TORONTO — Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse, Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Taylor Heise headline the two dozen women named to the NHL all-star festival's three-on-three tournament.
The 24 players from the Professional Women's Hockey League's six teams will compete in a 20-minute game Feb. 1 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto to kick off the three-day NHL all-star break.
The 12 players on each roster for the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase have won a combined 146 Olympic and 46 world championship medals, the NHL said Monday in a release.
PWHL adviser Cassie Campbell-Pascall will be behind the bench of Team King, while New Jersey Devils director of players development Meghan Duggan will oversee Team Kloss.
The teams were named in honour of PWHL advisory board members Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss, who championed the creation of the women's pro league.
The PWHL's first season began Jan. 1.
Montreal's Poulin and goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens, Toronto's Blayre Turnbull, Ottawa's Savannah Harmon, Boston's Knight, Alina Mueller, Megan Keller, Aerin Frankel, New York's Ella Shelton and Minnesota's Coyne Schofield, Kelly Pannek and Lee Stecklein round out Team King.
Toronto's Nurse and defenders Renata Fast and Jocelyne Larocque, Montreal's Laura Stacey and Erin Ambrose, Ottawa's Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer join Minnesota's Heise and Nicole Hensley and New York's Abby Roque and Alex Carpenter on Team Kloss.
The players were chosen by the PWHL and include 17 of the 18 inaugural free-agent signings and seven of the first 12 players selected in the draft.
New York captain and defender Micah Zandee-Hart is unable to participate due to injury.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2024.
The Canadian Press
