PWHPA to host All-Star Weekend in Ottawa

For the first time ever, the PWHPA is hosting an All-Star event. The All-Star Showcase will take place in Ottawa after regularly scheduled 2022-23 Dream Gap Tour games from Dec. 9-11, making that weekend a true celebration of women’s hockey. This weekend of star-studded hockey is coming together in cooperation with Canadian Tire and the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

Dec. 11’s All-Star activities will all take place at the Canadian Tire Centre. The PWHPA regular season on Dec. 9 and 10 will be on the ice in Gatineau at Centre Slush Puppie and in Kemptville at North Grenville Municipal Centre.

• Regular season games to take place in Kemptville, Gatineau and Ottawa on Dec. 9 and 10
• Youth and Adult skills clinics run by PWHPA players and coaches to be held on Dec. 10
• All-Star skills competition and 3-on-3 tournament to take place at Canadian Tire Centre on Dec. 11/

The All-Star festivities will begin on Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. ET with a Skills Competition followed by a three-on-three tournament between four teams — each with a captain selected by fan vote. Those games start at 12:30 p.m. ET and there will be six 10-minute games of 3-on-3 action. It’s going to be fast and furious and will lead to a final matchup between the top two teams.

From the release:

The Canadian Tire PWHPA All-Star Fan Vote will allow fans to vote for one All-Star player from each team, without regard to position. The top vote-getter from each team will be named as the four Captains of their respective All-Star team. Voting starts today on the PWHPA website and ends Sunday at 10 p.m. ET. The four captains will draft their starting line-up from a pool of 40 additional PWHPA All-Stars, to be selected by PWHPA players, coaches and staff.

Something else to keep an eye on is that players, not fans, will be choosing who participates in the Skills Competition and those who compete need not compete in the All-Star Game. Honestly, I hope we see very little overlap so fans can see players who spend a little less time in the spotlight than they deserve to demonstrate their skills.

Skills Competition

• Fastest Skater
• Accuracy Shooting
• Skills Challenge
• Breakaway Challenge/

“When we started planning the 2022-23 season, we knew we wanted to elevate the experience for both players and fans,” said Jayna Hefford, PWHPA Operations Consultant, shared in the PA’s release. “The All-Star festivities will be another tremendous platform for our athletes to show just how talented they are—and have some fun while doing it. Canadian Tire and the Ottawa Senators have been key partners in making this vision a reality and we know it’ll be a fantastic weekend for everyone involved.”

Tickets to the weekend’s action are on sale now and fans can cast their votes for the four team captains between today and Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.