The list of things Ottawa has that Toronto doesn’t includes a canal, Parliament Buildings, an 18,000-seat arena in the middle of a cold cornfield and, oh yes, a Japanese sports superstar of its very own.
Too soon, Blue Jays fans?
Days after Rogers Communications fell disappointingly short in its bid to put slugger/mound ace unicorn Shohei Ohtani in powder blue, the Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise in the nation’s capital officially revealed that Akane Shiga will be in the lineup for the ground-breaking season that begins in less than three weeks.
This was a formality, not a surprise.
The 22-year-old forward is recognized as not only the top women’s hockey player from her country, but quite possibly one of the best on the planet.
Until now, Shiga hasn’t had a chance to solidify that latter status because the competition in Japan falls short of world-class consideration.
“Akane Shiga is an amazing player,” said Ottawa GM Mike Hirshfeld. “She’s a terrific skater with incredible hockey IQ who will be the first Japanese player in the league.”
A league with a very strong international flavour.
Across the PWHL, there will be 157 players representing 12 countries.
The majority of them will be from Canada, which will sprinkle 90 players across the six rosters.
Also included are 53 from the U.S., five from Czechia, two Swedes and one player each from Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland and, of course, Japan. The league said the country count reaches 12 with the inclusion of North American-born skaters who have represented China internationally.
Ottawa leads the league in diversity, with players from six countries: Canada, U.S., Japan, Czechia, Germany and Hungary.
“We have the most international presence of any team in the PWHL,” said Hirshfeld. “We believe the roster reflects the cosmopolitan makeup of Ottawa itself.”
The historic opening puck drop will be on New Year’s Day, when New York visits Toronto in a 12:30 p.m. start.
One day later, the Montreal team will make the two-hour drive to take on Ottawa at TD Place (7 p.m.).
While season-ticket sales in Ottawa have been strong, single-game and group tickets will be available to the public beginning Wednesday and can be purchased through thepwhl.com.
When teams announced their final roster cutdowns on Tuesday, each had a 26-player list that included three reserves.
Initially, the plan was for each team to have just two reserves.
“The positive energy, depth of talent and skill on all teams, and the fierce competition displayed during scrimmages at our pre-season evaluation camp in Utica (New York) was an exciting sign of what PWHL fans will enjoy when the puck drops in January,” Jayna Hefford, PWHL vice-president of hockey operations, said in a release. “Among the camp takeaways was a commitment from the league to provide additional opportunities for players to be part of the PWHL this season, leading to the decision to increase the number of roster reserves from two to three players per team, which is reflected across all final rosters.”
Hirshfeld likes his team’s depth.
“We are excited with our final 23-person roster and can’t wait for our first home game on Jan. 2 against Montreal,” he said. “Our defensive group is one of the fastest skating and most offensive in the league, and I know the fans in Ottawa will enjoy watching our style of play.
“We have built a team of players who compete and battle, and they will work hard in every game this season.”
Included is the Ottawa roster after final cuts were made:
Forwards
Adzija, Lexie (Drafted 11th round, 65th overall)
Clark, Emily (Signed FA) Della Rovere, Kristin (Drafted 10-56) Garát-Gasparics, Fanni (Camp Invite) Gilmore, Becca (Camp Invite) Grant-Mentis, Mikyla (Camp Invite) Hughes, Gabrielle (Drafted 4-20) Jenner, Brianne (Signed FA) Mrázová, Kateřina (Drafted 8-44) Scamurra, Hayley (Drafted 5-29) Shiga, Akane (Camp Invite) Snodgrass, Natalie (Camp Invite) Watts, Daryl (Drafted 6-32)Defenders (7)
Bell, Ashton (Drafted 2-8)
Boulier, Amanda (Drafted 13-77) Boyd, Zoe (Drafted 9-53) Harmon, Savannah (Drafted 1-5) Howran, Victoria (Camp Invite) Roese, Jincy (Drafted 3-17) Tejralová, Aneta (Drafted 7-41)
Goaltenders (3)
Abstreiter, Sandra (Drafted 12-68)
Maschmeyer, Emerance (Signed FA) McQuigge, Rachel (Camp Invite)Reserves (3)
Davison, Taylor (Camp Invite) D
Demers, Rosalie (Camp Invite) F Schneider, Malia (Camp Invite) F