Calgary to host PWHPA's Canadian Secret Cup
Dream Gap Tour brings top talent to tournament
Many of Canada's top female hockey players will be facing off in Calgary in late May.
Thanks to a partnership between the Calgary Flames and Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), the city will be site of a weeklong showcase of the Secret Dream Gap Tour.
A hat trick of PWHPA training cohorts — Team Scotiabank (Calgary), Team Sonnet (Toronto) and Team Bauer (Montreal) — will compete to capture the inaugural Canadian Secret Cup.
Set for May 24-30, the threeteam tournament will feature a six-game round robin and then a winner-take-all championship showdown. While there won't be spectators in the stands, the most exciting part of Thursday's announcement may be Sportsnet's pledge to broadcast three of the matchups, including the final, on their national networks and stream the others online.
“We believe these women deserve the same opportunities and level of exposure as men — and we are committed to making that happen,” said Lisa Reid, senior executive director of major sponsor Secret Deodorant, in a statement. “Last year, we showed our support by standing with the PWHPA and its players in their fight for a new professional league and now we want the whole country to see these athletes shine.
“We are so proud to make history in Canada with this national broadcast with Sportsnet and provide these incredible athletes with the platform they deserve. I am so excited for my daughters and other young girls across Canada to be able to see themselves in these athletes and know that with hard work and determination, they are unstoppable and their opportunities, limitless.”
This Canadian leg of the Secret Dream Gap Tour will be played in a “quarantined environment.” There will be daily screening for COVID-19 and isolated accommodations for the skaters and staff.
The rosters have yet to be revealed, but the current PWHPA training groups are certainly not short on star power, including Rebecca Johnston in Calgary, Sarah Nurse and Natalie Spooner in Toronto and national program captain Marie-Philip Poulin in Montreal.