The Current - A Canadian team is taking home the Walter Cup!

Episode Date: May 14, 2026

The Montreal Victoire and The Ottawa Charge will be competing for the PWHL championship. It is the first time two Canadians teams will face off in the finals and a significant moment for women’s hockey in Canada. Former hockey player and two-time Olympic Champion with Team Canada, Cassie Campbell-Pascall on why the country is embracing women’s hockey and what it took to get here.

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It's Canadian, two Canadian teams, so Walter Cup stays in Canada, not in the U.S. Sorry. Sorry, but perhaps not sorry. The PWH finals begin tonight. It will be a battle of the Canadians, the Montreal Victoir facing the Ottawa charge. The first time two Canadian teams will be competing for that Walter Cup. Women's hockey icon, Cassie Campbell Pascal, won two Olympic gold medals. with Team Canada. She is an order of Canada recipient. She is currently a special advisor to the PWHL and has

been watching this ever so closely. Cassie, good morning. Good morning, Matt. How are you? Well, I'm all right. Thanks. What is this moment like for you? Two Canadian teams in the final. Yeah, you know, obviously working for the league. I'm not cheering for anyone, I swear. I swear. You know, I think, you know, I think it's special, right, to have two Canadians and two Canadian captains too and Mary Philippe Poulin and Breanne Jenner, you know, getting an opportunity to etch their name on the Walter Cup. So, you know, the Minnesota Frost are a great team. It was a tough challenge for Montreal. It went to five games. It was an incredible series. They have a great leader in Kendall Coinscofield, but, you know, I am Canadian. So it's kind of nice that we're

potentially, well, we are going to have a Canadian team that's going to win it. And it's going to be another great series in a hard-fought battle. What are you expecting to see? from these teams starting tonight? Well, I mean, I think a lot of physical hockey, you know, I thought the Ottawa-Boston semifinal was a little bit more fast-paced and a little less physical than the Montreal-Minnesota series. But, you know, I expect the physicality to ramp up and it's going to be quick. And both goaltenders, I think it's going to be tough to score.

You know, I see it as a low-scoring series with Anne-Reney-Dabian playing for Montreal and Gwyneth Phillips playing for Ottawa. You know, really close. There's so much parity in our league that I think anyone can win at any time. And, you know, I'm looking forward to getting an opportunity just to watch it. It's going to be great hockey. You take a look at that Montreal series. It's no surprise, right?

The Captain Clutch, Marie Philippe Poulin, puts her team into the finals. No, it's, you know, it's kind of remarkable. You know, you think how many times can she do it over and over, and yet she continues to find a way? You have some experience with this? I mean, you know, so where does that come from? How does a player pull that out of the bag when it's necessary? She just plays with a ton of heart and a ton of care. And, you know, she works so hard and she gets rewarded for it time and time again.

And just a remarkable person and a remarkable leader and, you know, the best player we've ever seen. So it is no surprise, but yet it's amazing how time again she keeps doing it. And, you know, Montreal is going to need her. And everyone knows she's not playing at 100%. But she continues to find a way. she continues to lead her team and she'll definitely be a focus for Ottawa. How would you describe the level of hockey that is going to be on display right now? You know, to be honest with you, Matt, this is the best hockey we've ever seen.

And the players are incredible. They're all of them. You know, you think about the national team players, that's a given. They trained all the time. They were full time all the time. But our club level players, if you will, you know, they're getting an opportunity to train all the time over the last three seasons. And so the caliber of play is the best it's ever been. There's great depth within each organization. And, you know, I think the hybrid body checking

rule that we have is allowed physicality into the game. And I think the players wanted it. And I think the fans appreciate it as well. And I'll be honest with you, it's right up there with a Canada USA final at the Olympics or at a world championship. It's just, it's high level hockey. is going to be great for our fans to watch on television. And the fans want it because this league is expanding. New teams in Detroit, Hamilton, and Vegas. Tell me about that and what that tells you about the strength of this league. Yeah, I mean, Amy Shear, who's our head of business ops,

and Jane Hefford, who's our head of hockey ops. Their teams have done an amazing job, you know, putting this together. Not only do we have the Walter Cup finals going on, but we're also doing expansion. And I wouldn't be surprised if there's one more team to make it an even 12. so, you know, potentially another announcement coming. And, you know, it's sort of shaping up to be an eastern conference and a Western conference and hopefully makes some travel a little bit easier for our players and our staff.

And, you know, it's exciting for me. This has always been a dream. I think for every woman who's ever played the game, we always dreamt of being and playing in a professional league. And now with the Mark Walter group backing and support, we have great infrastructure and over 200 employees, which, you know, when I played, we had one employee and maybe we paid her, you know, it was just, you know, trying to do it all. And so, you know, we just have great business ops and hockey ops in every team and every

organization. And it just continues to get stronger and stronger. And our draft, we have some incredible players that are coming in in the draft, which is going to make, you know, the play even better and better every year. So it's just to me, I pinch myself every day. The fact that, first of all, I get to work for the league. And secondly, that it's happening. and it's growing as rapidly as it is.

And it's no surprise because I think we all believed in it, but, you know, still seeing it live and for the first time and seeing it grow and our marketing, you know, increasing by 35% from season 2 to season 3 and just so many great things happening for the game and the growth of it. Not everybody believed in it, though. And again, when there's expansion, people will say, are you sure that the league can handle this?

Can those markets fill the rinks? What happened to those questions? Are they, have they been truly dispatched, do you think? Well, I think we'll always have those questions. I mean, those are things and questions that women's sports has always faced. And, you know, we just continue to push forward and we continue to believe in ourselves. And, you know, the fact that we're selling out NHL buildings on a regular basis. Madison Square Gardens.

You know, yeah, Madison Square Gardens. These are things that are happening. They're real. And when you have the proper infrastructure and business people behind the scenes and you have the staff and the manpower to make these things happen. Anything can happen. And that's the great thing about working with this league and the staff is everyone's humble. No one cares who gets the credit.

We all just continue to push forward and try and make it work and try to get it better and better every single year. And, you know, I saw the list of areas that, you know, wanted expansion. And it was a long list. And people want a PWHL team. And they see the value in it. They see the business model. in it. And, you know, we continue to put fans in the seats. And, you know, you just watch both crowds for

Montreal and Ottawa in this Walter Cup final. I mean, they're going to be sold out buildings and they're going to be electric. And I think fans that come to our games feel accepted and they have a strong passion for the game. And we continue to build and get new fans like we will in Vegas and continue to grow the game in areas like that. You have a memoir coming out this fall. And it's called Just a girl, which is a phrase that you would have heard, I'm sure, growing up playing hockey. So now, for those girls who are going to pack those rinks to watch this league and watch the final, what's the message to them that they're getting, do you think? Well, that anything is possible, to be honest with you.

You know, I am just a girl from Brampton, Ontario. That's sort of the message. And I've heard, oh, you're just a girl so many times about why I shouldn't have played the game. And so that's sort of the message from the title of my book. But, you know, I think as long as the things that you strive for are healthy and meaningful to you and have the courage to move forward. And I think that's what we've done in women's hockey. And we've been a great example of that over the years and look what we've been able to accomplish.

So, you know, just I think for all the young girls out there want to play in the PWHL, strive to play in the PWHL and play hockey to have fun and try to get. get better every day. And, you know, that's kind of the motto of our league is we just continue to try to get better every single day from a player standpoint to a staff standpoint. And, you know, it's so much fun to watch the little girls building signs and, you know, making signs and just so excited to see their heroes in person, you know, on a regular basis and not just every four years at the Olympics. So, you know, so many things to be proud of for sure. You had an amazing career, but is there a teeny little part of you that wishes there was a time machine where you could play in this league now? Do you know what I mean? Well, Matt, it's like asking,

would you love to be 25 again? And of course, we would all say yes. But, you know, I feel a big part of this. I feel a big part of the movement, my generation and, you know, getting an opportunity to work for the league. And I do a lot of stuff behind the scenes, which makes me even more prouder. I'm not the face. I don't have to be out front and center. And I love just working with our staff. And sure, I'd love to be 25 and continue to play. But if you've seen me play lately, it's really impossible to make any sort of return. So I'm just proud. I'm just proud of our generation and what we push through to, you know, to be able to eventually make this happen. And so many of my teammates deserve that recognition and should be proud every time they turn on the TV and watch a PWHL game.

You're not going to cheer for one specific team? I am not. I am part of our player safety group, So I am not, but I'm cheering for great hockey and all of the athletes are great. So I'm cheering for all of them. And then the staff, you know, Carla McLeod is a former teammate of mine, the coach of Ottawa, and Corey Chevry is a good friend of mine, the coach of Montreal. So, you know, I'm just cheering for great hockey and a good Walter Cup final. There's a long drought for the Stanley Cup here in Canada, as you well know. This is nice that it's two Canadian teams going to be fighting for the Walter Cup.

Cassie, it's great to talk to you. always enjoy the finals. All right. Thanks so much, Matt, for having me. Cassie Campbell, Pascal, Canadian hockey legend, Olympic champion, special advisor to the PWH. This has been the current podcast. You can hear our show Monday to Friday on CBC Radio 1 at 8.30 a.m. at all time zones.

You can also listen online at cbc.ca.ca slash the current or on the CBC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. For more CBC podcast, Go to cBC.ca slash podcasts.