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For upcoming PHF season, expansion begins and ends with Montreal

Les Canadiennes de Montreal, a CWHL team and the most recent women’s professional team in Montreal, made history in 2015 as part of the first women’s professional hockey game to be played outdoors. (Winslow Townson /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

For Kevin Raphaël, the goal of a Premier Hockey Federation expansion team in Montreal dates back to 2019, when the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded and left the city without a women’s professional team.

His work toward that goal came to fruition Tuesday, when the league announced its seventh team — and announced Raphaël as president of the new Montreal franchise.

“I’m proud to be present on this team,” Raphaël said. “I’ve been working so hard for the past four years now, to bring a team back to Montreal. I believe in women’s hockey, I believe they should be treated as professionals. I believe that we have the fan base and the infrastructure in the province of Quebec to support strongly a pro women’s hockey team.”

For those in the PHF, the addition of a team in Montreal has been a long time coming, even for commissioner Reagan Carey, who took on the job a little over two months ago.

“This has been circled on my list as a top priority since day one,” said Carey, who also called Montreal an “essential market” for the league. “In these last few months, there’s been a real awareness of the commitment not just of the ownership, but our front office to continue to build and add people. Montreal is an extension of just the credibility, the passion and purpose behind who we’re bringing on board with the PHF.”

BTM Partners will start out as Montreal’s ownership group, news not included in Tuesday’s announcement but confirmed by Carey. With that, the group now owns four of seven teams in the PHF (Montreal, Boston Pride, Metropolitan Riveters, Toronto Six). Back in March, it was announced that a BIPOC-led ownership group would be purchasing the Six, although according to Carey that sale is still in progress and has yet to officially close.

Carey called the sale a “priority” and a “continued discussion” similar to the ones that were had about adding a Montreal franchise.

Eventually, the league would like to see all seven teams owned by separate entities. Still, Raphaël made clear Tuesday that, for now at least, he’s just the Montreal team’s president.

“We’ll see later what will happen, but right now my job is to put the best team on the ice possible,” he said.

His goal for the team in Montreal is “to bring something to our women athletes.”

“My goal is to treat the players as professionals, to make sure they get paid for all the efforts they make, all the training — they train as much as the boys, and they do not get nothing,” he said. “So my mission is to make sure that we do right by the players, we do right by the sacrifice that they’ve made for the past four years.”

As the team looks to establish itself in the Montreal market, it will play “home” games around Quebec.

The PHF wants to grow support for professional women’s hockey within communities that may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience it. The league also anticipates that a lot of local players will want to join the new team, making it important that team leaders are connected throughout the province.

For training, the new franchise call Centre 21.02 home — the first and only recognized High Performance Hockey Center for women athletes across Canada.

As the PHF is already a few months into free agency, Raphaël likely faces an uphill battle in signing players. That’s part of the reason that the franchise announcement, which included minimal information beyond the addition of the team, came when it did: The league wanted to put Raphaël in a position to field the best team possible.

“I had been asked already about the concern of the timing of announcing this team,” said Carey. “I think there’s not going to be any lack of interest and roster building for Kevin [Raphaël]. In fact, he might have his roster sealed before the rest of the teams do. So we’ll let the competition begin.”

Boston Pride player and PHF Players Association member Mallory Souliotis told On Her Turf that news of the expansion team was sent to players’ reps early Tuesday morning ahead of the league’s official announcement.

Raphaël, meanwhile, played potential difficulties off due to the history of hockey in the community and player’s desires to play in Montreal. Several high-profile Canadian players, like Ann-Renée Desbiens, Marie-Philip Poulin and Mélodie Daoust, hail from Quebec.

“We have the best talent in the world. You just look at any world championship or Olympics, who are the best players? Who is the best goalies? Who is the clutch player? (It’s a) person from Quebec,” said Raphaël.

And while that’s certainly true, those players most recently have been committed to the PWHPA, which has plans to launch its own league.

So far this offseason, though, two players from the PWHPA — Brittany Howard and U.S. Olympian Amanda Pelkey — have signed with PHF teams. And, according to Raphaël, the announcement of a Montreal team has been met with buzz from players.

“We wanted to enter as a team before making moves. I’m not gonna lie that my phone’s been blowing up right now,” he said. “A lot of players want to play with Montreal. I think they know that Montreal is something else. We are Canada’s team.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be long before we sign players because a lot of people are hitting up my phone right now. I will answer every single call and we’ll build the best team possible to win the Isobel Cup.”

Other announcements, like the team’s name, game locations and its coaching staff, will come later.

There will also be discussions about further expansion teams. While many – including the league – had anticipated eight PHF teams gracing the ice in the league’s upcoming eighth season, there will only be seven.

This year’s expansion begins and ends with Montreal. Carey says the one-team increase is the right move for the league.

“We have other markets we’ve explored,” said Carey, adding that they are still looking into expansion teams for the league’s ninth season and beyond. “It’s my responsibility, once I got here a few months ago, to really vet and assess what is best for the league right now and what’s best for the long term.

“I feel very confident and strongly about this being the right move for the league.”

In the meantime, Raphaël, a French cable TV broadcaster, is looking forward to helping grow women’s hockey one step at a time.

“I have so many things I want to do for this team,” he said. “If I could do everything in a year, I would not sleep.”

Alex Morgan “week-to-week” with ankle injury

Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

Brazil legend Marta to retire from international play after Olympics

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 16: Marta of Brazil during the 2023 SheBelieves Cup match between Japan and Brazil at Exploria Stadium on February 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by James Williamson - AMA/Getty Images)

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

USWNT to face Costa Rica in final Olympic send-off

uswnt sophia smith and tierna davidson celebrate at shebeilves cup 2024
The USWNT will play their final pre-Olympic friendly against Costa Rica on July 16th. (Photo by Greg Bartram/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

Caitlin Clark’s WNBA start to serve as 2024 Olympic tryout

Clark of the Indiana Fever poses for a photo with Lin Dunn and Christie Sides during her introductory press conference on April 17, 2024
The talented Fever rookie is still in the running for a ticket to this summer's Paris Olympics. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

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