It seems more than a little obvious. In fact, it shouldn’t take more than a single glance to see Edmonton as the next home for professional women’s hockey.
After all, this city has lived and breathed Canada’s game for generations. And if Connor McDavid ever decided this hockey thing wasn’t going to work out and that he should run for mayor instead, there wouldn’t even need to be an election.
Just hand him the keys to the city, if he doesn’t have them already.
And come spring, good luck scheduling any other event when the Oilers are in a playoff game. Home or away. It’s must-see TV for anyone not fortunate enough to find a ticket.
At the grassroots level, Edmonton has hosted one of, if not the largest annual minor hockey tournaments on the planet. And there are academies in place for young boys and girls looking to fast-track their playing careers.
And try coming up with better bang for the buck than the hallowed Clare Drake Arena on a weekend night at the University of Alberta.
With all that’s going on here, there has to be room for a professional women’s team in Alberta’s capital city.
Doesn’t there?
OK, so it might not exactly be automatic.
History shows that a decade ago, while Calgary had the most recognizable female player in the country playing for the Inferno, who partnered with the Calgary Flames to play for a decade in the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League, there was nothing but crickets in Edmonton.
Go back further, however, and the Edmonton Chimos did more, perhaps, than any other team in existence to trailblaze women’s hockey straight onto the proverbial map with their barnstorming brand.
They travelled the province taking on men’s old-timers teams, refusing to take ‘no’ for an answer. It was the only way for the team to survive back in the 1980s, when there were still feelings lingering here and there that women might not belong in hockey.
Fast-forward — thankfully — to present day, and the upstart Professional Women’s Hockey League is coming off its inaugural season in 2024 with an original six of their own based out east: the Montréal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres north of the border, and the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, and New York Sirens down south.
This year, they’ve been venturing out on nine stops in Seattle, Vancouver, B.C.; Denver; Quebec City; Buffalo, N.Y.; Raleigh, N.C., and Detroit, as part of the Takeover Tour. The fifth of nine neutral-site games takes place at Rogers Place on Sunday (2 p.m.) between Toronto and Ottawa.
“Everyone in Edmonton is hyped for the game. You can definitely feel the energy,” said Charge defenceman Stephanie Markowski, who has three goals in 14 games this season. “Edmonton is a huge hockey city. They’ve always been supportive of women’s hockey, so I’m sure the hype is elevated a bit this year with the tour coming.”
Born and raised in Edmonton, Markowski played for Pursuit of Excellence in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League alongside Charge forward and fellow hometown product Danielle Serdachny.
The pair will make a homecoming along with head coach Carla MacLeod, of Spruce Grove, and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer from Bruderheim, to showcase the new PWHL brand of hockey, owned by Los Angeles Dodgers chairman and Premier League club Chelsea F.C. owner Mark Walter, with the involvement of women’s tennis icon Billie Jean King.
“I think the exposure is important, especially out west,” said Martowski. “When that exposure, time and money is given, it’s really important. Being able to showcase our personalities and a high-intensity game is so important.”
Edmonton will get to see it, sure. But will it ever get to be it?
“It seems like the Takeover Tour is kind of like a tryout for these cities, in a way,” said Serdachny, the second-overall pick in the inaugural draft, who has five points (two goals, three assists) in 15 league games this season. “They can show the league as a whole what the city has to offer. I know the PWHL is super passionate about their fan bases and wants the continued growth of the game to occur.
“So, I think any time you get to play in a city, especially with the Takeover Tour, it’s all about what the city has to offer. And I know Edmonton to be such a passionate fan base with the Oilers. They are going to definitely bring that energy and support.”
If anyone in the PWHL understands the temperature for hockey of a town like Edmonton, it’s the daughter of Steve Serdachny, who served nine years on the Oilers coaching staff.
And just in case a hometown tour stop didn’t feel real, Markowski got a wake-up call during a recent visit to West Edmonton Mall, where her larger-than-life poster promoting Sunday’s game hung above Ice Palace.
“It’s super cool and it just shows how far the league has gone and how into it people are,” she said. “A lot of our friends and family want us to play there so they could come watch us more frequently.
“They bring it up quite a bit.”
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On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge