P.A. hockey players reflect on historic regular-season opener for PWHL

“Building up to it, we all knew that we were going to be feeling those emotions as kind of allowing ourselves to feel that, but also being focused and ready to play the game was kind of two sides of it,” she said.

“They announced the lineup of our team and coming out into a packed, sold-out crowd, Billie Jean King dropping the puck, it was just very emotional and we know this dream of ours has come true and to be a part of it was just amazing.”

Willoughby’s former teammate, Brooke Hobson, was also on the ice for that game as a member of the New York team.

Hobson was drafted 45^th overall after spending the previous season with MoDo Hockey in Sweden. She spent her collegiate hockey days with Northeastern University in Boston.

She described getting to the PWHL and being a part of the opening game as special.

“It was a long time coming and we’ve had a lot of preparation,” she said “It was really exciting, the atmosphere was unbelievable. There was nothing else I could really ask for and we played a pretty good game for our first game.”

New York would reign victorious in that game by a score of 4-0. While that’s not the outcome Willoughby and her team were hoping for, there is still a lot of hockey to play this season and she is looking forward to growing as the games continue.

“I get to focus everything in my life about hockey right now and so playing under Troy Ryan as our head coach, he has a lot of hockey knowledge and he thinks about the game in a different way than I’ve ever seen. I’m just excited to grow my skills individually and also be a part of an amazing group of players, some people that I’ve looked up to that play on Team Canada, just learning from them and playing against the best players in the world.”

Hobson echoed that sentiment and is not only looking forward to helping her team succeed but also being a part of an elite women’s hockey league.

“This is the highest level of hockey you can play for professional women’s hockey,” she said. “The speed is phenomenal, the physicality is phenomenal. This is where you can go now after college and you can strive to play the best hockey and now that I’m here, it’s just really pushing me to grow as a player and as a person every single day.”

While there is plenty of excitement for the new PWHL, it’s not the first time a competitive women’s hockey league has been attempted. Willoughby was a part of the CWHL which ran from 2007 to 2019. The Premier Hockey Federation, formerly the NWHL, folded after the 2023 season. Hobson had just signed with the Boston Pride before news of the dissolution.

Despite past iterations, both players are excited and confident that this women’s hockey league will survive.

“We all had to have second jobs in order to support our life and now with this league in place, you can’t be working another job because of the demands of it,” said Willoughby. “We go to the rink every day, we practice, work out, it wouldn’t be possible to have another job, and that’s the whole thing is that now we get to just focus on hockey because we’re getting compensated.”

Both players are excited to not only be a part of the PWHL but also represent Prince Albert and Saskatchewan in the process. Only four players from the province made the PWHL this year with Sophie Shirley and Emily Clark being the others.

Hobson and Willoughby said that after the opening game, they received hundreds of messages of congratulations and support from family and friends back home.

“I looked at my phone after the game and just the amount of messages from girls back at home from my friends, family, girls I played (with) in high school, the Bears, it was phenomenal,” she said. “I think that just shows you how close this Saskatchewan hockey community is.”

“I’ve had so much support from everyone that’s back home in Saskatchewan reaching out to me and it means the world and I appreciate everyone tuning in. Our games will be broadcasted throughout the season,” added Willoughby.

Toronto and New York play each other again on Friday night at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport. The puck drop is at 6 p.m. Saskatchewan time.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

by Derek Craddock

P.A. hockey players reflect on historic regular-season opener for PWHL

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