On Monday, January 12th, the PWHL held a virtual media availability with Montreal Victoire forwards Laura Stacey and Hayley Scamurra and New York Sirens forward Kayla Vespa. The three players spoke about the upcoming PWHL Takeover Tour stop in Washington DC, which marks the ninth stop of the tour this season, and the first professional women’s hockey game in DC.
Mandy Gutmann, lead communications and External Affairs for the PWHL, would start things off with a very deep and personal question for Hayley Scamurra, whose father Peter played for the Washington Capitals.
GUTMANN: This stop feels especially personal for you, with your ties to the Capitals community and your family’s history in Washington. What does it mean to you to bring the PWHL and this particular takeover tour game to a city that’s been such a big part of your hockey journey?
SCAMURRA: Yeah, I… it’s so important in my world, honestly. It’s how my parents met, actually. It’s when he played for the Capitals, because my mom is from the Maryland area, and it’s kind of funny to think back on that, and then to kind of be able to share that we both have played professional hockey in the Washington, D.C. area means the world to me, and then also I got to work with the Capitals organization, and I can see firsthand, like, how, how passionate they are, and how much they love women’s hockey there. So I think that’s really gonna come through in the takeover game that we’re gonna have there on Sunday.
Gutmann would then bring Laura Stacey into the conversation as the Victoire were just coming out of their Takeover Tour game in Quebec City the day before.
GUTMANN: Laura, you’re just coming off of a Takeover Tour game in Quebec City yesterday. How do you view games like this, on the Takeover Tour in terms of representing the league and your team and showing new audiences, what PWHL hockey’s all about?
STACEY: Yeah, I think it’s extremely exciting. I think anytime you get to visit a new city, play in front of new fans, hopefully inspire a new generation of young girls and young boys to continue to dream, and I think ever since day one, it’s been our motto that if you can see it, you can be it, and you can dream it, and I think this is just another chance to do exactly that, to stop in a new city, to create some new fans, to grow some excitement for women’s hockey and women’s sports in general, and I think we’re all really looking forward to heading to Washington, because we know how supportive and how much they support and love women’s hockey, so I think it’s a perfect place to stop.
Lastly, Gutmann would bring Kayla Vespa, who is a lifelong Capitals fan, into the conversation.
GUTMANN: Kayla, we mentioned before, you’ve been a fan of the Caps for a long time. What’s it like for you to take the ice at Capital One Arena, wearing a Sirens jersey, and what does it say about how far women’s hockey has come?
VESPA: First, it means everything. I mean, I grew up as an Alex Ovechkin fan, and then it just became easy to follow the Capitals. Great organization, but… For… it’s very exciting to stop on this tour, a great hockey market, and to be able to play at the Capital One Arena, I think the fans are gonna bring the energy, it’s gonna be electric. I’ve only watched them play on TV, so to be able to be there at an NHL venue just shows how much the game has grown. And to be a lifelong fan means a lot, and to be able to bring both teams here, the PWHL teams, is very exciting, and it’s the next step for us.
Next up, the amazing Erica L. Ayala of Black Rosie Media would open up the questions for the press.
AYALA: Haley, I wanted to come to you for this question. We know that, obviously, it’s an Olympic year, and congratulations to you again for making an Olympic squad. But specifically, you were able to come onto the national scene through a domestic league. And so, as we’re in another Olympic year, you know, what do these, these neutral site tours, do you think, do to help educate people on how they can, you know, fully close that cycle when it comes to Olympics and women’s hockey outside of Olympic years?
SCAMURRA: I mean, I think it’s huge just to bring it to new markets that aren’t used to women’s hockey, because, I mean, the number one thing we get is, like, whenever someone comes to a women’s game for the first time, they get hooked right away. I think it’s the energy’s palpable in the rinks, and… The more eyes we can get on the game, and the more visibility, and the more marketing, and it just all adds up together, and… So I think it’s huge to be able to take these games to new markets where they’re not used to it. There’s not really any college women’s hockey there or anything like that, but I’ve seen how much women’s hockey has grown in the DMV area, having, like, spent all my summer months there. Growing up as a kid, like, no one knew what hockey was, and so now to see, like, so many girls playing hockey there, there’s, like, dedicated girls teams at, like, the Caps organization and things like that, so, the growth has been immense.
AYALA: This will be a different Olympics, because we’ll have fans, and family, and things of that nature. What excites you about that? Maybe we start with Haley, and then Laura, if you don’t mind chiming in as well.
SCAMURRA: Yeah, I mean, for me, I think, that was a huge motivating factor to make this my second Olympic roster. I really wanted to… be able to share it with family and friends. I think that was kind of the hardest part about the 2022 Olympics for myself, is not being able to share with that… with them, with the people who helped me get to that point. And so, now that I get to, like, experience the Olympic Village with them, and… the games, and just everything that it involves, and for the people who have supported me my whole journey, I just… I’m just so grateful, and I’m just so excited to share it with them.
STACEY: Yeah, I would just echo that sentiment. I think, at the end of the day, going to the Olympics has been a huge dream of mine since I was a kid, but it’s also been a dream of my parents, my family, and everybody who’s helped me get there. Just like Scam said, I think the coaches, the trainers, so be able to have some of those people who have been a huge part of that dream, have been a huge part of that process, be able to be there by your side, witness it with you and for you. When I got the call, I called my family right away and said, we’re going to Milan, because honestly, it’s just as much them as it is me, so… I think that is a huge part of it. That is a huge part of the motivating factor, and I think getting to go to a city like Milan, spend some time in Italy, and have your family there by your side, and all the people who made it happen, I think it’s a pretty special feeling to have.
Next up, Michael Lindenbaum of TXHThockey.com and The Morphinominal Hockey Show would ask his question to Scamurra and Stacey.
LINDENBAUM: Laura, you started off at the CWHL. Hayley, you started off at the NWHL. What’s it like seeing this journey, going from the CWHL and NWHL, and then later on the PHF, to where we are today, and then being able to have these high marquee games, especially on an Olympic year?
STACEY: Yeah, I think it just really puts it into perspective of how far we’ve come. I think, obviously, playing in any of the leagues that came before us. When we graduated college, we were super grateful that we were just to be able to continue to play, that we were… that we were able to just continue to chase that dream of potentially make an Olympic roster for us, or to just keep playing in general, because we love the sport of hockey so much, and we loved our teammates. So, to see where we are now, it’s so much more than that. And I think it’s beyond any league that any of us ever got to play in. I think the professionalism, these stops, the fans that we’re creating, just the level of hockey in general, I don’t think any of us have seen anything like it, and so I think it’s just incredible to see the progress of women’s sports, but specifically women’s hockey, and you see it all over North America right now. Honestly, even in Europe and abroad, just the level of play, the skill level, the growth of women’s hockey. I think it just gives all of us shivers. We never dreamed about being where we are right now, and so the fact that we’re here, we’re now going to Washington to play in Capital One Arena, I think slowly, every single year, we’re getting these moments of, where are we? How are we doing this? And I think it really blows our mind every time. So, for being on the older side of it, I just… I couldn’t be more grateful for the timing that I came through, that I had this opportunity to play in the PWHL because there’s an incredible amount of women who came before who only got to experience the PHF or the CWHL, and we owe a lot to them to be sitting here today on this call saying, this is where we’re at, and this is where we’re continuing to go.
SCAMURRA: Yeah, and I’m always grateful for my time in the NWHL. I think I got to play for my hometown team, which was incredible, but I mean, like Laura said, the difference in the resources we’re getting now, and the visibility, and how many people we’re getting to come to the games is just exponential. Like, I remember we played in KeyBank Center with Buffalo, and we had maybe 3,000 fans, and now we’re, like, over the 10,000 mark every time we go to an arena, so I just think it’s really cool to kind of see that, and, but I’m always grateful for my time in Buffalo, because that is what eventually led me to make my first USA roster as well, so I always like to make a point of that as well, and, just grateful for everyone who was a part of that journey.
Next up, Liam Griffin of The Washington Times would ask his questions.
GRIFFIN: Kayla, you mentioned that you hadn’t even attended a game at Capital One Arena as a fan. What does it mean to you to be able to be a part of a puck drop on Saturday night?
VESPA: I’m so excited. It’s definitely a full circle moment, just growing up watching them on TV, and now to be able to be at Capital One with all the fans, we’re grateful and honored to be doing that, to have the ceremonial puck drop, but also to expose fans to what they’re gonna see on Sunday, when the puck drops for us between us and Montreal.
GRIFFIN: And for Kayla and Haley, you guys are both very familiar with the DC region, and these takeover tours are a way to kind of test the waters for potential expansion teams, or more, you know, more exposure. Do you guys think the DC area is ready to accept professional women’s hockey full-time?
VESPA: Absolutely, 100%. It’s a great hockey market, but also, growing the women’s game is super important, and Washington, DC is where it’s at, where it’s NWSL, sorry, Washington Spirit, and also the Washington Mystics. So, it’s a lot of women’s sports that are on the rise, and we’re just super excited to be a part of that community when we come to Washington, D.C.
SCAMURRA: I know a lot of the people who are kind of doing the behind-the-scenes work, with the organization for our game, and I just know how excited they are, like, they’ve been talking about it non-stop, and I know they’re trying to make it extra special for us in a lot of different ways when we get there, and I’m excited for everyone to kind of see the hard work they’ve put in to show how excited they are for women’s hockey in the DC area.
Later, Erica Ayala asked the players about their respective teams season so far to wrap up the questions for the media availability.
AYALA: I want to ask you about your PWHL teams at this juncture in the season. Every team has played at least 10 games, so Kayla and Laura, how would you describe where your team is at, and
And what you’re looking forward to, putting on display in DC and beyond.
VESPA: Yeah, I think… I think right now, we’re coming off, a few wins, which is… is… which is really nice, so we’re excited to keep building the momentum. We’re excited to play Montreal. I know they’re a very strong, competitive team, and it’s always a great challenge to play them, so it’s a great test for our group to continue to build the momentum, and just really keep working on our identity, just being tenacious and resilient, so we’re just excited to move forward and also to come back and play at Washington, DC, and show the fans what the Sirens are made of.
STACEY: Yeah, I think, obviously, 10 games into, it’s still early in the season, and I think that’s exactly what we’re still trying to do, is to continue to build that identity, build out who exactly we are and who we want to be. Obviously, so far, there’s been some ups and some downs, but I think for us, it’s… we know our capabilities, we’re really proud of who’s in that locker room, what we have in that locker room, but I think it’s really important for us to string together a solid 60 minutes. I think we’ve seen some flashes of some incredible stuff, and we’ve been really proud of some of the results, but I think at the end of the day, for us, it’s to keep building, to keep moving forward. It’s a long season, it’s a long year. And the more we can focus on the present day, the next practice, and keep getting slowly better, I think that’s our goal as a team, and to keep putting the pieces together, to perform at our best and to create a full 60 minutes when we’re in Washington.
And with that, the PWHL virtual media availability ended. With the Victoire in the win column after defeating the Ottawa Charge on Tuesday night 2-1, and with the Sirens in action on Friday night when they host the defending back-to-back Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost, we are looking to have a fun one in Washington DC on Sunday afternoon between these two teams.
Michael Lindenbaum of TXHT Hockey will be in attendance covering the game.
*Pictures and Featured Graphic Courtesy of the PWHL.