Karissa Donkin

The PWHL announced its first outside investors earlier this week. For the Ilitch Companies, it was a partnership years in the making. My story on how the “significant” investment came together, and what it all means: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

It’s PWHL Draft week, and Caroline Harvey is a name you’ll hear a lot. We chatted last week about her incredible year, and her rise to top PWHL prospect: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Nerves, chaos and then excitement: I talked to PWHL Hamilton goaltender Kayle Osborne about her experience navigating expansion, and embracing a new opportunity closer to home. That, plus how it looks around the league after phase 2 of expansion: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

It took nine years for Marie-Philip Poulin to win another league championship in Montreal. From years of playing few games to financial sacrifice to injury, it’s been a long journey back to the top. My story on Montreal’s road to the Walter Cup: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

You know Marie-Philip Poulin for scoring the big goals when her team needs them most. But the captain is so much more than that in Montreal, where her team is one win away from a Walter Cup. My story for CBC Sports: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Rebecca Leslie’s two goals in Game 1 of the Walter Cup final was her latest feat in an incredible season. It’s something her former coach at Boston University saw coming. My story on the Ottawa Charge forward’s rise to stardom on her hometown team: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Hamilton's NHL team also wore yellow in the 1920s

PWHL Hamilton's colours will be gold, maroon and cream. The gold is a reference to the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and maroon represents the colour of aged steel. PWHL Las Vegas will have a green and golden yellow colour scheme, with green being a nod to the desert and mountains.

The PWHL will expand to Las Vegas and Hamilton ahead of next season. My story on why Vegas and Hamilton were selected, and why the PWHL is expanding rapidly: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

The PWHL will add a 9th team in Detroit ahead of next season, and more teams are coming. Here’s why the league is expanding, and what it all means: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Lack of depth was the Montreal Victoire’s undoing in the last two postseasons. But there’s evidence things could be different for the Victoire this time around. My preview of that series and more in my latest PWHL notebook for CBC Sports: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

The battle for the Walter Cup begins on Thursday, when Boston hosts Ottawa for Game 1. Montreal will host Game 1 of the other series against Minnesota on Saturday. It's the most wonderful time of the year in women's hockey. Here's my PWHL playoff preview for CBC Sports: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Control is the most valuable thing in the PWHL. Both the Montreal Victoire and Vancouver Goldeneyes emerged with a bit of it after the regular season. My story for CBC Sports: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Some key dates in the PWHL Walter Cup playoffs: Sunday, April 26: Top-seeded team announces first-round opponent. Thursday, April 30: Boston/TBD Game 1, 7 pm ET. Saturday, May 2: Boston/TBD Game 2 and Montreal/TBD Game 1 (times TBD).

Four games, all eight teams, and a lot at stake. The PWHL's super Saturday slate of games will determine the final playoff berth, the top seed, and which team wins the Caroline Harvey sweepstakes. Here's my preview of all four games for CBC Sports: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Growing the PWHL in the U.S. is a key piece of the puzzle to unlocking a national U.S. broadcast rights deal, one of the ways the league can make money. Inside the league's sell-out at Madison Square Garden, and its strategy to keep expanding: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

The Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge play tomorrow in Toronto. It might be the biggest game of the season for both teams. I chatted with Sceptres defender Renata Fast about what's at stake, and why Toronto has been a different team since the Olympics: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Lots of people expected the Vancouver Goldeneyes to dominate this season. It hasn't quite worked out that way. My story on what has gone wrong on the ice, and what role travel has played in what we've seen from both Vancouver and Seattle: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Thank you for watching!

Game 1 of 4 today inside the Woolwich Memorial Centre at Canadian university women’s hockey nationals is underway. Waterloo is leading Manitoba 1-0 after the first in the consolation semifinal. Concordia/Guelph and UNB/Montreal are up later, with spots in the final up for grabs.

The Canadian women’s hockey team was a little more than two minutes away from Olympic gold. What comes next? My deep dive into the program’s future, and how to develop the next generation of talent: www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...

Catch up on H&B with Mike Halford & @sadclubcommish.bsky.social - David Amber talks #NHL at the #Olympics - @frank-seravalli.bsky.social chats Olympic hockey - @kdonk.bsky.social on the Canada USA matchup yesterday - @thenickshook.bsky.social closes out the #NFL season 🎧 sprtsnt.ca/3TQMxKh

Canada has vowed to learn from its seventh consecutive loss to the Americans. But time is running out. My story on yesterday's 5-0 women's hockey loss: www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...

Canada. USA. One of the best rivalries in all of sport. The puck drops in 10 minutes. Here's my primer on the cross-border battle, and what it all means: www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...

When Canadian players found out their game against Finland was postponed, all they could do was laugh. It's a veteran group that knows a thing or two about resilience, and they're hoping that leads them back to gold. My story on Canada's first game: www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...

Thank you for the great chat!

Thank you for the chat, Justin! Looking forward to reading more women’s hockey stories on your Substack!

Next week, Daryl Watts will be at a Canadian pre-Olympic training camp, working to make the team. Three summers ago, she thought her hockey career was over. My story on how the Sceptres star found her way back to hockey, better and faster than before: t.co/3ATMI2yPLg

Thirty players will compete at training camps in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal this fall, in a bid to make the Canadian women's Olympic team. I talked to GM Gina Kingsbury and head coach Troy Ryan about how they designed the program around the PWHL: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

“They've cheered me on more than I ever thought they would have." My story on why Montreal Victoire forward Laura Stacey has expanded her LS7 Foundation to Montreal, and why she wants to give back to the two cities that have shaped her career: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

A crisis foretold: 3 decades of warnings on N.B.'s aging population. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

After the season ended, Gwyneth Philips took off to the woods, alone. It’s how she decompressed after a year that saw her become the Ottawa Charge’s starting goaltender, and a solid option for USA at the Olympics in February. My feature on Philips: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

After an absolutely wild expansion draft, free agent signing window and entry draft, things are slowing down in the PWHL. But there’s lots to keep an eye on ahead of a big 2025-26 season. I wrote about four PWHL storylines to watch over the summer: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

The PWHL’s free agency window opens Monday at 9 am, and it’s sure to be a busy week. Trades can also be made in this window. With the dust settled from expansion, I took a look at what each team needs to add: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

The Minnesota Frost end the PWHL’s original six era on top. Next week, everything will change. My story for CBC Sports on how the Frost pulled off back-to-back championships, and what comes next: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

A suspended rookie and a toppled top seed in Game 1. My PWHL playoff notebook looks at what we’ve learned over the first two games of the Walter Cup playoffs: t.co/vHTJCb11f0

The PWHL is expanding to Vancouver ahead of next season. My story on what it means for Vancouver to be the league’s 7th franchise, and what comes next: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Expansion uncertainty, outgrowing the reserve player system, and more salary transparency. Those are just a few items on Malaika Underwood's desk. I chatted with the new executive director of the PWHLPA about a whirlwind first month on the job: t.co/vJWemNSXEU

Breaking down how close Hannah Miller was to being eligible to play for Team Canada, an update on Desbiens, and more. Everything you need to know about Canada’s team at the women’s world hockey championship: t.co/0E9WGnm9pl

I got the chance to visit Halifax Tides FC training camp a couple of weeks ago. I also got to see the fabulous Jawslyn up close 🦈 ⚽️ My piece for CBC Sports on how the city is embracing the team ahead of the inaugural Northern Super League (NSL) season: t.co/tMcvD7EbyU

We've been talking a lot about Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's NHL goal record, once thought to be untouchable. What's the untouchable record in women's hockey? One might be Hayley Wickenheiser's Canadian team points. But there's someone chasing her: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

One of the best rivalries in sports resumes on Thursday when the Canada-USA Rivalry Series picks up in Halifax. My dispatch from the Maritimes on the final leg of this season's Rivalry Series, playing out amid the threat of a trade war between the two countries: www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...

Troy Ryan has an Olympic gold medal, 3 world championships and PWHL coach of the year on his resume. But the Sceptres coach almost didn't make it here. How hockey helped Ryan find a way out of poverty, and how his community in Spryfield, Nova Scotia helped him get here: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

The Victoire and Charge are poised to play in front of a sold-out crowd inside Quebec City's Videotron Centre on Sunday. The push to bring pro women's hockey back to the city started more than a year ago, with a political assistant from Marie-Philip Poulin's hometown: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Sounds like there are fewer than 1,000 tickets left for this Sunday's PWHL Takeover Tour game in Quebec City between the Montreal Victoire and Ottawa Charge. Videotron Centre seats more than 18,000 for hockey.

At this time last year, we were talking about firsts and milestones in the PWHL. But this New Year's Eve, we were talking about hockey, and who won a blockbuster trade between Toronto and Ottawa. My look at the PWHL's first season and the challenges ahead in 2025: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Toronto and Montreal will face off inside Rogers Arena, typically home to the Vancouver Canucks, in January. The tickets are already sold out. A look at the case for PWHL western expansion, and why pro women's hockey could return to Vancouver: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury was surprised Izzy Daniel was still available in the third round of the 2024 draft. It wasn't the first time she's had to prove she can play with the best in the world. My profile on "understated" Sceptres forward Izzy Daniel for CBC Sports: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...

When Cornell head coach Doug Derraugh watched a teenage Kristin O'Neill play, he saw a player who was small, but relentless and unafraid. That's the same role she plays on the Montreal Victoire in the PWHL, where her game can fly under the radar. My profile on O'Neill: www.cbc.ca/sports/hocke...