get there. There's moments where we didn't know what

474
00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,000
Speaker 3: to do. But there was a moment during COVID. Up

475
00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:30,280
Speaker 3: until then, I think we just hoped that somebody else

476
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,880
Speaker 3: would come in and start a league and it would

477
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:35,800
Speaker 3: be amazing. And there was a point in time where

478
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,560
Speaker 3: we decided that, you know what, nobody's going to come

479
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,080
Speaker 3: and do this for us. We have to do this ourselves.

480
00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,880
Speaker 3: And so we got connected with a mutual friend who

481
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,560
Speaker 3: worked at Deloitte here in Canada, and he said, you know,

482
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:49,680
Speaker 3: I think we could help, you know, help you guys

483
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,320
Speaker 3: navigate this, and so we brought some people together. Then

484
00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,280
Speaker 3: we started working on a business plan, and I think

485
00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,240
Speaker 3: one of the most powerful parts of this story is

486
00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:00,640
Speaker 3: that all of these women were reinvesting in themselves. They

487
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,800
Speaker 3: weren't taking any payment. Every dollar that came in through

488
00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,520
Speaker 3: sponsorship or ticket sales was put back into the association

489
00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:11,240
Speaker 3: to try to build out this business plan, to try

490
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,399
Speaker 3: to get us to the next level. And through that work,

491
00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:15,560
Speaker 3: we were able to talk about what we wanted this

492
00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:17,679
Speaker 3: to be, what would need to be true for a

493
00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,000
Speaker 3: league to exist, what would we be happy with from

494
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,480
Speaker 3: a salary perspective, from an infrastructure, From a number of games,

495
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:26,840
Speaker 3: we had a very big you know, the vision became

496
00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:30,080
Speaker 3: very clear of this what the players wanted, and that

497
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:31,800
Speaker 3: was important that the players had a voice in all

498
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 3: of this.

499
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:32,440
Speaker 4: Yeah.

500
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,800
Speaker 3: Ultimately, all that work led to you know, Billion and

501
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,520
Speaker 3: Alana bringing Mark Walter to the table and getting him

502
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,560
Speaker 3: to invest in this league and launch this league along

503
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,560
Speaker 3: with Billion, Alana and Kimbra, and you know, it's been

504
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:50,200
Speaker 3: an incredible launch since day one. But those four and

505
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,400
Speaker 3: a half years were incredibly hard, but incredibly inspiring.

506
00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,240
Speaker 1: They were necessary and necessary. Yeah, Yeah, to restart it.

507
00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:58,920
Speaker 1: What we can hear your partner in the background dinking

508
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 1: around in the kitchen, which you know. Honestly, it's like

509
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:04,919
Speaker 1: a microcosm macrocosm of what you had to do at

510
00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:06,919
Speaker 1: that time, because one of the things that had to

511
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,879
Speaker 1: happen was for people from both sides of the border

512
00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:11,840
Speaker 1: to decide that we're going to be stronger together. And

513
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 1: we've seen this across the space of hockey, essentially like

514
00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,560
Speaker 1: the need to burn it all down in order to

515
00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:19,159
Speaker 1: get what you actually want. And you mentioned at the

516
00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:22,360
Speaker 1: time you were leading up the Players Association, you were

517
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,080
Speaker 1: really attentive to the player side of things, their needs,

518
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,639
Speaker 1: their rights, trying to get a league that will accurately

519
00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:30,879
Speaker 1: offer up what they deserve. But then when the PWHL

520
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:32,720
Speaker 1: actually launched, is you're on the league side of things

521
00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,879
Speaker 1: now working for the owners. How did your experiences repping

522
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,080
Speaker 1: the players shape the discussions that you had with the

523
00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:41,119
Speaker 1: ownership side and the decisions that you helped to make

524
00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:42,440
Speaker 1: about how the league would look.

525
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,000
Speaker 3: Well, I think that's part of the power of this

526
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:48,120
Speaker 3: story too, is that you know, I can't coming from

527
00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,879
Speaker 3: the player's side. You know I had a built in

528
00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,240
Speaker 3: trust just from being a player, but then over the

529
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 3: course of those years, really getting to know the women,

530
00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:59,879
Speaker 3: understanding what they really wanted, what they thought could be built,

531
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,160
Speaker 3: how they wanted to see it happen, building those relationships.

532
00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:05,840
Speaker 3: And I think it's a little bit unique too because

533
00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,280
Speaker 3: Billy and Alana were with the players, and then they

534
00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,200
Speaker 3: bring in Mark Walter and kimber Walter to the table,

535
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:14,560
Speaker 3: Stan cast and Royce Cohen, who were integral to this

536
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:17,200
Speaker 3: from the Lakers or sorry, the Dodgers team and the

537
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:21,240
Speaker 3: Lakers now, and so there was a real sense of

538
00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:25,960
Speaker 3: I think trust amongst everyone involved, and even from an

539
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,560
Speaker 3: ownership perspective, they understood that this was a player led

540
00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,240
Speaker 3: movement and the players needed to be at the forefront

541
00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:33,920
Speaker 3: of this. Doesn't mean they got to make every decision, obviously,

542
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,199
Speaker 3: but it meant that their their you know, their thoughts

543
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,120
Speaker 3: and their ideas were important. And so when it came

544
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,480
Speaker 3: time to launch, and Stan asked me, you know, do

545
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:44,480
Speaker 3: you want to be on the player's side or to

546
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,280
Speaker 3: come in the league side. You know, the opportunity to

547
00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:53,399
Speaker 3: influence how the league was going to launch. Knowing the

548
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:56,080
Speaker 3: vision I thought was really important and they thought was

549
00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:58,639
Speaker 3: really important, and they were fully, you know, supportive of

550
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:02,080
Speaker 3: me coming over and leading hockey for the league and

551
00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:04,399
Speaker 3: then the CBA. You know, I wasn't a part of

552
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,120
Speaker 3: the negotiations there, but all of that was part of

553
00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:09,399
Speaker 3: making sure that, you know, the players were at the

554
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:13,080
Speaker 3: forefront and they were being heard. And so even now,

555
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,440
Speaker 3: you know, although you know, we have moments certainly where

556
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,280
Speaker 3: we feel like maybe we're on different sides, at the

557
00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:20,080
Speaker 3: end of the day, we had this history together and

558
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,520
Speaker 3: this trust and these relationships that are going to continue

559
00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:24,879
Speaker 3: to grow, and I would argue that we probably have

560
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:28,479
Speaker 3: the best relationship of any league between our union and

561
00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:32,200
Speaker 3: the league right now. You know, maybe not always the case,

562
00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:33,919
Speaker 3: but right now, you know, there's a lot of respect

563
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:34,720
Speaker 3: going both ways.

564
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:36,560
Speaker 1: Yes, I want to ask, you know, we had Kendall

565
00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,000
Speaker 1: Coinschofield on talking about some of the things that were

566
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,600
Speaker 1: a priority. What were some of your priorities in making

567
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:44,240
Speaker 1: the PWHL the best pro league get and making sure

568
00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,040
Speaker 1: it didn't suffer from some of the same issues that

569
00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:47,520
Speaker 1: the other iterations did.

570
00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:49,880
Speaker 3: Well. I think first and foremost, we needed the best

571
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,800
Speaker 3: players and so that was critical that all the top

572
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,960
Speaker 3: players were going to come and play. Secondly, I think

573
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,399
Speaker 3: we wanted to ensure that players got dispersed in a

574
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:02,879
Speaker 3: way that you know, previously it was like, well, I

575
00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:05,600
Speaker 3: want to play in this city because my parents live

576
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:08,480
Speaker 3: there and my family's there, and then by the way,

577
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,359
Speaker 3: this teammate like, she'll come play there too, and so

578
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,439
Speaker 3: we really wanted to say, like, that can't be the

579
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:15,480
Speaker 3: way this league works. This is a professional league. You

580
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,440
Speaker 3: get drafted to a market that wants you and believes

581
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:21,480
Speaker 3: you can help win, and so that was really important

582
00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,800
Speaker 3: to us. Just the professionalism, the resources that we're going

583
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:28,359
Speaker 3: to be provided was really important. And you know it

584
00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:30,760
Speaker 3: seems like little things, but you think about the food,

585
00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:33,320
Speaker 3: you think about the way you know, people travel, all

586
00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:37,080
Speaker 3: those things that as hockey players we just never had.

587
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,040
Speaker 3: You're sort of skeptical about what it could look like

588
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 3: because you've had bad experiences, and so all of that

589
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,960
Speaker 3: was really important as well as we launched the league.

590
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,960
Speaker 3: And so that's where me understanding what their vision was

591
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,600
Speaker 3: and their aspirations were really important. And we knew this

592
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,280
Speaker 3: league would only survive if we could put the best

593
00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 3: players on the ice and there would be a competitive

594
00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,520
Speaker 3: balance across the league where teams challenge for championships every year.

595
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:03,800
Speaker 1: You played a hand in the league implementing some new

596
00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,440
Speaker 1: rules which I love, including jail break goals, which is

597
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:09,960
Speaker 1: if a team scores when they're down a player in

598
00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,760
Speaker 1: the penalty kill, their player gets bounced from the penalty

599
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:13,400
Speaker 1: box early.

600
00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:15,080
Speaker 2: Also the no escape rule.

601
00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,360
Speaker 1: Which penalized a team that was penalized couldn't swap out

602
00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:20,040
Speaker 1: players when the penalty was called. They had to actually

603
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,040
Speaker 1: stick with you was out there until the ensuing faceof.

604
00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 2: I love some of the new rules.

605
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,920
Speaker 1: Was there much pushback to the idea of breaking from

606
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:28,840
Speaker 1: hockey tradition and changing rules?

607
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:31,960
Speaker 3: You know, there's always change is hard for many people,

608
00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:34,320
Speaker 3: so there was always some pushback, and I would say,

609
00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,080
Speaker 3: you know, more from a coaches perspective, sometimes they have

610
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,440
Speaker 3: stronger views because it does change the way the way

611
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,400
Speaker 3: you coach, the way you maybe have to prepare players

612
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,920
Speaker 3: for games. But I think generally, you know, we started

613
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:50,280
Speaker 3: this league with this. You know, it's a single mfee structure.

614
00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:54,280
Speaker 3: We make our own decisions, we do things quickly and

615
00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:56,840
Speaker 3: part of the culture that we created, and you know,

616
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 3: give Stan Casting credit from day one he said, you

617
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,280
Speaker 3: know we're going to make mistakes. We're doing this so quickly.

618
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,560
Speaker 3: But let's just make sure they're mistakes we can walk

619
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,440
Speaker 3: back from. And secondly, we need to think about this

620
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,880
Speaker 3: differently and don't be afraid to be creative, think outside

621
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,520
Speaker 3: the box. And so from day one that's become sort

622
00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:17,800
Speaker 3: of our culture. And so we you know, we thought

623
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,640
Speaker 3: about the game. We're traditionalists too, you know, anyone who's

624
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:22,440
Speaker 3: played the game doesn't want to change the game in

625
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:26,040
Speaker 3: a meaningful way. But what where the opportunity was, I

626
00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,200
Speaker 3: think was to make it more engaging for fans, make

627
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,640
Speaker 3: it more fun. And so the jail break rule. You know,

628
00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,120
Speaker 3: there's a lot of energy in a building with a

629
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:35,080
Speaker 3: shorthanded goal. Now when you add the player, it just

630
00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:37,520
Speaker 3: it just amps it up a little bit more. Then

631
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,720
Speaker 3: no escape rule was more data driven. We looked after

632
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,479
Speaker 3: that season and our power play percentages were lower than

633
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:45,680
Speaker 3: we liked, and we said, how could we actually increase

634
00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:49,920
Speaker 3: power play percentage? Every league wants more offense, so this

635
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:51,920
Speaker 3: was a way, and it actually it worked. We saw

636
00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:54,920
Speaker 3: a three percent increase in our powerplay percentage as a

637
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,400
Speaker 3: result of that rule. And then we have a couple

638
00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:59,120
Speaker 3: of the pick your own opponent. We felt like it

639
00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 3: was just fun, you know, doesn't change the game's material. Yeah,

640
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:06,320
Speaker 3: that's right. And then the other one is the gold plan,

641
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,840
Speaker 3: and that was where, you know, many leagues, you sort

642
00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:11,920
Speaker 3: of lose your way to the first overall pick if

643
00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:15,480
Speaker 3: you finish last in our league. The second you're eliminated,

644
00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:18,800
Speaker 3: you have to start earning points with wins to earn

645
00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:21,200
Speaker 3: the first pick overall. And you know, I think that's

646
00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,000
Speaker 3: just another way to keep fans engaged as the season

647
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,080
Speaker 3: goes on. And so we just have this culture where

648
00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,920
Speaker 3: there's no no bad ideas. Let's throw them out and

649
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:32,480
Speaker 3: we'll never change the game in a meaningful way, but

650
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,560
Speaker 3: we certainly want to make it more fun and more engaging.

651
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:35,960
Speaker 2: I love all those rules.

652
00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,560
Speaker 1: The anti tanking gold Plan is one that we've suggested

653
00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,160
Speaker 1: other leagues should look into, just a really smart way

654
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,280
Speaker 1: to keep teams trying after they've been eliminated. You know,

655
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,400
Speaker 1: you mentioned the dispersal of players a moment ago, and

656
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,320
Speaker 1: how it's important to your professional league to really do

657
00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:53,320
Speaker 1: that in a way that ensures parody and interest and

658
00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,040
Speaker 1: the highest level of play. Well, heading into season three,

659
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:59,120
Speaker 1: we saw a pretty major dispersal of talent because of

660
00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,920
Speaker 1: the addition of the two expansion teams, in Vancouver and Seattle.

661
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,800
Speaker 1: It was really wild to see the original six teams

662
00:32:04,840 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 1: initially be allowed to protect just three players. It was

663
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:10,400
Speaker 1: even more wild to have Hillary Knight on the show

664
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:12,800
Speaker 1: and joke about the fact that she might not get protected,

665
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:14,960
Speaker 1: and then have that happen and have her go to

666
00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:17,080
Speaker 1: a brand new city and become the first captain ever

667
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:18,920
Speaker 1: for that Seattle team. How did you come up with

668
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,040
Speaker 1: that system and decide on just three players getting protected?

669
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:25,560
Speaker 3: Well, I think you know, history is always important. So

670
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,680
Speaker 3: in the league launched, each team was able to sign

671
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:32,440
Speaker 3: three players as they're sort of they'll call them founding

672
00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,480
Speaker 3: players to start to build their team around. And so

673
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:39,240
Speaker 3: that's what we wanted to emulate in some way where

674
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:42,920
Speaker 3: these expansion teams would have their sort of founding players

675
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,320
Speaker 3: that they want to identify and bring to their markets.

676
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:48,360
Speaker 3: So that was one part of it. We wanted to

677
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:52,440
Speaker 3: ensure that regardless of what market you're looking at, on

678
00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:56,200
Speaker 3: day one of season three, any team could win. We

679
00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:58,440
Speaker 3: look at other leagues expansion and you see, you know,

680
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:01,560
Speaker 3: teams that take five, ten, fifteen years to be competitive.

681
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,360
Speaker 3: That wasn't our model. That's not the way we wanted

682
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,800
Speaker 3: to go, And so for that to happen, you can't

683
00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:11,440
Speaker 3: just shuffle around bottom end players like we knew stars

684
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:14,160
Speaker 3: were going to have to move. So that's how we

685
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,640
Speaker 3: got to the three number because you know, we wanted

686
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:19,320
Speaker 3: a certainly one, if not two, top five players on

687
00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:22,160
Speaker 3: these expansion teams. It's important for them to be able

688
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:24,160
Speaker 3: to compete right away. It's important for that fan base

689
00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,160
Speaker 3: to be able to feel like they're competing right away.

690
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,240
Speaker 3: And then there were some other elements where players could,

691
00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:34,400
Speaker 3: you know, choose to sign somewhere if they thought they

692
00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,640
Speaker 3: were going to get drafted anyways. And we felt like

693
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:41,800
Speaker 3: it was as player friendly as we could make and

694
00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,320
Speaker 3: you know, we'll see. I'm excited to see how the

695
00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 3: team shape up. Everyone has different opinions on you know

696
00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,280
Speaker 3: that they've been protected more should it be less, and

697
00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,640
Speaker 3: we learn every time we do these things. But from

698
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:56,520
Speaker 3: a process perspective, we're pretty excited looking at the rosters

699
00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,320
Speaker 3: across all eight teams and feel like we've achieved the

700
00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:02,480
Speaker 3: piece that any team could win this year and that

701
00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,080
Speaker 3: was really critical to us. The balance in our league

702
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:06,840
Speaker 3: is one of the best things about the PWHL.

703
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:09,840
Speaker 1: We have to take a quick break more with Jana

704
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:20,960
Speaker 1: Right after this, the league has announced the biggest takeover

705
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,240
Speaker 1: tour yet, and I'm particularly excited because of the sixteen

706
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,239
Speaker 1: neutral site games, two of them are going to be

707
00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,359
Speaker 1: in my city of Chicago, so I've already got those

708
00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:29,360
Speaker 1: marked on my calendar.

709
00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:32,000
Speaker 2: How are you deciding the spots for these games?

710
00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:34,960
Speaker 3: Well, you know, for those who may not be as familiar,

711
00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,680
Speaker 3: last season, we launched a takeover tour with nine cities

712
00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:40,840
Speaker 3: across North America that are not our current market cities,

713
00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:44,440
Speaker 3: and as it turns out, Seattle and Vancouver were the

714
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,120
Speaker 3: first two of that tour and bit of coincidence that

715
00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:49,880
Speaker 3: they ended up our expansion teams. But every time we

716
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:52,200
Speaker 3: play these out of market games, we look at it

717
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,600
Speaker 3: as a learning opportunity. We get to learn about the

718
00:34:54,600 --> 00:34:57,200
Speaker 3: fan base, We get to learn about the infrastructure, the

719
00:34:57,200 --> 00:35:01,200
Speaker 3: facilities that exist, the partnerships in the market, the e opportunities,

720
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:06,800
Speaker 3: the grassroots participation rates. So there's just so much data

721
00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:08,960
Speaker 3: we can collect by playing in these games. And then

722
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,200
Speaker 3: the other the flip side of that is also, you know,

723
00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:13,440
Speaker 3: we're only in eight markets now, and how do we

724
00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:16,640
Speaker 3: bring the PHL experience to fans in different markets? Because

725
00:35:16,680 --> 00:35:19,960
Speaker 3: it's pretty special it's unique from certainly any other you know,

726
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,120
Speaker 3: hockey product. But our buildings just have this energy and

727
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:26,279
Speaker 3: excitement in them that is something really special and so

728
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:28,520
Speaker 3: be able to bring more people into the mix and

729
00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:31,799
Speaker 3: let them feel that it is really great. So, you know,

730
00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:34,120
Speaker 3: there's a lot of things we look at to determine

731
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,080
Speaker 3: what cities it's, you know, who wants us to come,

732
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:38,239
Speaker 3: Who thinks we can be added into that market, Who

733
00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,960
Speaker 3: thinks that, you know, the women's game would be great there,

734
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,479
Speaker 3: Who wants a team? You know, So there's just lots

735
00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:48,840
Speaker 3: of elements. But we're really excited to launch the sixteen

736
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:52,600
Speaker 3: team tour this year. So it's significantly increased from last year.

737
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:56,359
Speaker 3: And as you said, Chicago being a great one, great

738
00:35:56,400 --> 00:35:59,080
Speaker 3: hockey town, and so we couldn't be more excited to

739
00:35:59,160 --> 00:35:59,759
Speaker 3: kick this off.

740
00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:01,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, we've seen it in a couple other

741
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,799
Speaker 1: women's sports, notably the AUSL had their first season and

742
00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:07,640
Speaker 1: it was a barnstorming tour, playing in different cities across

743
00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:11,120
Speaker 1: the country and being able to really test out the desire,

744
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:14,320
Speaker 1: the infrastructure, the fan base everywhere else. And so feels

745
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,480
Speaker 1: safe to say based on the fact that Vancouver and

746
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:19,120
Speaker 1: Seattle were the first two and turned into teams that

747
00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:22,040
Speaker 1: these takeover cities are a test run potential candidates for

748
00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:22,839
Speaker 1: expansion teams.

749
00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:26,279
Speaker 3: Yes, you know, I think so. There's no guarantees. We

750
00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:29,560
Speaker 3: haven't committed to know how many new expansion teams we

751
00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:32,120
Speaker 3: may or may not have next year. But as I said,

752
00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:34,360
Speaker 3: we look at everyone as a learning opportunity, and so

753
00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:37,279
Speaker 3: I think it'd probably be unlikely that we expand to

754
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:39,240
Speaker 3: a city that we don't hit on the takeover tire.

755
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,920
Speaker 3: But you know, again, we just want to look at

756
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:45,920
Speaker 3: it as what can we learn, how can we understand

757
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:48,640
Speaker 3: that market, understand the fans. But I think we've been

758
00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:52,480
Speaker 3: pretty public about our aggressive approach to expansion and that

759
00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:55,319
Speaker 3: it's very intentional, and so we're excited to continue to

760
00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:56,120
Speaker 3: grow this league.

761
00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, you've been clear about your plans to expand, but

762
00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:01,080
Speaker 1: not specific about those plays. So you're not ready yet

763
00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:03,479
Speaker 1: to tell me how many teams next year?

764
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:07,600
Speaker 3: I'm not Okay, No, okay, we're not there yet.

765
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:07,960
Speaker 2: Good.

766
00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:10,879
Speaker 1: What about a city that didn't quite make the cut

767
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:13,239
Speaker 1: for the takeover tour? Maybe somewhere that could look forward

768
00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:14,920
Speaker 1: to a stop in the future. Maybe you were looking

769
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:17,279
Speaker 1: but timing or venue or whatever didn't work out, or

770
00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:19,160
Speaker 1: there are places that you say, we know we want

771
00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:19,560
Speaker 1: to hit it.

772
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:20,759
Speaker 2: Be patient, we're coming to you.

773
00:37:21,080 --> 00:37:23,680
Speaker 3: There's definitely a couple this year that maybe would have

774
00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:27,440
Speaker 3: been in that scenario in year one, and so, you know,

775
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:30,280
Speaker 3: we obviously try not to talk too much about markets

776
00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:34,040
Speaker 3: that aren't announced, but there's certainly a couple that you know,

777
00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:36,080
Speaker 3: there always is. There's so many great cities and great

778
00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:38,880
Speaker 3: hockey cities across North America that there's a number we

779
00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,560
Speaker 3: could hit up. And we're really excited about the ones

780
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:43,640
Speaker 3: we've got this year, and a couple that are new

781
00:37:43,719 --> 00:37:45,480
Speaker 3: to the tour, a couple that were on the tour

782
00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:48,880
Speaker 3: last year, and so we'll see where we go next season.

783
00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:50,360
Speaker 3: But this is this is a fun one.

784
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:53,120
Speaker 1: If you want to add Mexico, I'm happy to, you know,

785
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:55,279
Speaker 1: bite the bullet and cover that wherever that may be.

786
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,480
Speaker 3: Well, we made a joke about a Hawaii team money. Yeah,

787
00:37:57,480 --> 00:37:59,000
Speaker 3: we'll say, I don't know if you saw that one, So

788
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:00,400
Speaker 3: I'd be more in that to it.

789
00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:02,360
Speaker 2: I'm in you know.

790
00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:04,840
Speaker 1: On a previous show, we talked about something going on

791
00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:08,640
Speaker 1: with the PWHL, specifically the Ottawa charge, the construction planned

792
00:38:08,680 --> 00:38:11,600
Speaker 1: for Lansdown and TD place where they play their home games,

793
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:14,520
Speaker 1: and you joined. Amy Sheer, the executive VP of Business

794
00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:17,360
Speaker 1: Ops and penning, a letter to Ottawa, expressing disappointment and

795
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:20,720
Speaker 1: frustration with their plans that will include a smaller arena

796
00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:23,640
Speaker 1: in the Landsdown two point zero, about three thousand fewer seats,

797
00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:25,920
Speaker 1: something that works out fine for the men's team that

798
00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:28,120
Speaker 1: plays there, who I will now only be calling the

799
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:29,319
Speaker 1: six sevens.

800
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:31,359
Speaker 2: It's actually the sixty seven.

801
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:32,279
Speaker 3: My kids say that too.

802
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,719
Speaker 1: Yeah, what's the latest on that fight? You know, we're.

803
00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:40,600
Speaker 3: Trying to still discuss and talk, and as you said,

804
00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:43,399
Speaker 3: we were disappointed with the decision that was made. We

805
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:47,920
Speaker 3: love Ottawa. Ottawa's an incredible market. We have passionate loyal

806
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,840
Speaker 3: fans there. It's a market that has led our league

807
00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:54,120
Speaker 3: I think in year one in attendance. Year two really

808
00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:58,640
Speaker 3: strong as well. So, you know, it's disheartening to see

809
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,560
Speaker 3: a decision like this made. There's been a lot of

810
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:03,440
Speaker 3: ups and downs in this journey of getting the lead

811
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,480
Speaker 3: to launch it. I don't think I, ever in my

812
00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:08,799
Speaker 3: wildest dreams, would have thought that this would have been

813
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:12,839
Speaker 3: a challenge. We'd face a big enough for us that

814
00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:18,480
Speaker 3: the Yeah, wants to build a rink too small, you know.

815
00:39:18,520 --> 00:39:20,880
Speaker 3: I think Amy referenced it as a cruel twist of fate,

816
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,800
Speaker 3: and so it's a bit shocking we're in this scenario.

817
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:26,719
Speaker 3: I hope we can find a resolution because we love

818
00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:29,480
Speaker 3: the city, we love the charge. They've had success there,

819
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:33,120
Speaker 3: and so we'll do everything we can to continue to

820
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:35,479
Speaker 3: discuss and see if there's a resolution to be had.

821
00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:38,440
Speaker 1: On its face, I'm pissed about it. It does feel

822
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:41,319
Speaker 1: like bullshit that for years and years it's always been,

823
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,360
Speaker 1: you know, accommodating men, whether that's making it bigger, and

824
00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:47,480
Speaker 1: now it's making it smaller and still accommodating men at

825
00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:49,279
Speaker 1: the expensive women. But I did read a piece on

826
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:52,240
Speaker 1: the Ice Garden dot com by a writer named Alicia Cote.

827
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:55,480
Speaker 1: She reconsidered a previous column that she'd written criticized in

828
00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:58,640
Speaker 1: the construction. She argued now that TD places at the

829
00:39:58,719 --> 00:40:01,640
Speaker 1: end of its life, and that delaying this construction will

830
00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:04,720
Speaker 1: increase the cost, and that a modern, small arena still

831
00:40:04,719 --> 00:40:08,200
Speaker 1: offers some major upgrades because of its modernity. She wrote, quote,

832
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,720
Speaker 1: Landsdown two point zero isn't a vanity project or against

833
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:12,800
Speaker 1: women's hockey. It's an urgent rescue effort to save a

834
00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:15,839
Speaker 1: beloved public space while minimizing the burden on taxpayers. It's

835
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,520
Speaker 1: a reinvestment that keeps lands down viable for decades to come.

836
00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:20,719
Speaker 1: In this case, backing lansdown two point OHO is the

837
00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:23,239
Speaker 1: pro women's sports position because the alternative could hurt the

838
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,640
Speaker 1: charge even more. What good is an eighty five hundred

839
00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:27,960
Speaker 1: seat arena if it's unsafe or unaffordable to play in?

840
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:29,920
Speaker 2: End quote? Do you have a response to that?

841
00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:33,719
Speaker 1: I mean, it sounds a little bit reasonable, but is

842
00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:37,520
Speaker 1: there no possible solution that involves just bumping up the

843
00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:41,200
Speaker 1: size of their plans for the replacement arena and making

844
00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:42,680
Speaker 1: it viable for both teams?

845
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:45,880
Speaker 3: Well, you know, our disappointment was in the lack of

846
00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:52,000
Speaker 3: conversation communication with the PWHL. We are arguably their most

847
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:56,320
Speaker 3: successful tenant. We have certainly had an impact on that city,

848
00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:59,719
Speaker 3: and we were always told there'd be a time to talk,

849
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:03,200
Speaker 3: and that time never came. That's what we were upset about.

850
00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:05,480
Speaker 3: At the end of the day, the City of Ottawa

851
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,319
Speaker 3: will do what they need to do for the City

852
00:41:07,360 --> 00:41:10,360
Speaker 3: of Ottawa, and we understand that, but the fact that

853
00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:14,440
Speaker 3: we haven't had a good faith conversation around capacity was frustrating,

854
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:17,440
Speaker 3: and you know, there certainly are some positives to a

855
00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:20,759
Speaker 3: new building. The team spaces would be wonderful and they'd

856
00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:22,640
Speaker 3: be an upgrade from where we're at. But at the

857
00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:25,279
Speaker 3: same time, you know, we fought so hard to make

858
00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:29,360
Speaker 3: this a business, and you know, anybody who was asked

859
00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:32,160
Speaker 3: to take a thirty percent cut on their business, I

860
00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:34,000
Speaker 3: don't think you'd find many people that would agree and

861
00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:37,160
Speaker 3: think it was a great idea. So it's it's challenging

862
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,400
Speaker 3: to make it work from a business perspective, and we

863
00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:41,200
Speaker 3: know we're going to be around for years to come,

864
00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:42,799
Speaker 3: and so we have to be a viable and a

865
00:41:42,840 --> 00:41:43,560
Speaker 3: thriving business.

866
00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:44,719
Speaker 2: Yeah, it feels wild to me.

867
00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:47,960
Speaker 1: I'm not in the plans with the blueprints, but that

868
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:50,400
Speaker 1: they wouldn't be able to try to adjust the plan

869
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:53,680
Speaker 1: for the building to accommodate more. You know, earlier in

870
00:41:53,719 --> 00:41:56,200
Speaker 1: the conversation we talked about the relationship between the players

871
00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:57,840
Speaker 1: and the league generally being a good one. There's a

872
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:00,520
Speaker 1: very long CBA that you know will keep that that

873
00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:03,319
Speaker 1: kind of stability. But there is a question about the

874
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:06,840
Speaker 1: reserve players for PWHL that they train with the teams

875
00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,240
Speaker 1: but they're not on the roster or getting a normal salary,

876
00:42:09,239 --> 00:42:11,880
Speaker 1: and sort of felt like these reserve spots were mostly

877
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,560
Speaker 1: filled by players that were living in market, but over

878
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:16,440
Speaker 1: time there's more of them on the CUSP, but that

879
00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:18,360
Speaker 1: are sort of willing to make the move to a

880
00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:20,520
Speaker 1: different city, hoping that they get the opportunity at a

881
00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:23,240
Speaker 1: roster spot down the road, even while they're not getting

882
00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:24,920
Speaker 1: a lot of the benefits or any of the benefits.

883
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:26,839
Speaker 1: So does the league have any plans to change how

884
00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:30,640
Speaker 1: it supports reserve players with things like living expenses and

885
00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:33,200
Speaker 1: what they have to sacrifice in order to be available.

886
00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:35,160
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think it's still early in an

887
00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:37,120
Speaker 3: eight year CBA, and this was you know, this was

888
00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:41,160
Speaker 3: an agreed upon element of the league. And I think

889
00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:44,239
Speaker 3: the reserve player when we launched was really about, to

890
00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,879
Speaker 3: your point, somebody that you know, maybe they do work

891
00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:50,400
Speaker 3: a job on the side, but they stay fit, but

892
00:42:50,440 --> 00:42:52,920
Speaker 3: they're not mandated to be a part of, you know,

893
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:56,200
Speaker 3: the team all the time. And so it was a

894
00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,799
Speaker 3: solution that we had when this launched. You know, I

895
00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:03,200
Speaker 3: think things evolve, and so it's certainly things that we'll

896
00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:06,359
Speaker 3: look at and things we'll talk about. I do still

897
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:09,640
Speaker 3: think there's a place for it where we are, but

898
00:43:09,719 --> 00:43:12,640
Speaker 3: I think we'll continue to look at it, and it's

899
00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:13,760
Speaker 3: just one of those things on the list.

900
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,040
Speaker 1: Another off season point of discussion was the timing of

901
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:19,960
Speaker 1: the World Championships. And now there is a very unique

902
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:24,239
Speaker 1: partnership between the IHF, which will never be easy to

903
00:43:24,280 --> 00:43:28,480
Speaker 1: say quickly, the IIHF and the PWHL which we'll keep

904
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:32,359
Speaker 1: the event from interrupting the season, but keep it going.

905
00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:34,160
Speaker 2: So tell us how you got to this current solution.

906
00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:36,360
Speaker 1: I love that there seems to be a lot of

907
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:38,840
Speaker 1: communication here to make this work for both sides.

908
00:43:39,200 --> 00:43:41,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, this was you know, a couple of years in

909
00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:44,640
Speaker 3: the making of building the relationship since the league launched.

910
00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:47,920
Speaker 3: And I think the reality is that once the PAHL launched,

911
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:51,520
Speaker 3: the landscape of women's hockey changed, and everybody had to

912
00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:55,560
Speaker 3: sort of understand that and agree to that. And again,

913
00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:58,760
Speaker 3: change is heard, right, the Women's World Championships have always

914
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:02,160
Speaker 3: been in April. For us, knowing we have to be

915
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:05,360
Speaker 3: a thriving business, it was a real challenge and impediment

916
00:44:05,400 --> 00:44:08,800
Speaker 3: to our growth and our ability to continue to thrive.

917
00:44:08,880 --> 00:44:12,160
Speaker 3: And so you know, over you know, months and months

918
00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:15,919
Speaker 3: of conversation the Double IHF Hockey Canada, USA Hockey. There's

919
00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:18,759
Speaker 3: a number of stakeholders that have worked really hard to

920
00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:22,000
Speaker 3: try to get something that ensures the best players play

921
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:24,600
Speaker 3: at the World Championships. The best players also play in

922
00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:28,840
Speaker 3: the PAHL. We're excited about the opportunity to really, you know,

923
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:30,880
Speaker 3: use the World Championships as the best players in the

924
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:33,680
Speaker 3: world to help launch the PVHL season. There's a real

925
00:44:33,760 --> 00:44:36,920
Speaker 3: marketing element to this. We as a PWAHL want to

926
00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:39,560
Speaker 3: support the world's as well. We know how important it

927
00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:42,359
Speaker 3: is to players, and when you look at the men's

928
00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:45,000
Speaker 3: side of the game, what's evolved is that men only

929
00:44:45,040 --> 00:44:47,400
Speaker 3: play in the World Championships if they don't make the playoffs.

930
00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:49,680
Speaker 3: That's not where we wanted the women's game to go.

931
00:44:49,800 --> 00:44:52,440
Speaker 3: I think it's critical that they play on the international stage.

932
00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:55,399
Speaker 3: So our partnership with the Double ICHF is really going

933
00:44:55,400 --> 00:44:59,360
Speaker 3: to be able to help also drive more hopefully awareness,

934
00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:02,960
Speaker 3: more players, more fans to the PWHL and ensure that

935
00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:05,200
Speaker 3: we can co exist and actually you know, sort of

936
00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:06,480
Speaker 3: build each other up as well.

937
00:45:06,719 --> 00:45:07,399
Speaker 2: It's really cool.

938
00:45:07,480 --> 00:45:09,879
Speaker 1: So the World Championship, by the way, I am only

939
00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:12,560
Speaker 1: saying Double IHF from now on, it is much easier.

940
00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:13,680
Speaker 3: That's the only way I can say it.

941
00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:15,200
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's how everyone says it, but

942
00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:17,640
Speaker 1: if you say it like that, that's an okay for me.

943
00:45:17,760 --> 00:45:20,200
Speaker 1: So double IHF World Championship is going to be in

944
00:45:20,239 --> 00:45:22,040
Speaker 1: November now, so that will be right before the p

945
00:45:22,239 --> 00:45:24,279
Speaker 1: WHL season, getting the excitement. But it also means that

946
00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:27,200
Speaker 1: the World Championship can happen during Olympics season, so that's

947
00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:28,920
Speaker 1: a benefit to them as well that it's not an

948
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:31,960
Speaker 1: either or They could still have that competition in November

949
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:36,000
Speaker 1: with Olympics in February, and so all of this will

950
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:38,560
Speaker 1: start in future years. But speaking of the Olympics, we're

951
00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:41,719
Speaker 1: looking ahead to February and the Milan Courtina Olympics. We've

952
00:45:41,719 --> 00:45:44,520
Speaker 1: seen previously that the Olympics brings such a giant spotlight

953
00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:47,600
Speaker 1: on women's hockey. The Canada US rivalry is one of

954
00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:50,560
Speaker 1: my favorite sports rivalries in all of sports. But this

955
00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:52,960
Speaker 1: is the first time the PWHL will have an opportunity

956
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:57,160
Speaker 1: to really capitalize on that spotlight. So what plans does

957
00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:59,040
Speaker 1: the league have to make sure that fans tuning in

958
00:45:59,080 --> 00:46:02,480
Speaker 1: to watch US versus Canada are then sticking around to

959
00:46:02,520 --> 00:46:04,759
Speaker 1: watch a Boston Montreal game a few weeks later.

960
00:46:04,920 --> 00:46:07,240
Speaker 3: Well, I think it's a real opportunity for us to

961
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:10,560
Speaker 3: do more storytelling, right, Like it's we all know that

962
00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:13,319
Speaker 3: the success of women's sports and sports in generals are

963
00:46:13,360 --> 00:46:15,360
Speaker 3: on storytelling and getting to know the athletes, and so

964
00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:17,799
Speaker 3: leading up to the games, I think we can lean

965
00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:20,000
Speaker 3: in on that and we can continue to ensure people

966
00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:23,440
Speaker 3: know where our players are, where they're playing. The Olympics

967
00:46:23,440 --> 00:46:25,759
Speaker 3: will be its own narrative that we're all going to

968
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:28,879
Speaker 3: anxiously follow, and I think, you know, as you said,

969
00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:31,319
Speaker 3: for the first time, now we have people that are

970
00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:33,680
Speaker 3: going to say, wow, I loved watching Hillary Knight. Where

971
00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:35,640
Speaker 3: can I watch her? And you know what, we can

972
00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:37,640
Speaker 3: tell you now. We can tell you she's going to

973
00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:39,759
Speaker 3: have a game and she plays for the Seattle team,

974
00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:43,359
Speaker 3: and you know, so now we can direct people back

975
00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:46,000
Speaker 3: to continue with following the following the women that they

976
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:48,160
Speaker 3: fall in love with at the Olympics, and that's a

977
00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:51,280
Speaker 3: pretty special thing. So you know, we're going to hopefully

978
00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:53,359
Speaker 3: you know, have watch parties and different things going on

979
00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:55,680
Speaker 3: during the Olympic break because we know that's challenging for

980
00:46:55,719 --> 00:46:57,479
Speaker 3: our fans. But our fans are going to love watching

981
00:46:57,520 --> 00:47:00,200
Speaker 3: our players there and then when they come back. I

982
00:47:00,239 --> 00:47:02,360
Speaker 3: think it's a big opportunity to get global eyeballs on

983
00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:04,560
Speaker 3: our league as well. They've never been able to do

984
00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:06,880
Speaker 3: that before. It's always been well, maybe you'll see them

985
00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:10,520
Speaker 3: in four years again. So this is an exciting time

986
00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:12,880
Speaker 3: and we're all thrilled to be able to watch our

987
00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:13,879
Speaker 3: players compete there.

988
00:47:14,320 --> 00:47:18,120
Speaker 1: We also love seeing teammates in one league or space

989
00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:21,720
Speaker 1: go against each other somewhere else, and usually when it happens,

990
00:47:21,719 --> 00:47:24,200
Speaker 1: it's the rare sort of duo. But in the case

991
00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:27,080
Speaker 1: of USA VERSUS Canada and the PWHL, there is just

992
00:47:27,200 --> 00:47:30,200
Speaker 1: an endless number of teammates who will be lining up

993
00:47:30,239 --> 00:47:32,880
Speaker 1: next to each other and then shortly thereafter in a

994
00:47:33,000 --> 00:47:35,879
Speaker 1: battle to the death, and so those storylines will just be.

995
00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:37,040
Speaker 2: So so fun to follow.

996
00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:41,879
Speaker 1: Okay, last question for you, anything else arenas timelines, any

997
00:47:41,920 --> 00:47:44,400
Speaker 1: other issues that the league's addressing as season three is

998
00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:45,320
Speaker 1: about to get underway.

999
00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:47,239
Speaker 3: I don't think issues. I think there's just a lot

1000
00:47:47,239 --> 00:47:50,280
Speaker 3: of excitement where we're at, and obviously we talked about expansion.

1001
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:53,000
Speaker 3: This is the first time that we've done this, so

1002
00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:55,560
Speaker 3: really excited to see how this plays out and the

1003
00:47:55,600 --> 00:48:00,160
Speaker 3: competitive balance in the league. And you know, I think

1004
00:48:00,480 --> 00:48:04,239
Speaker 3: seeing Minnesota as the two time champions, like who's going

1005
00:48:04,320 --> 00:48:07,200
Speaker 3: to dethrow them from the Welder Cup? And so I

1006
00:48:07,280 --> 00:48:09,680
Speaker 3: think there's some great storylines. You have the Olympics in there,

1007
00:48:09,719 --> 00:48:12,120
Speaker 3: and it's just such an exciting time for our league.

1008
00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:14,880
Speaker 3: So I couldn't be more excited for the puck to

1009
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:16,919
Speaker 3: drop this week and get it going.

1010
00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:20,600
Speaker 1: Very cool to see the two new teams establish some identity.

1011
00:48:21,280 --> 00:48:24,000
Speaker 1: I know very little about Goldeneyes except they did google

1012
00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:26,400
Speaker 1: and discover that they have a very unique mating ritual.

1013
00:48:26,800 --> 00:48:28,320
Speaker 2: So we're going to continue to learn.

1014
00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:32,640
Speaker 1: About GoldenEye Ducks and also the hockey team and how

1015
00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:35,279
Speaker 1: it will establish itself as unique in the space. And

1016
00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:37,040
Speaker 1: then some of the other teams, the traditions that have

1017
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:40,040
Speaker 1: organically started over the first two years, just continuing to

1018
00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:42,799
Speaker 1: build on those and getting them spread out to more

1019
00:48:42,840 --> 00:48:46,440
Speaker 1: fans who are learning about and getting excited about the PWHL.

1020
00:48:46,520 --> 00:48:48,680
Speaker 1: So congrats on all the success so far. We're looking

1021
00:48:48,719 --> 00:48:49,720
Speaker 1: forward to season three.

1022
00:48:50,040 --> 00:48:51,880
Speaker 3: Thank you so much, appreciate the support.

1023
00:48:54,560 --> 00:48:56,799
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Jana for taking the time. We have

1024
00:48:56,840 --> 00:48:58,839
Speaker 1: to take one more quick break when we come back.

1025
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:10,560
Speaker 1: It's Sports, Make It Art Welcome back slices. We love

1026
00:49:10,600 --> 00:49:11,960
Speaker 1: that you're listening, but we want you to get in

1027
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:14,120
Speaker 1: the game every day too, So here's our good game

1028
00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:16,480
Speaker 1: play of the day. Message us and let us know

1029
00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:20,000
Speaker 1: which PWHL team you'll be rooting for this season. Also,

1030
00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:22,160
Speaker 1: we love to keep up with the in game traditions

1031
00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:24,480
Speaker 1: across the league as they get established or grow in

1032
00:49:24,560 --> 00:49:26,960
Speaker 1: season three, so message us and let us know if

1033
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:30,160
Speaker 1: the Taylor Swift sing alongs continue. Maybe you got stories

1034
00:49:30,160 --> 00:49:32,960
Speaker 1: about the adventures of Ottawa's mascot, a real live dog

1035
00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:36,560
Speaker 1: named Lando, Or you're just like us vibing at home

1036
00:49:36,640 --> 00:49:38,920
Speaker 1: listening to the YouTube ad break music on repeat.

1037
00:49:39,239 --> 00:49:39,960
Speaker 2: We see you too.

1038
00:49:41,160 --> 00:49:42,680
Speaker 1: We always love to hear from you, so hit us

1039
00:49:42,719 --> 00:49:45,560
Speaker 1: up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com, or

1040
00:49:45,640 --> 00:49:47,279
Speaker 1: leave us a voice smail at eight seven two two

1041
00:49:47,440 --> 00:49:50,560
Speaker 1: four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe. Rate and

1042
00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:54,560
Speaker 1: review It's easy watch Bringing a paintbrush to the Hockey

1043
00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:59,440
Speaker 1: Rink rating five out of five Clean Brushstrokes review. Have

1044
00:49:59,480 --> 00:50:01,279
Speaker 1: you ever stopped think about how the lines on an

1045
00:50:01,280 --> 00:50:02,320
Speaker 1: ice rink are painted?

1046
00:50:02,800 --> 00:50:03,799
Speaker 2: Well, a few weeks ago.

1047
00:50:03,880 --> 00:50:07,680
Speaker 1: Producer Alex's Instagram algorithm did its thing perfectly, serving her

1048
00:50:07,760 --> 00:50:09,319
Speaker 1: up a video of the work that went into the

1049
00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:12,480
Speaker 1: minor league hockey team, the Idaho Steelheads home arena during

1050
00:50:12,520 --> 00:50:15,760
Speaker 1: the off season. Workers started out with the bare concrete floor,

1051
00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:18,800
Speaker 1: no water or ice yet, and used a big sprayer

1052
00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:21,000
Speaker 1: to paint it all white. Then they got out paint

1053
00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:23,840
Speaker 1: brushes to mark the red and blue offsides and gold lines.

1054
00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:25,759
Speaker 1: Kind of wild to think that at the bottom of

1055
00:50:25,760 --> 00:50:29,279
Speaker 1: every ice rink there's basically a huge ass mural. Now

1056
00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:32,440
Speaker 1: it's your dirt rate and review. And while we're on

1057
00:50:32,480 --> 00:50:35,160
Speaker 1: the topic of art and sports, friend of the show LJ.

1058
00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:37,680
Speaker 1: Raider put up an interesting comparison the other day on

1059
00:50:37,760 --> 00:50:40,080
Speaker 1: his art but Make It Sports account that you might

1060
00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:45,759
Speaker 1: find amusing two words Bubba Trump. If you're curious, click

1061
00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:49,560
Speaker 1: the link in the show notes. Thanks for listening, See

1062
00:50:49,560 --> 00:50:53,040
Speaker 1: you tomorrow. Good game, Jaina, Good game, Seattle and Vancouver.

1063
00:50:53,840 --> 00:50:56,840
Speaker 1: You not knowing what the future holds for the Ottawa Charge.

1064
00:50:58,719 --> 00:51:01,200
Speaker 1: Good Game with Sarah Spain. It's an iHeart women's sports

1065
00:51:01,239 --> 00:51:04,400
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You

1066
00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:07,520
Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts.

1067
00:51:07,120 --> 00:51:08,560
Speaker 2: Or wherever you get your podcasts.

1068
00:51:08,719 --> 00:51:12,080
Speaker 1: Production by Wonder Media Network. Our producers are alex Azzie,

1069
00:51:12,200 --> 00:51:16,160
Speaker 1: Grace Lynch, Taylor Williamson, and Lucy Jones. Our executive producers

1070
00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:19,560
Speaker 1: are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.

1071
00:51:19,880 --> 00:51:23,240
Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rudder, Britney Martinez and Gianna Palmer.

1072
00:51:23,560 --> 00:51:27,200
Speaker 1: Production assistants from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah

1073
00:51:27,200 --> 00:51:27,520
Speaker 1: Spain