Ottawa PWHL teammates drawn from around the world include (bottom row l to r) Aneta Tejralová (Czechia); Sandra Abstreiter (Germany); (top row l to r) Lexie Adzija (St. Thomas, ON, Canada); Akane Shiga (Japan); and Amanda Boulier (Watertown, Connecticut, USA). Shortly after this photo was taken, Adzija and Boulier were traded for a Czechian and an American player, thereby adding even more diversity. Photo by Peter Croal
Lorne Abugov
It has no name yet, and no logo, but Ottawa’s brand new women’s pro hockey team has a couple of outstanding things going for it as it vies for a playoff spot in the fledgling Professional Womens Hockey League (PWHL) – a large cohort of devoted fans and a dressing room stocked with international talent.
It’s a multinational love affair, and it’s hard to tell whose loving it more – the home fans or the players from as far afield as Japan, Hungary, Germany, Czechia, and the United States who have discovered that Ottawa may be the best women’s pro hockey market in the PWHL.
We caught up with some of the players and coaches at a couple of recent practices, and one thing is for sure – the team may not top the league standings just yet, but when it comes to languages spoken in the dressing room, Ottawa PWHL is in a league of its own!
If you happen to spot Sandra Abstreiter striding across the Flora Footbridge heading to Old Ottawa East with a faraway look on her face, don’t be surprised.
After all, the 25-year-old back-up goalkeeper for Ottawa’s new women’s pro hockey team, is 6,267 kilometres from her home in Freising, Germany.
And like 14 other international players on Ottawa’s 28 player roster in the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), Abstreiter is a key part of a team within a team, an important piece of a multinational mosaic that comprises what may be the most diverse women’s pro hockey team ever assembled.
Besides Germany’s Arbstreiter, there are currently nine players from the United States, three from Czechia, and one each from Japan and Hungary, all of whom have settled nicely into their new life in Ottawa for the PWHL’s maiden season, joining up with 13 Canadian players and their five Canadian coaches.
And Arbstreiter, along with a number of other international players, have discovered the beauty of Old Ottawa East, just a slapshot away from their game and practice venue at TD Place Arena at Lansdowne Park, and some have even chosen to reside in the community during the season.
She enjoys crossing the footbridge and has recently walked along the Rideau River trail, which she described as “very beautiful”. “It feels so European to me, with lots of cafés and restaurants that I really enjoy,” Arbstreiter said in a recent interview with The Mainstreeter following a strenuous team practice prior to the team’s road trip to their neutral site showcase game against Boston PWHL in Detroit.
“It’s wonderful that our team is so diverse. Everyone on the team jokes a lot about all the different languages, about our pronunciation and our different life experiences,” she says. “I had never visited Ottawa, but I had been to Washington before, so when I got drafted by Ottawa for the PWHL, I was so excited to come to Canada’s capital. I love Ottawa a lot And there’s also a men’s pro player from Germany here with Ottawa (Tim Stutzle of the Senators), but I haven’t met him yet!”
Ottawa’s Head Coach Carla MacLeod echoes her goalkeeper’s views on the large international group of players that makes Ottawa unique among the six PWHL teams, most of which are comprised of a blend of Canadian and American players, with only one or two players from overseas. “I think everyone’s thoroughly enjoying their time here in Ottawa,” says MacLeod, who doubles as the head coach for the Czechia women’s national hockey team currently competing at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in Utica, New York.
“Actually, what makes this experience so unique is that for most of us, we’ve all relocated here, even the Canadians. So settling into the community has been one of the neat parts of this process.
“This being the nation’s capital, it felt really natural to invite some of the international players here. It’s a beautiful city. And we’ve been welcomed so nicely, and been able to do some unique things, like visiting with the US ambassador. It’s pretty special to have folks like him and his family coming to our games. And with Akane Shiga on our roster, we’ve engaged with the Japanese Consulate as well,” MacLeod says. She also expressed her gratitude to the Ottawa community for reaching out to the team and supporting it with large crowds for each of their home games.
One of the three Czechian players on the roster is 27-year-old defender Aneta Tejralová from Prague. Like teammates Kateřina Mrázová, 31, from Kolín and forward Tereza Vanišová, 28, from Strakonice, Tejralová has gained confidence with every PWHL game she has played. According to Coach McLeod, “I think everyone has had to take a little time to settle into this new league. But for these players, in particular, because I spend time with them coaching the Czechian team, it was just the time they needed to realize they deserve to be here, and they are here for a reason, and not just filling spots on the roster. That’s causing them to have confidence and recognize that they can be impactful players in this league, and they have really shown that in the last little while.”
Tejralová had visited Ottawa once during the 2013 World Championships, the first time Czechia qualified for the top division of women’s hockey. What has struck her most since Ottawa drafted her are the people she meets around town. “I’m enjoying being in Ottawa because I think the people are so nice and kind and so welcoming. When we meet the people outside on the street, they are so positive. It’s kind of different than in the Czech Republic because we are more quiet and maybe not quite so welcoming at first, if you know what I mean. Everyone here is always smiling, and it’s amazing.”
CARLA MACLEOD
Head Coach, PWHL
Equally amazing is the saga of Ottawa’s international forward Akane Shiga who travelled a whopping 9,459 kilometres from her home in Obihiro, Japan simply to get a tryout for the team. Unable to speak English and a free agent without a contract or any assurances of a spot on the Ottawa roster, Shiga proved to the Ottawa coaches that she had the hockey skills to match her boundless courage and determination. As reported in The Athletic, “Her skating ability, quick release and hockey IQ impressed Ottawa’s braintrust and earned Shiga a one-year contract. Now, she is a historic player in a historic league embarking on a singular path: Shiga is the youngest player in the PWHL and the only Japanese-born player.”
Head Coach Carla MacLeod says the international players on Ottawa PWHL are an integral component of the new team’s identity. Here she is seen at practice at the Carleton University Icepad addressing the squad, including goalkeeper Sandra Abstreiter.
In the same interview, Coach MacLeod sang the praises of Shiga, both on and off the ice: “Think of all the variables: youngest in the league, playing in a country, in a league that’s not native tongue to her, and she just keeps rising. What an incredible human being. To know at that moment that she had gambled on herself and she earned her opportunity — that’s what sport is all about.”
And like so many of the other players who have journeyed far to join the Ottawa PWHL team, Akane has quickly become a fan favourite in her newly adopted home – far, far away from home.
