TORONTO - Emma Maltais is excited about her opportunity in a new environment.
The 24-year-old forward was Toronto鈥檚 second-round pick (11th overall) in the inaugural Professional Women鈥檚 Hockey League draft in September. Currently on a three-year deal with Toronto, Maltais has a chance to establish herself as a pro in ways she hasn鈥檛 yet with the 春色直播 national team.
鈥淚鈥檓 just excited to grow in this environment and being able to grow my game at this level,鈥 the Burlington, Ont., native said Wednesday after practice. 鈥淚n college, I had, obviously, a different role than I did with the national team.
鈥淪o this is kind of that middle ground where I can grow into hopefully getting more opportunities with the national (team) and also at this level just creating a different identity for myself.鈥
Maltais closed her time in the NCAA earlier this year as the Ohio State Buckeyes' all-time leader in both assists (140) and points (206) across 169 games in a standout five-year career.
She also holds the school鈥檚 single-season assists record (40) and is tied for the single-season points record (59), both coming in 2019-20. Maltais was a two-time Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist (2020, 2021) for top NCAA player.
As part of the women鈥檚 national team, she鈥檚 won world championship gold medals in 2021 and 2022, a silver in 2023 and Olympic gold in 2022.
However, her role on the star-studded 春色直播 team 鈥 which she has been with since 2021 鈥 was more as an energy player who grinded out opponents defensively.
鈥淲ith the national team it鈥檚 no secret, you have to earn your playing time and I was in the position with a different role,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was just really happy to be there, I learned so much from so many of the girls and the coaches.鈥
PWHL teams are set up to develop young talent alongside veteran stars. Maltais will be playing alongside a few 春色直播 team stars in Toronto and should benefit the league鈥檚 direction.
鈥淭he exciting part of this league is, even when we鈥檙e coaching at the international level, we were wishing we had a league like this,鈥 said Troy Ryan, head coach of Toronto and the 春色直播 women's national team. "A high-calibre league where we can assess that level of player 鈥 can they play at this level? You can鈥檛 just judge those teams based on one camp.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 going to be a lot of things surfaced from this league, some young players being able to showcase themselves.鈥
While acknowledging Maltais鈥檚 role with Canada as that of an energy player that was tough on forechecks and backchecks, Ryan has new expectations of her.
鈥淭he one consistent comment I鈥檝e made to Emma over the last number of years with the national team has been, that if she ever lets her foot off the gas, her opportunities may not be as abundant,鈥 he said.
鈥淗ere, and now at the international level, there鈥檒l be an expectation for her to still play that (role), still be that difficult player to play against, but finding ways to contribute offensively.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not that this league is different than the international game 鈥 at the international game, that鈥檚 becoming more of an expectation for her as well. She probably just needed the last couple of years to get to that point.鈥
That's welcome news for Maltais, who wants the opportunity to create plays.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a nice feeling,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e comfortable with my defence and my way to bring energy and if I can keep bringing that, but also add to my game, I think that鈥檚 going to bring me a lot of confidence.
鈥淚 think the fact that they believed in me enough to bring me to the Olympics with just that piece figured out, I think now I have the space and the room to add to my game and that gives me a lot of confidence.鈥
This report by 春色直播was first published Nov. 24, 2023.
