The Ottawa Cost have introduced their full 30-game schedule for the PWHL’s sophomore season, however there are nonetheless just a few surprises in retailer.
Every group has 15 dwelling video games and 15 away video games, however Ottawa is slated to play simply 13 of its 30 video games at TD Place. Mysteriously, 5 video games of their schedule are with out an assigned venue, together with two “dwelling” video games. Meaning there are as many as 5 unnamed venues that might be introduced within the coming weeks.
Right here’s 5 dream venues we may see Ottawa play this season:
Canadian Tire Centre
It appears like everyone seems to be screaming for this to occur. Video games have already been performed at Toronto’s Scotiabank Enviornment and Montreal’s Bell Centre, so Canadian Tire Centre just isn’t an extended shot by any means. In truth, it’s virtually a lock.
Ottawa was the best-attended group within the PWHL final season, averaging practically 7,500 followers per recreation, so a sellout appears all however assured.
Ottawa is listed as the house group for Dec. 6, 2023, and Feb. 16, 2025, so put your cash on these two dates for this recreation.
Likelihood: 10/10
TD Backyard
This unique ‘Unique Six’ barn additionally feels prone to host considered one of these video games, as Ottawa is slated to face off in a to-be-determined venue with the Boston Fleet on March 29, 2025.
Nonetheless, there’s an opportunity a recreation at TD Backyard wouldn’t be towards Ottawa, as Boston has six video games with yet-to-be-announced venues, together with a Jan. 6, 2025 date with the Montreal Victoire. That has all of the makings of a traditional Boston-Montreal rivalry recreation.
Likelihood: 8.5/10
PPG Paints Enviornment
Pittsburgh already hosted PWHL hockey between Toronto and Montreal in March, making this an honest guess for this season.
Particularly so in case you contemplate Pittsburgh Penguins president of enterprise operations Kevin Acklin said final season that Pittsburgh is “ripe and prepared” for skilled girls’s hockey.
By way of scheduling, there are openings at PPG Paints Enviornment when the Penguins aren’t on the town that align with Ottawa’s undetermined venue dates.
Likelihood: 6/10
Local weather Pledge Enviornment
I’m positive hockey followers in Western Canada and United States have seen this, however the PWHL’s geographical footprint doesn’t stretch farther west than St. Paul, Minn.
As some of the numerous and progressive hockey communities in North America, Seattle could be the proper vacation spot for a PWHL recreation and perhaps even to plant the seeds for an growth group.
For the reason that PWHL has but to stray very removed from their ‘Unique Six’ cities, that is maybe much less prone to occur this season, however long run, it looks like a win for everybody concerned.
Likelihood: 4/10
O2 Enviornment Prague
That is by far essentially the most bold venue, financially talking, however how unimaginable wouldn’t it be to see Kateřina Mrázová, Aneta Tejralová and Tereza Vanišová return dwelling to the Czech Republic in one thing akin to the NHL International Sequence?
Not solely that, however it could be a reunion for head coach Carla MacLeod, who coached the Czech nationwide group in 2022 and led them to their first bronze medal on the IIHF Girls’s World Championship.
Czechia has the third-largest girls’s hockey registration in Europe, so the curiosity is actually there to fill the greater than 17,000 seats at O2 Enviornment.
Sadly, an abroad recreation doesn’t really feel prefer it’s within the playing cards given how younger this league is and the place its price range lies.
Likelihood: 1/10
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