‘It doesn’t have to end after university’: New women's pro hockey league inspiring young Toronto players to dream big

Mackenzie Cotey is in Grade 10. She plays defence for the Toronto Aeros under 18 hockey team and dreams of playing at a U.S. college or a Canadian university. Recently, her eight year old cousin told her what her dream is. “First, I’m going to work at Starbucks,” she said. “(Then) I’m going to play in the PWHL.” The Professional Women’s Hockey League will , when Toronto hosts New York at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Ahead of at 12:30 p.m., the league is already raising the ceiling of women’s hockey in North America, creating jobs on and off the ice — and inspiring dreams along the way. “Hearing that from kids that are younger is so exciting for me,” Cotey told the Star. “Last year, it was just, ‘Oh, I wanna go (play U.S.

college Division I hockey)’ … It’s not just university now. There’s an actual league you can play in.” PWHL salaries range from $35,000 to $80,000 (U.S.) with the average at $55,000, allowing players to focus on hockey full time. There are also award and playoff bonuses, plus benefits such as health and life insurance, long term disability, relocation allowances and a retirement plan.

Cotey started playing when she was five. Her only opportunity to watch the women’s game was during the Olympics and world championships. Otherwise, she watched the NHL and tried to model her game after defencemen such as the Morgan Rielly. Now, she’s excited to watch women’s hockey regularly and model her game off players such as Toronto defender .

For the Aeros, the PWHL hits close to home. Numerous alumni are playing in the league, including forward Claire Dalton, who was an assistant coach for the Aeros under 22 team before being drafted by . Seeing the direct pathway to playing pro is eye opening. “Growing up, you always realize that you’re gonna have to leave it someday and there really is no pathway unless you make the one national team,” Aeros under 18 captain Logan Tierney said.

“(But) it doesn’t have to end after university … It’s something I can do for the rest of my life.” Showing this to girls playing youth hockey is important to PWHL Toronto players. Before Christmas, the team asked a handful of players to lend a hand with . Forward Samantha Cogan, who helped run the practice, said the girls were “dialed in” and excited to be coached by pros.

But the PWHL's impact reaches off the ice, too. It also creates coaching and front office jobs for ex players, said Lisa Haley, head coach of the Toronto Metropolitan University women’s hockey team. Her former full time assistant coach, Haley Irwin, is now on the staff in Ottawa, while a former player works in Ottawa’s front office.

TMU equipment services manager Alana Goulden is Toronto’s hockey operations manager of equipment and logistics. It helps make sharing gameday facilities at the Mattamy Athletic Centre more worthwhile, although the team still has to move out of its dressing room 12 times to make way for the PWHL. The Toronto team is providing tickets to players and staff who want to attend.

There are still challenges in girls' hockey. For Shirley Collins, president of the Scarborough Sharks, finding financial sponsors and ice time are issues that won’t be solved immediately by having a pro league. “It’s inspiring for the next generation of young women players,” Collins said.

“But in terms of how much impact it will have on our association, that remains to be seen.” In creating opportunities, though, the league seems to be well on its way. “It’s very surreal for us as players in the league to know that kids, their goal now is to play in this league, too,” said Toronto forward and captain Blayre Turnbull.

“It just opens the door for so many more women to have a career in hockey.”.