Blades breaking new ice
Changes abound for team
WORCESTER --- Women’s professional hockey still has a long road ahead of it. For the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, that long road takes it to China. The Worcester Blades — formerly of Boston — faced the Vanke Rays on the other side of the world last week. The league has six teams across three countries, with four in Canada, one in the United States, and one in China. A year ago, there were two teams in China, but the Kunlan Red Star merged with the Rays before the season. While the team is a vessel for producing talent in China ahead of their upcoming Olympics, North American players also dot the roster. The reception has been a good one, with more than 10,000 fans attending the three games, a sweep for Vanke. “They’re hosting the Olympics, so I’m sure that’s a huge part of it,” said Blades coach Paul Kennedy. “What’s going to happen after the Olympics, how much they embrace it then, that’s the question.” It also provided as a bonding experience for a Blades team starting at square one in a new city. “Anytime you’re on a plane for 14 hours, you bond a lot,” said Kennedy. “It was good bonding for the players and coaches, the staff that was there.” The Blades have struggled this season, winless heading into a weekend series against Les Canadiennes, entering yesterday’s game at the DCU Center with four goals for and 48 against. It’s been a rough several years for the franchise, which has bounced around between rinks in Boston, to Winthrop a season ago, before arriving in Worcester for this year. Turnover is common in the league, which began paying its players last season. The Blades are the lone American team, and with the NWHL playing across the state with the Boston Pride finding success, it’s left the Blades with fewer options. A prime example was yesterday’s competition. Hilary Knight, a star with the U.S. national team, signed with the Canadiennes before last year’s postseason. She played with the Blades for years, but the NWHL’s arrival four seasons ago — and its ability to pay players — resulted in her joining the Pride. The Blades have been trying to recover from such roster changes, but with much of last year’s group returning, they have a core. “We have a good group of girls from last year who came back,” said defender Meaghan Spurling, a native of Byfield. “Having new players and the old players mingle together, it’s a whole different culture and team. It takes what we had last year where we didn’t have as good of a season, but we came back and we’re getting strong.” Many of the players, as the league name would indicate, are Canadian. The Blades aren’t the only team with American players, but they’re the only one based in the states, and much of the talent comes from in and around Massachusetts. “It’s so nice being local,” said Milton’s Courtney Turner, the Blades first overall draft pick last year. “Being able to play in Canada and China is really cool as well, traveling with the team.” While the NWHL has its five teams all in the states, and some of the best American talent, the CWHL spans women’s hockey internationally. In many ways, it established its identity on that vein. Having a team as an equal member of the league on another continent is unique to any other professional sports league. “China’s awesome,” said Turner. “The best team building trip that we have, and we build a lot of memories on and off the ice.” The Blades are still seeking an identity of their own. They have the most American players, but after having their roster plucked for years, have started from scratch and are still working their way back up to their Clarkson Cup-winning days. There’s time left this season, which runs until the end of February. While the Blades get their skates under them to compete against some of the best in the world, the CWHL is making strides to spread the game across the world. “It’s really exciting, because it’s not that we don’t have enough (of a fanbase here), but they push it so much there,” said Spurling. “The stands were full, there’s huge sections. It’s cool to be able to bring that there and see eventually a fanbase there and everywhere.”