The National Women's Hockey League is expanding to Canada.
On Wednesday morning, the league announced the city of Toronto will be receiving a team for the upcoming season. Toronto joins the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters and Minnesota Whitecaps as the league's sixth franchise.
Huge, huge news for both the city of Toronto and all of Canada. Hockey fans will now have a new women's team to cheer for after the Canadian Women's Hockey League folded just over a year ago, and they made sure to share their excitement about it on Twitter:
The roster has not been fully assembled yet, however, five players have committed to the team. The NWHL's website shared bios for each one:
The following is an excerpt from the NWHL's website:
Kristen Barbara: The 27-year-old defender from Mount Hope, Ontario won the Clarkson Cup with the Markham Thunder in the CWHL’s final season in 2019. Barbara played three seasons in the CWHL after an impressive collegiate career at York University in Toronto.
Elaine Chuli: The 25-year-old goaltender from Waterford, Ontario played in the CWHL for the Toronto Furies and Vanke Rays. The No. 1 goaltender at the University of Connecticut for all of her four years at college, Chuli was a member of gold medal-winning Team Canada at the U-18 World Championships in 2012.
Shiann Darkangelo: As a member of the U.S. National Team, Darkangelo won a gold medal in 2016 at the IIHF World Championship and competed in two Four Nations Cups. Before playing in the CWHL for Toronto and Kunlun, the 26-year-old forward from Michigan was a popular player in the NWHL with Buffalo and Connecticut. Darkangelo played collegiately at Syracuse and Quinnipiac and won gold with the U.S. National Team at the U-18 World Championships in 2011.
Emma Greco: The 25-year-old defender from Burlington, Ontario played for the Toronto Furies in the CWHL’s final season. After her college career at Quinnipiac, Greco played in the 2017-18 NWHL season with the Connecticut Whale. She is regarded as a very reliable stay-athome defender capable of playing in all key situations.
Taylor Woods: After an outstanding four years at Cornell – serving as an alternate captain in her senior season – Woods was a mainstay in the lineup of the Markham/Brampton Thunder of the CWHL starting in 2016. The 25-year-old versatile forward from Morden, Manitoba won the Clarkson Cup with Markham in 2019. Woods was also a member of gold medal-winning Team Canada at the U-18 World Championships in 2012.
It's unclear when exactly action in the league will resume, but we do know it will have a new team in the near future. Awesome news!!!!
(H/T NWHL)
