Toronto Six

The Toronto Six are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Toronto playing out of Canlan Ice Sports – York. They will be the first Canadian team to compete in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) and are the first expansion team to join the league since the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) in 2019. The team was founded in 2020 and the 2020–21 NWHL season will be their inaugural season.

Toronto Six
2020–21 NWHL season
CityToronto, Ontario, Canada
LeagueNational Women's Hockey League
Founded2020
Home arenaCanlan Ice Sports – York
ColoursRed, gold
   
Owner(s)Johanna Neilson Boynton
General managerMandy Cronin
Head coachDigit Murphy
CaptainShiann Darkangelo
MediaTwitch
AffiliatesBrampton Beast (ECHL)
WebsiteOfficial Website

History

Following the 2018–19 season, the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) ceased operations and with it the league's Toronto team, the Toronto Furies, citing the fragmentation of corporate sponsors between the CWHL and National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), which caused their league to be financially infeasible.[1] The NWHL then announced it was pursuing adding two CWHL markets to the league, Montreal and Toronto, for the 2019–20 season if the NWHL found financial backers for the teams.[2] The league was not able to set up the new teams before the start of the season, partially due dealing to a player strike that resulted in the creation of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association.[3]

On April 22, 2020, the new Toronto NWHL franchise was officially announced as the league's sixth team and first original expansion team (the Minnesota Whitecaps joined the league's original four teams after being an independent team).[4] The team's ownership was announced as of a group of Boston-based investors headed by Johanna Neilson Boynton, a former competitor with the Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey program. Margaret "Digit" Murphy, former head coach of the Brown Bears, Boston Blades, and Kunlun Red Star WIH, became team president, while sports executive Tyler Tumminia was announced as the team's chairman. The team simultaneously announced its first five signed players as Kristen Barbara, Elaine Chuli, Shiann Darkangelo, Emma Greco, and Taylor Woods.[5] All five were former players in the CWHL. The team held the first overall pick in the 2020 NWHL Draft, but traded the pick to the Boston Pride. The first player drafted by Toronto was Jaycee Gebhard, an alumna of the Robert Morris Colonials women's ice hockey program, with the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NWHL Draft. The team announced Mandy Cronin, CWHL co-founder and former goaltender of the Buffalo Beauts, as general manager on May 11, 2020.[6]

The team name, colours, and logo were announced by the NWHL on May 19, 2020.[7] The name was chosen from over 300 entries submitted in an online poll and was chosen because the team is the sixth NWHL team founded for the sixth NWHL season, as well as there being six players on the ice. The Six is also a nickname for the city of Toronto, referring to the original cities of Toronto, North York, Scarborough, York and Etobicoke, and the borough of East York.[8] The team colours were revealed as red and gold, the former representing the country of Canada and the latter representing the Golden Horseshoe. The logo is a combination of the letter "T", "O" and the number 6, with a maple leaf in the middle.[9]

On October 1, 2020, the team announced that they had agreed to a partnership with Canlan Ice Sports for the team to play their inaugural season at Canlan Ice Sports – York.[10] On October 13, Tyler Tumminia stepped down as club chairperson to become interim NWHL commissioner.[11] On October 20, the club announced team president Digit Murphy would also be the inaugural head coach.[12]

In January 2021, the team announced a partnership with the ECHL's Brampton Beast with the expectation of holding joint camps, practices, fan events, and double headers together, with Beast general manager Cary Kaplan stating that "We feel that we have a lot in common, as many people have still not appreciated or experienced both the exceptional level of hockey in the ECHL, or the equally strong fan experience that the Beast provide."[13] It was later announced that Beast head coach Spiros Anastas would join the Six during the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach.[14]

Team

2020–21 roster
As of 5 January 2021[15][16]
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
93 Julie Allen F R 33 2021 Brampton, Ontario
20 Kristen Barbara D R 28 2020 Mount Hope, Ontario
19 Brooke Boquist F L 24 2020 Thunder Bay, Ontario
29 Elaine Chuli G L 24 2020 Waterford, Ontario
17 Taytum Clairmont F R 25 2021 Waterloo, Ontario
24 Sarah-Ève Coutu-Godbout F L 23 2020 Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
21 Amy Curlew F L 23 2020 Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador
27 Shiann Darkangelo (C) F L 27 2020 Royal Oak, Michigan
44 Lindsay Eastwood D L 24 2020 Kanata, Ontario
12 Emily Fluke F R 28 2020 Bourne, Massachusetts
13 Mikyla Grant-Mentis F L 22 2020 Brampton, Ontario
25 Emma Greco (A) D L 25 2020 Burlington, Ontario
9 Mackenzie MacNeil F R 25 2020 Richmond Hill, Ontario
22 Natalie Marcuzzi F L 22 2020 Thornhill, Ontario
91 Jenna McParland F R 28 2020 Schreiber, Ontario
23 Megan Quinn D R 24 2021 Belleville, Ontario
34 Samantha Ridgewell G L 26 2020 Outlook, Saskatchewan
6 Sarah Steele D L 25 2020 Stratford, Prince Edward Island
11 Breanne Wilson-Bennett F L 24 2020 Markham, Ontario
67 Emma Woods (A) F R 22 2020 Burford, Ontario
2 Taylor Woods F R 26 2020 Morden, Manitoba

Head coaches

General managers

References
  1. "Final Public Communication" (PDF). CWHL. July 2, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  2. Wawrow, Joe (April 2, 2019). "U.S.-based women's hockey league OKs plan to expand to Canada after CWHL folds | The Star". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  3. National Women's Hockey League (May 30, 2019). "We'll Always Do What's Best for the Game". Our Sports Central (Press release). Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  4. Kaplan, Emily (April 22, 2020). "NWHL adding first Canadian team, in Toronto". ESPN. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  5. Wawrow, John (April 22, 2020). "NWHL's expansion to Toronto gets mixed reviews from women players". CBC Sports. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  6. "NWHL Provides Updates on the GMs for 2020-21". NWHL.zone (Press release). May 11, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. "Introducing…The Toronto Six". NWHL.zone (Press release). May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  8. "Toronto Nicknames & Where They Came From: A Tourist's Guide". Narcity. May 15, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  9. "Toronto NWHL officially announces its name". NWHL.zone (Press release). May 19, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  10. Forno, Mario (October 1, 2020). "Canlan Ice Sports - York to be Home of the Toronto Six". Toronto Six. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  11. Ingemi, Marisa (October 13, 2020). "NWHL changes governance structure, including new Commissioner in Tyler Tumminia". The Ice Garden. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  12. Tokarski, Anne (October 20, 2020). "Digit Murphy named head coach of Toronto Six". The Ice Garden. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  13. "Six and Beast Establish Unique Professional Hockey Alliance". BramptonBeast.com. January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  14. "Beast Head Coach Anastas Given Opportunity to Participate in Lake Placid Bubble". BramptonBeast.com. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  15. "Stats - Toronto". Toronto.nwhl.zone. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  16. "TORONTO SIX ADD 3 SKATERS TO 2021 ROSTER". toronto.nwhl.zone. January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
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