For the longest time, women’s hockey was backwards in terms of how we think about league play versus international play in North American hockey. In men’s hockey, when NHL players did (and will go), we see the Olympics as the added spectacle away from the league. For women’s hockey, the Olympics and World Championships were often the only time they got mainstream TV appearances and attention.
It often created a chasm between the 30 or so players in the national program, getting stipends and able to focus on hockey and those who fit hockey and training into their schedule between their full-time job or schooling.
It’s what made the addition of a player like Ann-Sophie Bettez back into the national program in her 30s such a unique story.
The PWHL has completely changed the outlook. While there will still be deserved attention on the World Championships and Olympics, the Rivalry Series and international break may seem like an unnecessary inconvenience but it also provides an opportunity. The February leg of the Rivalry Series is in the middle of the NCAA season, where players are in school so it provides an opportunity for players to replace the Sarah Filliers, Abbey Murphys, and others unable to attend.
For the first time, every player on both the Canadian and American teams are playing in the PWHL.
Montreal PWHL forward Maureen Murphy is in her first professional season after playing at Northeastern University. She made her senior national team debut at last year’s November leg of the Rivalry Series, playing three games. She is among Montreal’s leaders in scoring with one goal and seven assists in nine games. When asked about being named to the roster, she brought up a key point.
“I’m super grateful for this chance and super grateful for this league to allow players like myself to further develop and be ready to play at that next level,” she said.
Team USA and Hockey Canada decision makers can now see most players in the pool playing against each other. They have a common environment, and more importantly, everyone is training and playing full time. It means that those players graduating from the NCAA, or veterans who may have dropped out of the national team picture now have a chance to continue their development and get back on the radar without needing to get an invite to national training camps.
It will take some time to fully adjust to this new reality, but while four Americans were named to their first senior national team roster for this leg of the Rivalry Series, it can start to become a more regular occurrence as players establish themselves and develop further in an environment they really never had before.
One of the Americans making her debut on Wednesday night was Montreal PWHL defender Madison Bizal. Bizal just graduated from Ohio State. She had represented the United States at the 2017 Under-18 World Championship, but this is her first appearance with the senior national team.
Bizal was diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and right before the PWHL season started had announced she was cancer-free.
“It’s really exciting and it’s a really awesome opportunity to be able to learn this week,” Bizal said about being named to the roster before leaving to join the team. “You always hope, but it just depends on what they’re looking for […] This league is showcasing the best in the world so it’s allowing me to continue to develop my game which is a piece that I want and continue to keep building and this is a great league to be able to do that.”
While international breaks is something common in Europe, both in men’s and women’s hockey and in soccer worldwide, it is less obvious in North American leagues. With the PWHL being built around the existing structure, there are some that wonder whether the Rivalry Series may still be needed. Don’t expect it to go away in the short-term, though.
“It adds a lot of volume, but it’s also nice to get international play,” said Montreal head coach Kori Cheverie. “If you’re only getting international competition once a year, that can also be detrimental too. It’s great to be able to play Canada and the United States as often as the Rivalry Series allows us. It was put in place to give our players more games and it may have to come out just in terms of volume, but I think it’s really beneficial because we can’t wait until one game in round robin and potentially a medal game to play the US. It’s just not enough, to be honest.”
Canada and the United States aren’t the only international teams playing in this window. In Czechia, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, and the host team are playing games this week as well and their rosters also feature PWHL players.
On Wednesday, Canada came from behind in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 win. Ann-Renée Desbiens made 14 saves in the win. Marie-Philip Poulin had two assists, Erin Ambrose had one assist and Laura Stacey scored the empty-net goal. Canada now trails the series 3-2 after being down 0-3. The next game is Friday in Regina, Saskatchewan at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The seventh game will be in St. Paul, Minnesota and will be played regardless of who wins Game 6.
