On the first day of PWHL training camp, Team Minnesota sows the seeds of success.
ST. PAUL: Even with a warm weather in the middle of November, not many people are considering planting. However, on the first day of the Professional Women’s Hockey League team’s first training camp, Team Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz was reflecting on a previous era of women’s hockey, despite bringing nearly thirty women to TRIA Rink for her new team’s first training camp and ultimately needing to trim a roster down to twenty-three active players.
“I believe that everyone thought today was a fantastic new beginning,” Darwitz remarked, mentioning her former teammates from the Olympics and college. Each of these athletes comes from a distinct background.
Future Team Minnesota players like Kendall Coyne Schofield discussed the higher caliber of professional women’s sports that the PWHL represents, which will show up in better resources, more funding, and more comfortable travel for the teams, while visiting their training facility and undergoing medical examinations. Darwitz and head coach Charlie Burggraf were observed simultaneously loading and unloading boxes and setting up the team’s practice locker room at the Minnesota Wild’s training facility in downtown St. Paul. This type of practical labor has become customary as they anticipate the January opening night for the six teams in the new league, which is anticipated to happen in two months.
Team Minnesota may not have a moniker or logo until the league’s second season, according to team executives during their inaugural media conference. The team’s colors are purple, black, and white. The six teams—Montreal, New York, Boston, Ottawa, Toronto, and Minnesota—had their jerseys presented this week. They have minimal embellishments other than a diagonal name on the front. It’s a message that the PWHL is all about the hockey, at least in the early going.
What it will look like in the end is unknown to me. Considering the players we have, I do believe that this will be a very quick and liberated squad.
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