Fans, both young and old, have heralded the camaraderie and kindness amongst followers of the teams.
When speaking with Sceptres supporters outside Coca-Cola Coliseum, the community vibe was on full display.
“The quality of the hockey community is amazing,” said Heather Catton, a registered massage therapist from London, Ont. “The fact that it’s growing and there’s options for girls is amazing.”
Heather and her 10-year-old daughter, Scarlett, are big hockey fans and were excited to flip their fandom from the National Hockey League to support the women of the PWHL.
“We used to always watch the NHL but now we always watch the PWHL,” Scarlett said.
The Catton family has always had a strong passion for hockey, with Scarlett playing hockey for the London Devilettes, and both of her parents guiding her through her hockey career.
“I’ve been playing hockey since I was four, so six years. My other mum also played hockey,” said Scarlett.
Podcast: Hockey night at the Toronto Sceptres game
By Nathan Simpson, Adam Ianetta, and Alessandro De Capua
Many of the youth attending the Sceptres game emphasized that they loved watching the girls play and that they had the chance to one day play professionally like their favourite Sceptres players.
“I think it’s really cool to see that little girls’ dreams can come true one day and that they can play professional hockey when they get older,” said 15-year old Naia Soares.
Soares, was out at her first Sceptres game, and was amazed by the variety of fans supporting the team.
“It’s really cool to see people at a young age, even like three or four years old, coming out to watch with their parents.”
Inside the arena fans were excited to see the players hit the ice. Shelly Donahue and her husband were visiting Toronto to see their son but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see what the PWHL hype was all about.
“We hear a lot about them (the Sceptres),” said the Edmonton native attending her first PWHL game.
“It could be possible,” was Donahue’s response when asked if she could be swayed to Sceptres fandom over her home team, the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.
The Sceptres have been a success on the ice and have provided many young girls and women with the dream of going pro and watching someone that looks like them play the game they love.
Sophia, a young girl from Collingwood, put it best when asked about what she was most excited about.
Video: What the Toronto Sceptres and and the Professional Women’s Hockey League means for fans.
Photo Gallery
The PWHL Toronto logo on the side of the stands at Coca-Cola coliseum (By: Cole Underhill/ Toronto Observer) 
Coca-Cola Coliseum entrance before the Toronto Sceptres vs. The New York Sirens (By: Michael Vavaroutsos/Toronto Observer) 
New York Sirens vs Toronto Sceptres video board above entrance. (By Cole Underhill Toronto Observer) 
Analyst desk before the Toronto Sceptres vs. New York Sirens game. (Cole Underhill/Toronto Observer) 
A cart full of supplies for the Hockey teams including Gatorade, towels, and hockey tape (Cole Underhill/Toronto Observer) 
Video board above the rink displaying the 17th minute of the first period between the Sirens and the Sceptres. (Cole Underhill/Toronto Observer) 
Sceptres fans in the stands just before puck drop at the start of the game. (Cole Underhill/Toronto Observer) 
Naia Soares, 15, showing off the poster she made cheering on the Sceptres. (Liam LaChapelle-Yonson/Toronto Observer) 
Kim, 60, and Dee, 60, posing for a photo before entering the arena. (Liam LaChapelle-Yonson/ Toronto Observer) 
Fans in Sceptres jerseys crossing the street to get to the arena. (Liam LaChapelle-Yonson/Toronto Observer) 
A bunch of fans walking from the GO train to go to the game. (Liam LaChapelle-Yonson/Toronto Observer) 
A New York Sirens fan on crutches makes a hilarious sign to show at the game. (Kerem Albayrak/Toronto Observer) 
A mother and daughter showing off seperate signs they made for the game. (Kerem Albayrak/Toronto Observer) 
A family of four showing off their poster they made for the game. (Kerem Albayrak/Toronto Observer) 
Heather and Scarlett, 10, a mom and daughter are showing off their sign they made for the Toronto Sceptres game vs. the New York Sirens after they traveled from London, ON. Over two hours away to enjoy the Sceptres game (Braden Morrison/ Toronto Observer) 
Blair and Emma (10) Showing off their signs looking forward to the Sceptres game after traveling from Brighton, ON. (By Braden Morrison/Toronto Observer) 
Kaelyn Harris(middle right), 25, and a group of friends came from Bloomington, IND to attend their first Professional Womens Hockey League. (By Braden Morrison/Toronto Observer) 
Fans walking into Coca-Cola Coliseum before puck drop. (By Michael Vavaroutsos/ Toronto Observer)
Road Game
From Brighton to Bloomington: Women’s hockey knows no bounds
The addition of the Professional Women’s Hockey League has opened up new fan bases in all kinds of places.
Take Blaire and Emma for example.
The best friends travelled nearly 200 km from Brighton, Ont., to support their favourite team, the Toronto Sceptres, for the first time ever.
They weren’t the only dedicated fans making a long journey. Kaelyn Harris, a 25-year-old student, also traveled nearly 1000 km to be at the game on Wednesday night.
“We made a few stops along the way, but it took about 10 hours to get to Toronto,” Harris said.
She and her friends made the journey from Bloomington, Ind. so that they could cheer on the New York Sirens. Harris says that she became a fan six months ago, but has been obsessed with the team ever since.
Her favourite player is Sirens goalie Corrine Schroeder.
“One day I was scrolling on social media trying to get into a sport, and I found out about the PWHL,” she said. “I started watching it, and I was hooked from the first game.
All PWHL games are streamed on the league’s YouTube channel, worldwide outside of Canada, which made it easy for the Bloomington native to support the Sirens considering she is not near a PWHL market. For perspective, the closest American PWHL team to Bloomington is the Minneapolis Frost which is just over 1000 km away, about 100 km farther than the distance to Toronto.
During her time supporting the team, Harris has been actively communicating with fans across the country on platforms like Discord and YouTube’s chat feature during live streams. What stuck out most to her about the fanbase is the sense of community. “The women’s hockey Discord has been amazing, they’ve kind of been like family over the internet.”
While Harris is a new fan of the PWHL, she wasn’t surprised to see its quick rise to popularity. Growing up, she would watch Canada and the U.S. face off in the Olympics and knew that the talent of these players was a product that had merit.
“Having a professional women’s hockey league for Canada and the U.S. together is showing a great advance for women, showing that you can be a pro and that there are more options to watch rather than being stuck with the NHL.”
Harris never thought that she would be able to watch a PWHL game in person. But after travelling from far and wide and knitting her own Sirens merchandise – gloves and hat – she finally got to cross this event off her bucket list.
“Everything just happened by chance,” she said. “I am so lucky to have this experience.” — Michael Vavaroutsos
