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Ottawa Charge

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Ottawa Charge
Charge d'Ottawa (French)
CityOttawa, Ontario
LeaguePWHL
FoundedAugust 29, 2023 (2023-08-29)
Home arenaTD Place Arena
ColoursRed, gold, white and storm
       
Owner(s)Mark Walter Group
General managerMichael Hirshfeld
Head coachCarla MacLeod
CaptainBrianne Jenner
Websiteottawa.thepwhl.com
Current season

The Ottawa Charge (French: Charge d'Ottawa) are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). They play their home games at TD Place Arena.

History

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Founding and inaugural season

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On August 29, 2023, it was announced that one of the PWHL's first six franchises would be located in Ottawa.[1] Michael Hirshfeld, former executive director of the National Hockey League Coaches' Association, was named the team's general manager, and the Arena at TD Place, its home venue.[2][3] On September 15, Carla MacLeod, a former member of the Canadian national team and the head coach of the Czech women's national team, was named Ottawa's first head coach.[4] Each PWHL team was permitted three signings during the free-agency period, ahead of the 2023 PWHL Draft. Ottawa signed Canadian national team players Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, and Emerance Maschmeyer on September 5, 2023.[5] Each signed a three-year deal lasting through to the 2025–26 season.[6] Next, 15 players were selected in the league's September 18 draft, with Ottawa's first pick being American national team member Savannah Harmon.[7] On October 17, it was announced that Haley Irwin and Cassea Schols would be assistant coaches and Pierre Groulx would be the goaltending coach.[8]

The team colours—and jerseys—were officially revealed on November 14, 2023, as red, dark 'storm' blue, and white.[9]

Ottawa's Hayley Scamurra celebrating a goal in 2024.

Ahead of the start of the inaugural 2023–24 season, Ottawa announced that Jenner would serve as team captain, with Clark and Jincy Roese serving as alternate captains.[10] The first game in franchise history took place on January 2, 2024, when Ottawa hosted PWHL Montreal at the TD Place Arena. The game set a new attendance record for a professional women's hockey game at 8,318.[11] Hayley Scamurra scored the first goal in franchise history to give the hosts a 1–0 lead; however, Montreal would go on to win in overtime with a 3–2 score.[11] Ottawa secured its first win at its second game, a 5–1 win against PWHL Toronto on January 13.[12] Its first win at home came on January 23, also against Toronto.[13] Ottawa would go on to miss the inaugural PWHL playoffs, eliminated from contention with a 5–2 loss against Toronto in the last game of the season.[14] However, despite missing the playoffs, Ottawa led the PWHL in attendance during its inaugural season.[15] Ottawa's finish meant they were awarded the second overall selection in the 2024 PWHL draft.[16]

Team identity

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Uniform worn by PWHL Ottawa in the league's inaugural season
Inaugural logo as PWHL Ottawa

Like all charter PWHL franchises, Ottawa operated without unique branding for the league's inaugural season—the team wore a league-wide jersey template that featured the city's name diagonally on the front, and was known as PWHL Ottawa.[17] The team did have its own colour scheme, featuring red and black. The league registered a trademark in October 2023 for the name Ottawa Alert, seemingly in homage to the early twentieth-century women's "world series" champion Ottawa Alerts.[18] However, Ottawa was ultimately given the name Charge when franchise names were unveiled by the PWHL in September 2024. The name Charge references Ottawa's motto, "Advance—Ottawa—En Avant".[19] The Hockey News reported that other names in contention for Ottawa included Advance—another clear reference to the motto—and Guard.[20] In addition to the Charge name, the league unveiled the team's logo, an in-motion unfinished circle that references "OC" initials; yellow was also added to the team's colour scheme.[19]

Players and personnel

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Current roster

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As of March 22, 2024[21][22][23]
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
30 Germany Sandra Abstreiter G L 26 2023 Freising, Germany
21 Canada Ashton Bell D R 24 2023 Deloraine, Manitoba
3 Canada Zoe Boyd Injured Reserve D L 24 2023 Caledon East, Ontario
24 Canada Emma Buckles D L 25 2024 Toronto, Ontario
26 Canada Emily Clark (A) F L 28 2023 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
27 United States Shiann Darkangelo F L 30 2024 Royal Oak, Michigan
20 United States Sammy Davis F L 27 2024 Pembroke, Massachusetts
25 Canada Kristin Della Rovere Injured Reserve F R 23 2023 Caledon East, Ontario
81 Canada Rosalie Demers F L 24 2024 Blainville, Quebec
94 Hungary Fanni Garát-Gasparics Injured Reserve F R 29 2023 Budapest, Hungary
10 United States Becca Gilmore F R 26 2023 Wayland, Massachusetts
15 United States Savannah Harmon D L 29 2023 Downers Grove, Illinois
17 United States Gabbie Hughes F L 25 2023 Lino Lakes, Minnesota
5 Canada Samantha Isbell F L 26 2024 Thunder Bay, Ontario
19 Canada Brianne Jenner (C) F R 33 2023 Oakville, Ontario
38 Canada Emerance Maschmeyer G L 30 2023 Bruderheim, Alberta
34 Canada Rachel McQuigge G R 26 2023 Bowmanville, Ontario
16 Czech Republic Kateřina Mrázová F L 30 2023 Kolín, Czech and Slovak Federative Republic
71 United States Jincy Roese (A) D L 27 2023 O'Fallon, Missouri
14 United States Hayley Scamurra F L 29 2023 Williamsville, New York
11 Japan Akane Shiga F R 23 2023 Obihiro, Hokkaido
8 United States Natalie Snodgrass F R 25 2023 Eagan, Minnesota
2 Czech Republic Aneta Tejralová D L 28 2023 Prague, Czechia
13 Czech Republic Tereza Vanišová F L 28 2024 Strakonice, Czechia
9 Canada Daryl Watts F L 25 2023 Toronto, Ontario
22 United States Lauren MacInnis D R 26 2023 St. Louis, Missouri

Reserves

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As of March 22, 2024[21][22][23]
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
18 Canada Malia Schneider F R 26 2024 Millarville, Alberta
95 Canada Audrey-Ann Veillette F R 23 2024 Drummondville, Quebec

Team captains

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Head coaches

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First-round draft picks

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Main article: List of Ottawa Charge draft picks

References

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  1. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (August 29, 2023). "Six inaugural franchises revealed for new PWHL". ESPN. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  2. ^ Donkin, Karissa (November 16, 2023). "How PWHL Ottawa was built from scratch in less than 80 days". CBC Sports. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Ottawa's pro women's hockey team to share TD Place Arena with junior 67's". Ottawa Citizen. September 2, 2023. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  4. ^ "Carla MacLeod named head coach of Ottawa's PWHL team". CityNews. September 16, 2023. Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  5. ^ "Jenner, Clark, Maschmeyer become PWHL's first players after signing with Ottawa". Sportsnet. September 5, 2023. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Ian (September 5, 2023). "Jenner, Maschmeyer, Clark Sign With PWHL Ottawa". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Ian (September 18, 2023). "Savannah Harmon Chosen 5th Overall By Ottawa". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  8. ^ Kennedy, Ian (October 17, 2023). "PWHL Ottawa Hires Assistant Coaches, Goalie Coach". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  9. ^ Kennedy, Ian (November 23, 2023). "PWHL Releases Jersey Designs". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Donkin, Karissa (December 29, 2023). "Marie-Philip Poulin, Brianne Jenner named captains of PWHL Montreal, Ottawa". CBC Sports. Archived from the original on December 31, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Brennan, Don (January 2, 2024). "A Night to Remember: Montreal scores OT win in Ottawa's historic PWHL opener". Ottawa Sun. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Ibrahim, Abdulhamid (January 13, 2024). "Ottawa rides fast start, 2 power-play goals to 1st-ever PWHL win". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  13. ^ "Ottawa finally wins PWHL game at home, beats Toronto". TSN. The Canadian Press. January 23, 2024. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  14. ^ Adams, Alex (May 6, 2024). "'It Hurts' - PWHL Ottawa Misses The Playoffs". The Hockey News. Brantford, Ontario: Roustan Media. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  15. ^ Pringle, Josh (May 6, 2024). "Ottawa now a destination for PWHL players following inaugural season, GM says". CTV News Ottawa. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  16. ^ Brennan, Don (May 6, 2024). "Shuffling the deck: PWHL Ottawa to make '7 or 8' player changes after missing playoffs". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  17. ^ Ibrahim, Abdulhamid (January 2, 2024). "PWHL sorting out missing pieces like team names and logos as it goes along". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024. However there are some missing pieces, such as names and logos for the six teams. "I don't, I don't," PWHL advisory board member Stan Kasten said Monday on whether he has a timeline for those key elements to be included.
  18. ^ Steele, Alistair (November 4, 2023). "Ottawa Alert a tribute to women who helped break the ice a century ago". CBC News. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Wawrow, John (September 9, 2024). "PWHL reveals names, logos for all 6 franchises ahead of second season". CBC Sports. The Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  20. ^ Kennedy, Ian (September 9, 2024). "These Were The Final Four Names In Contention For Each Of The PWHL's Six Teams". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Donkin, Karissa (December 12, 2023). "PWHL teams release final 23-player rosters ahead of Jan. 1 season opener". CBC Sports. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "PWHL Ottawa Roster 2024 Regular Season". ThePWHL.com. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  23. ^ a b "Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Roster Updates". March 22, 2024.
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