Women's players set for 'awesome' experience in PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase

TORONTO -- There was Sarah Nurse in her Toronto jersey, Kendall Coyne Schofield representing Minnesota, Hilary Knight wearing Boston, Marie-Philip Poulin with Montreal written across her chest, Alex Carpenter repping New York and Brianne Jenner doing the same for Ottawa.

"The narrative isn't just U.S. and Canada anymore," Coyne Schofield said. "You can just tell it feels different."

Some of the best women's hockey players in the world have shown their skills on the ice at NHL All-Star Weekend since 2019, but this year, it is different because now they're doing it under the umbrella of the Professional Women's Hockey League.

Nurse, Coyne Schofield, Knight, Poulin, Carpenter and Jenner will be a part of the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase as part of NHL All-Star Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.

Twenty-four players from the league, in its inaugural season, will play in a 20-minute 3-on-3 game to conclude NHL All-Star Thursday, which begins with the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft (6 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, TVAS) for the Honda (U.S.)/Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star Game on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS).

The rosters for the PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase feature players from all six PWHL teams. They are broken into two teams, each with 10 skaters and two goalies. The teams are named in honor of Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss, both PWHL advisory board members and longtime advocates of equality for women in sports.

PWHL special advisor Cassie Campbell-Pascall is serving as the coach for Team King and Meghan Duggan, the former captain for the United States women's national team and current director of player development for the New Jersey Devils, is the coach of Team Kloss.

Combined, the players in the 3-on-3 showcase have won 146 Olympic medals, 46 IIHF World Championship medals and 17 NCAA Division I championships.

They held a free outdoor practice and played a quick 3-on-3 scrimmage at Nathan Phillips Square here Thursday morning.

"For many years we never had a place like the PWHL to play in," said Knight, the longtime United States star who won the gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and nine gold medals at the World Championship. "To have this stage of global hockey for the women's side here at the NHL celebration is awesome. We know our value, we know the type of product we have, and this is awesome for visibility. It's a fun way to do it, too."

The NHL first involved women's players in promotional events at the 2012 All-Star Weekend in Ottawa. Women began participating in on-ice events at the 2019 All-Star Weekend in San Jose, where Coyne Schofield became the first woman to compete in the All-Star Skills competition, finishing seventh in the Fastest Skater event.

But this is the first time the women get a chance to represent their own professional league, which has been a missing ingredient for them at previous All-Star weekends, Coyne Schofield said.

"This is what we've wanted for so long, not just to be at the All-Star Weekend as a professional league, but it's not just the players who play for Team USA and Team Canada," Coyne Schofield said. "It's players across the world and the best are playing under one umbrella. There are still some best players who aren't in the PWHL yet, but I know they'll be here soon.

"I think it's super important. It's super important for the visibility of the game, the growth of the game, seeing us represent our teams and our cities that we play with professionally. It's not necessarily where we're from, it's who wanted us to help win a championship for that city."

Switzerland-born Alina Muller, who plays for Boston, is the only European player in the 3-on-3 Showcase on Thursday. The bulk of the six PWHL teams are made up of players from the U.S. and Canada, but the rosters include players from Switzerland, Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, Austria, France, Germany, Japan and Hungary.

"Now we're sort of getting out of our traditional rivalries," Knight said. "A lot of people just see us as U.S. and Canada, but now you're seeing different Europeans in the mix who are awesome on the world stage and are playing now in North America.

"It's great to have multiple touch points with different players. I think it's an awesome storyline. You've only known Kendall in the USA jersey. Now she's PWHL Minnesota."

Which is potentially the biggest impact being part of NHL All-Star Weekend this year can have on the women's game and the players; now fans can see them for the city they represent and the league they're a part of.

"It's a huge stage," Nurse said. "Obviously, the NHL is a storied league and to be able to be a part of it and use the platform is pretty awesome."