Elevating Their Games

There's a lot of focus in North America about the PWHL, and it makes sense since those are the games that are most accessible for most North American women's hockey fans. The fact that we often forget that there are other leagues where a pile of former university stars play means we often forget that these women are seeing the world while being paid to play hockey. Frankly, I'm not saying that anyone should give up an opportunity to play in the PWHL, but it seems like a pretty easy decision to go and play in places like Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany if any of those teams call with an offer to join them. I know I would!

Shown above, #44 is former U SPORTS National Champion, former Mount Royal Cougar, and former Calgary Dino Courtney Kollman who is playing with HC Davos in the PostFinance Women's League this season where she and a handful of other U SPORTS players are showing just how good Canadian university players are!

The top Canadian scorer in the league right now is former UBC Thunderbirds forward Joelle Fiala with HC Davos as she's scored two goals and added five helpers in four games thus far. Right behind her is teammate and former Calgary Dinos forward Elizabeth Lang with three goals and three assists while the aforementioned Kollman has one goal and five assists for HC Davos as well. Yes, they do lead the team in scoring, and HC Davos is 3-1-0-0 so far this season.

Former StFX X-Women forward Lea MacLeod is among the top scorers as well as she's tied for the team lead in scoring with four goals and two assists with SC Bern. Bern sits in third-place behind Davos with a 2-1-1-1 record, but MacLeod may see her point totals increase at a faster rate as she's playing alongside SWHL MVP Estelle Duvin of France. Needless to say, SC Bern is looking to repeat as regular-season champions with MacLeod in the lineup!

She hasn't played as many games, but she's showing that she's still a formidable scorer as former U SPORTS National Champion and Concordia Stinger Rosalie Bégin-Cyr leads Neuchâtel Hockey Academy in scoring. Bégin-Cyr has three goals and a helper in three games as Neuchâtel has started 1-2-0-0 thus far, but they really need to find another scorer or two to help their offensive game. They are the second-lowest scoring team right now in the SWHL with six goals, and the math says that Bégin-Cyr has scored half of those goals. Neuchâtel is in seventh-place.

Former StFX sniper Maggy Burbidge has found a home with HC Fribourg-Gottéron as she has three goals and one assist in three games to lead her team as well. There are more scorers on HC Fribourg-Gottéron to help Burbidge, and one of those players is her former StFX X-Women teammate and defender Lauren Dabrowski who has a goal and an assist in three games. Clearly, having a few more scorers has helped as HC Fribourg-Gottéron is still undefeated at 1-0-2-0, and they currently hold the fourth-place spot in the SWHL.

She was a solid player with the Calgary Dinos during her time in Canada West, but she might be in a tough situation this year as Holly Reuther is suiting up for SC Langenthal who are 0-4-0-0 so far this season. Reuther does have a goal in the four games that she's played, but that goal is just one of two that SC Langenthal has scored all season. Reuther will always give 100% in every situation where she plays, but it might be a long season for the team that was promoted from the SWHL-B league.

I should also note that Swiss-born Kaleigh Quennec skates for SC Bern this season after having a successful run in Canadian univeristy hockey at the University of Montreal. Quennec only has a goal in five games thus far, but there's no doubt that the Swiss National Team program is hoping to see her break out with Bern. Her best season with Les Carabins came in 2022-23 where she had four goals and nine assists in 25 games, and that kind of production with Bern will get her noticed by the Swiss team.

The 28-game season played by the SWHL teams will go by quickly, but it will be interesting to see if any of Fiala, Lang, Kollman, or MacLeod can overtake Swiss scoring sensation Lara Stalder who currently leads the SWHL with six goals and three assists in four games for EV Zug. Czech-born Michaela Pejzlová may also be one to watch with HC Ambrì-Piotta as she had four goals and three assists in five games while Finnish teammate Jenna Kaila is aiming for the goal-scoring title with six goals and zero assists thus far.

The race is on to see who will finish atop the SWHL standings in one of the most picturesque countries on the planet. No matter which team finishes on top of the mountain, it looks like there will be former Canadian university players who factor into that ending. Could we see a U SPORTS National Champion add an SWHL championship to her resumé? It seems very possible this season!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!