Marie-Philip Poulin won’t be too disoriented as she will continue to train at the Center 21.02 in the Verdun Auditorium with the new professional training in Montreal.
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For some time now, Poulin, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Laura Stacey and many players from the national program have settled in the center founded by Danièle Sauvageau, general director of the Montreal club, whose name has not yet been announced.
“We are pleased to be training at Center 21.02, the home of women’s hockey in Quebec,” Sauvageau said in a press release issued Monday. Over the past four years, the Center has continually developed and promoted elite athletes of all ages, and we are honored to partner with a Center committed to excellence. Verdun is a dynamic and enthusiastic community that has welcomed our team with open arms.”
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (LPHF) has announced the arenas that will serve as the official training facilities for its six teams. Camps will be held there this week ahead of the season, which will begin in January.
The general manager of the Montreal women’s professional ice hockey team was proud to introduce her first three players on Thursday at Center 21.02 in Montreal. Photo MARTIN ALARIE, Le Journal de Montréal
Professional environment
Center 21.02, named after the Canadians who won Olympic gold in Salt Lake City on February 21, 2002 and whose team was led by Sauvageau, is the only qualified high-performance women’s hockey in Canada. The sports complex includes two ice rinks with a capacity of 4,114 seats.
“With our teams, we have found facilities that provide athletes with a professional training environment and partnerships that are also committed to building collaborative relationships,” said Jayna Hefford, senior vice president of hockey operations at the LPHF. It is important for our players and teams to have an established home base and this will be available to them from the start of training camps and throughout the season.
Organizations therefore have access to ice, physical preparation rooms, private changing rooms, technical rooms and offices.
Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey during the first press conference of the new Montreal professional women’s ice hockey team. Photo MARTIN ALARIE, Le Journal de Montréal
With NHL teams
In Ottawa, Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, Daryl Watts and Emerance Maschmeyer will be guests at TD Place. The Rouge et Noir of the Canadian Football League, the 67’s of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, the BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League and Atlético of the Canadian Premier Soccer League are already installed at the complex.
On the Toronto side, Quebec GM Gina Kingsbury as well as Sarah Nurse, Natalie Spooner, Jocelyne Larocque, Lauriane Rougeau and Kristen Campbell will share the Ford Performance Center in Etobicoke with the Maple Leafs and their Marlies Farm Club. The Hockey Hall of Fame, Hockey Canada and NHL alumni also have offices there.
The Minnesota team will also share the facilities of an NHL team. Kendall Coyne Schofield and No. 1 draft pick Taylor Heise will practice at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul, just yards from the Xcel Energy Center, home of the Wild.
The Boston Sports Institute, which includes two ice cream parlors, an indoor field, two swimming pools, a fitness center and a track and field track, will be the new home of the Hilary Knight gang.
Finally, general manager Pascal Daoust’s New York team, which, in addition to Alex Carpenter and Abby Roque, notably consists of Quebecers Élizabeth Giguère, Jade Downie-Landry, Alexandra Labelle and Christine Deaudelin, will train at the Chelsea Piers Athletic Club in Connecticut.
The Center 21.02 is located in the Auditorium de Verdun in Montreal. PHOTO: MARTIN ALARIE / QMI AGENCE
▶ Danièle Sauvageau has already awarded three-year contracts to attackers Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Kristin O’Neill as well as goalkeeper Ann-Renée Desbiens. Ontario forward Kennedy Marchment and American forward Jillian Dempsey have agreed to terms of two and one seasons, respectively.
Ann-Renée Desbiens during the first phase of the ice hockey game between the Canadian women’s national team and the United States as part of the Rivalry Series at Place Bell in Laval, Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Martin Knight / JdeM
▶ The LPHF also announced Monday a preseason evaluation camp that will be held Dec. 3-7 at Utica University in upstate New York. Montreal will face New York on December 4th, Boston on December 5th and Minnesota on December 7th.