Seeking a brighter future Winsloe’s Emma Martin is part of Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association
Emma Martin wants to be part of the solution.
After graduating from
UPEI with her science degree majoring in kinesiology, the 24-year-old Winsloe native was drafted by Les Canadiennes de Montréal of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. She attended training camp and made the squad.
The smooth-skating defenceman played her rookie season last year, but the league folded in April as its business model was deemed unsustainable.
But Martin and her colleagues haven’t given up.
They formed the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association and play exhibition games and showcase events as part of the Dream Gap Tour.
“I just want to help influence the positive growth of women’s hockey,” Martin said Tuesday from Montreal.
She is working as a substitute teacher and in retail while continuing to train with her teammates and play in showcase events. It’s about raising awareness and looking for ways to fund the sport.
OPTIMISTIC
While there’s nothing concrete or set in stone for the next steps, Martin is optimistic about the future.
“I want to be able to help create some sort of platform for the future of professional sports in Canada. … I know it’s not going to happen overnight, but I am optimistic (about) the path that we’re on.”
Martin, a friendly and outgoing figure around Island rinks for years, grew up playing female hockey on Prince Edward Island. There was no novice girls’ team at the time, so she played four years of atom.
“A huge part of hockey for me was the amazing coaches I had in minor hockey,” she said.
She remembers looking up to her brother, Ross, who ended up playing junior A and collegiate, and NHLers as there was not a lot of attention provided to the women’s program. It made having female role models in the game harder.
“I wish there were,” she said. “I wasn't really exposed to it until later on in my career, so I think it would be a huge impact if we can expose younger girls to the professional female athletes that we have in Canada and across North America.”
Martin played in the North River Minor Hockey Association’s Sweetheart female hockey tournament throughout her minor hockey days and has many fond memories.
“I remember feeling like the Sweetheart was special because it is fixated on women’s hockey only – I love that idea,” she said, before chuckling, “and it was just another tournament I could have that my brother couldn’t.”
The tournament began Thursday and continues throughout the weekend in rinks from Pownal to Bedeque.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase the calibre of women’s hockey around the Atlantic provinces, which is super important,” Martin said.
She hopes the players in this year’s tournament enjoy the sport and learn to love hockey for all that it includes.
“Hockey is such a fun sport,” she said. “It’s important to set small goals for yourself and if hockey is something that you want in your future then you can definitely make that happen if you work for it.”
Around bantam, Martin realized how passionate she was about the sport and decided she wanted to work towards playing varsity. During her five-year Panther career, she was exposed to the professional league and the next goal was set.
“That ignited that fire in me to want to play at a professional level one day,” she said.
And while there have been some ups and downs during the past year, she is looking forward.
“It’s definitely been like a rollercoaster,” she admitted. “I’ve learned a lot. It’s been a lot of positive growth for me.”