In Hainsight: Emotions Run High in Montreal For PWHL

The PWHL Montreal team was the first team to hold an in-person press conference to introduce the first three players of its franchise and it was an emotive event. If the identity of the three players had leaked into the media, Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Ann-Renée Desbiens had no idea that their parents had been invited to the event. The first two’s parents attended via Zoom while Desbiens’ made the 400 km drive to surprise her in person.

Notre période d’agence libre est terminée! / Our free agency is over!

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Nous sommes heureux de vous présenter nos trois joueuses étoiles. / We are excited to present our three superstars.
📰 https://t.co/PtTX8wgVWz pic.twitter.com/n0TVRltklx

— PWHL Montréal (@PWHL_Montreal) September 7, 2023

Sauvageau had been working for years towards this moment. She introduced her players as three amazing women and extraordinary athletes, calling it a historic moment in women’s hockey. She also thanked the pioneers, the players, the coaches, and all the people who helped make this moment a reality.

The three players were proud to have signed with the PWHL Montreal franchise. They all called it all a dream come true. Props to Ontario native Laura Stacey for starting her initial comments in French, something that will certainly win her some fans in the local market. Desbiens stated that obviously, they want good people on the ice but also off the ice as they’ll be hoping to inspire the next generation to dream about being professional hockey players.

Sauvageau mentioned that her three signings embodied the culture and the identity that she wanted for this franchise. When questioned about where her team would play, she said she couldn’t confirm that Centre 21.02 would be the venue, but considering the fact that she was the driving force behind the birth of the Centre and that she has said for years that she built this facility in readiness of a professional women’s hockey team playing in the city, it seems to be a good bet.

Asked if we could expect to see some cross-promoting with the Montreal Canadiens since Gary Bettman had said that the NHL would be willing to lend a hand once there would be a single professional women league, Sauvageau said that anything was possible, she appeared to like my suggestion of having some of her players attend the White vs Red Canadiens’ game on September 24, this is traditionally a familial event and there’s no question that it could help generate some interest in the new franchise.

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In the wake of Sarah Nurse’s comments on the fact that there was a void to fill in Toronto when it came to a professional women’s team and the backlash it created on social media with the defunct Toronto Six’s fans, Ann-Renée Desbiens was asked what she would tell those fans to make them understand the need for the new league.

The goaltender explained that the aim of the PWHL was to have all of the best players in the world in a single league to put the best possible product on the ice. Sauvageau added that players from everywhere had declared for the draft. People are craving women’s sports and it was probably in that sense that Nurse had spoken of a void. She explained that it took some time to create the new league but that things had been done properly and that a collective bargaining agreement had been negotiated between the players and the owners.

The players were also asked which of their Team Canada teammates they were most dreading to play against. Goaltender Desbiens opted for Blair Turnbull because “she always drives the net, puts the puck in the crease head down and you never know if she’s going to put you in the net with the puck, she’s definitely a difficult player to play against. If I was a forward, I probably would have said Renata Fast”.

Her teammates agreed with their goaltender, and both spoke of Renata Fast, Poulin explained: “I’ve got to go with Renata Fast. It’s never fun to go one-on-one against her because, well, her last name speaks for itself, and she plays so hard. But you know, it’s going to be so exciting because when you play against the best, you get better as well”.

As for Laura Stacey, she said: “I’ve not got much of a different answer, I’ve got to say Renata Fast and Jocelyne Larocque as well they’re not fun to play against, a couple of stingers in your rib cage, they’re excellent defensemen, great to have on your team, not the best to play against”.

Sounds like Toronto’s general manager, Gina Kingsbury, picked some great free agents to sign.

Speaking about the free agency process, Sauvageau said that none of her conversations were particularly hard but that it was normal that players wanted to hear what other teams had to say about them and had to offer, it was part of the process. In the end, the players chose the PWHL Montreal team because it was a good fit for them and a good fit for the team who really wanted them. Of course, having local players join the franchise was obviously important.

I don’t know how well the draft will go for the PWHL Montreal team, but so far, they’ve got the best player in the world, the best goaltender in the world and power forward, three ingredients that normally figure in a winning recipe.