photo: HHOF - IIHF
Team Canada has relished capturing back-to-back IIHF Women's World Championship titles, but on both occasions they have missed having others to celebrate with.
"Last year's tournament was in Denmark. It was a great experience, but we had few fans," Canadian forward Kristin O'Neill said. "The year before we virtually had no fans in Calgary (because of COVID-19)."
That should not be an issue when Canada hosts the 2023 tournament at CAA Centre in Brampton. The echoes of their own cheers from past years are likely to be replaced not just with friends and family, but those of many young girls.
As national teams converge on Southern Ontario, they are going to find themselves at the center of the girls' and women's hockey universe — and not only for the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship.
From April 6-9, the Brampton Canadettes Girls Hockey Association will host its 54th annual Easter tournament. The organization bills the event as the longest-running girls' and women's hockey tournament.
This year's edition features 333 teams from across the globe in 29 youth divisions from U7 to U18, as well as two women's divisions. Games will take place across 11 venues in Brampton and nearby Mississauga as IIHF games are ongoing.
Although memories from their youth have long been supplanted by bigger competitions and wins, a number of Team Canada players can trace their roots through the Canadettes' tournament.
"I played in Ontario my whole life, so I probably played at that event," said Sarah Nurse, who grew up in Hamilton, about 40 minutes away. "Women's hockey is so huge in Ontario and I know that Brampton is such an awesome girls' organization. It has gotten better and better and better even since I've stopped playing minor hockey."
Women's hockey, in general, can credit Ontario and Brampton with providing a foundation for growth of the women's game. The earliest recorded match with women took place in the province during the late 1800s, but organizing leagues and tournaments over the next several decades proved more challenging.
The Canadettes organization formed in 1964 with the goal of providing house league opportunities for girls. Three seasons later, they held the first Dominion Ladies Hockey Tournament with 22 teams playing across three divisions. Organizers and teams gathered annually, which ultimately provided a spark to form the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) in 1975.
The OWHA would go on to organize a women's tournament in 1987 at the North York Centennial Arena. The six-day event held April 21-26 resulted in Canada winning gold, Ontario claiming silver and the United States bronze. The tournament's success led to the first IIHF Women's World Championship held in Ottawa in 1990 and later inclusion of women's hockey at the 1998 Olympics.
This year in Brampton, Canada will host the Women's World Championship for the ninth time. It returns to the Greater Toronto Area for the first time since Mississauga served as home for the 2000 championship.
The OWHA, meanwhile, will continue its mission to grow the next generation of participants during the Women's World Championship. On-ice skills clinics for U9 and U11 girls will take place on April 7 and coaching and officiating clinics on April 8 and 10.
Leading up to the United States-Canada round-robin game on April 10, girls and women who have never played before will have the opportunity to try ice hockey, ball hockey and goaltending. There will also be public skating opportunities through the week.
Tickets for all Team Canada games, as well as the bronze and gold medal games, are sold out.
"I remember when we had a tournament in Ottawa and there was also a girls tournament going on then, just the crowds and all the little girls that got to see us and cheer us on." Natalie Spooner said. "I think it will be really impactful for a lot of girls that get to come to our games and see us. I think that it's amazing that it going on at the same time and hopefully we get to meet a lot of them and inspire them."
Canada is vying for its 13th gold at this tournament and seventh on home soil. For the 14 players from Ontario, there is an eagerness add to the game's storied history at home.
"I think any time you host it in Southern Ontario, you're going to get a good crowd," said Brianne Jenner who grew up in nearby Oakville. "We just had amazing crowds during the Rivalry Series (with the United States in Quebec). Playing before that kind of crowd, it's awesome and you might only get that — if you're lucky — once or twice in your career.
"We're definitely looking forward to it."
"Last year's tournament was in Denmark. It was a great experience, but we had few fans," Canadian forward Kristin O'Neill said. "The year before we virtually had no fans in Calgary (because of COVID-19)."
That should not be an issue when Canada hosts the 2023 tournament at CAA Centre in Brampton. The echoes of their own cheers from past years are likely to be replaced not just with friends and family, but those of many young girls.
As national teams converge on Southern Ontario, they are going to find themselves at the center of the girls' and women's hockey universe — and not only for the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship.
From April 6-9, the Brampton Canadettes Girls Hockey Association will host its 54th annual Easter tournament. The organization bills the event as the longest-running girls' and women's hockey tournament.
This year's edition features 333 teams from across the globe in 29 youth divisions from U7 to U18, as well as two women's divisions. Games will take place across 11 venues in Brampton and nearby Mississauga as IIHF games are ongoing.
Although memories from their youth have long been supplanted by bigger competitions and wins, a number of Team Canada players can trace their roots through the Canadettes' tournament.
"I played in Ontario my whole life, so I probably played at that event," said Sarah Nurse, who grew up in Hamilton, about 40 minutes away. "Women's hockey is so huge in Ontario and I know that Brampton is such an awesome girls' organization. It has gotten better and better and better even since I've stopped playing minor hockey."
Women's hockey, in general, can credit Ontario and Brampton with providing a foundation for growth of the women's game. The earliest recorded match with women took place in the province during the late 1800s, but organizing leagues and tournaments over the next several decades proved more challenging.
The Canadettes organization formed in 1964 with the goal of providing house league opportunities for girls. Three seasons later, they held the first Dominion Ladies Hockey Tournament with 22 teams playing across three divisions. Organizers and teams gathered annually, which ultimately provided a spark to form the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) in 1975.
The OWHA would go on to organize a women's tournament in 1987 at the North York Centennial Arena. The six-day event held April 21-26 resulted in Canada winning gold, Ontario claiming silver and the United States bronze. The tournament's success led to the first IIHF Women's World Championship held in Ottawa in 1990 and later inclusion of women's hockey at the 1998 Olympics.
This year in Brampton, Canada will host the Women's World Championship for the ninth time. It returns to the Greater Toronto Area for the first time since Mississauga served as home for the 2000 championship.
The OWHA, meanwhile, will continue its mission to grow the next generation of participants during the Women's World Championship. On-ice skills clinics for U9 and U11 girls will take place on April 7 and coaching and officiating clinics on April 8 and 10.
Leading up to the United States-Canada round-robin game on April 10, girls and women who have never played before will have the opportunity to try ice hockey, ball hockey and goaltending. There will also be public skating opportunities through the week.
Tickets for all Team Canada games, as well as the bronze and gold medal games, are sold out.
"I remember when we had a tournament in Ottawa and there was also a girls tournament going on then, just the crowds and all the little girls that got to see us and cheer us on." Natalie Spooner said. "I think it will be really impactful for a lot of girls that get to come to our games and see us. I think that it's amazing that it going on at the same time and hopefully we get to meet a lot of them and inspire them."
Canada is vying for its 13th gold at this tournament and seventh on home soil. For the 14 players from Ontario, there is an eagerness add to the game's storied history at home.
"I think any time you host it in Southern Ontario, you're going to get a good crowd," said Brianne Jenner who grew up in nearby Oakville. "We just had amazing crowds during the Rivalry Series (with the United States in Quebec). Playing before that kind of crowd, it's awesome and you might only get that — if you're lucky — once or twice in your career.
"We're definitely looking forward to it."