The Canadian Women’s Hockey League will hold its second annual All-Star Game this Saturday in Toronto. The event will showcase all of the incredible talent from around the league as rookies, veterans, Olympians, and world champions go head-to-head.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s event.
The Who and What:
The votes are in and CWHL fans have selected Canadian Olympic gold medalist Natalie Spooner of the Toronto Furies to captain one team, while four-time USA Olympic medalist Julie Chu, of Les Canadiennes, will captain the other.
(We recently asked Spooner for a sneak peek at some of the moves she’d be using at the All-Star Game, and she did not disappoint.)
The teams will be made up of players from all five CWHL teams (Toronto Furies, Brampton Thunder, Calgary Inferno, Boston Blades, and Les Canadiennes), with each team having two goaltenders, six defencemen, and nine forwards.
The captains will choose their starting lineups in front of fans on Friday night at the CWHL All-Star Frozen Fantasy Draft. After that, the rest of the teams will be selected in a “street hockey style stick selection.”
This year’s game will consist of three 20-minute periods, an increase over last year’s 15-minute frames.
The Where and When:
The game takes place this Saturday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. ET at the Air Canada Centre, with tickets selling for $10. The game will be aired across all Sportsnet channels at 3 p.m. ET.
Follow along on social media with updates from The CWHL as well as by using the hashtag #CWHLASG16.
The Roster:
Here’s who will be taking part in this year’s game, along with their Twitter handles.
Forwards:
Ann Sophie Bettez
Kristina Brown
Jessica Campbell
Katia Clement-Heydra
Kim Deschennes
Brittany Esposito
Emily Fulton
Brianne Jenner
Jessica Jones
Elana Lovell
Caroline Ouellette
Marie Philip Poulin
Jamie-Lee Rattray
Jillian Saulnier
Natalie Spooner
Candice Styles
Kelly Terry
Hayley Wickenheiser
Defence:
Courtney Birchard
Michelle Bonello
Dru Burns
Cathy Chartrand
Julie Chu
Sarah Edney
Laura Fortino
Jocelyn Larocque
Jacqui Pierri
Laurianne Rougeau
Sena Suzuki
Tara Watchorn
Goalies:
Delayne Brian
Christina Kessler
Charline Labonte
Genevieve Lacasse
