Tereza Vanisova, the University of Maine women’s ice hockey program’s all-time leading scorer, will make her debut for Montreal against Ottawa in the new Professional Women’s Hockey League on Tuesday night at the TD Place Arena in Ottawa.
The six franchises, in addition to Montreal and Ottawa, will be Toronto, New York, Minnesota and Boston.
Vanisova was drafted in the seventh round by Montreal in September. She was the 42nd overall pick. The 27-year-old winger from Strakonice, Czechia, signed a two-year deal with Montreal but financial terms weren’t released. Minimum wage will be $35,000 per year with the maximum salary set at $150,000.
Vanisova played in the Premier Hockey Federation last season, which was bought by the Mark Walter Group and transformed into the six-team Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Vanisova is coming off a season in which she scored the overtime game-winner to give the Toronto Six a 4-3 triumph over the Minnesota Whitecaps in the Isobel Cup championship game last March at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
It was the first time a Canadian franchise had won the Isobel Cup in the Premier Hockey Federation’s eight-year existence.
She became just the second player in the federation’s history to be a part of three Isobel Cup championship teams as she had won two with the Boston Pride. The other is Boston Pride captain Jillian Dempsey, who will again be Vanisova’s teammate with Montreal.
Vanisova notched 129 points in 129 games during her UMaine career. She had 63 goals and 66 assists.
She played for Czechia during the 2022 Winter Olympics and helped her country earn a bronze medal at the World Championships, collecting four assists in seven games. It was the first time Czechia had earned a medal at the World Championships.
She was Czechia’s leading scorer during the Beijing Olympics with six points on two goals and four assists in five games.
Vanisova told Women’s Hockey Life she wanted to stay in Canada and likes her new organization.
“They are very professional and I feel it is going to be a very good year,” said Vanisova, who will be reunited with Toronto Six teammates Elaine Chuli, Katie Tabin and Leah Lum.
“It’s always nice to be on a new team and see some familiar faces. Obviously, we played together last year in Toronto so we know each other and we know what to expect from each other and it’s great,” Vanisova said.
Vanisova is excited about the league and its potential.
“I can finally say I achieved my goal of becoming a professional hockey player and I honestly feel this league is going to be something else,” she said.
Montreal general manager Daniele Sauvageau and head coach Kori Cheverie are happy to have Vanisova on the roster.
“She’s a good skater and she reads the play very well. She’s fast and creative so we wanted to bring that aspect to our team,” Sauvageau said.
Cheverie called Vanisova “very skilled and very creative” and said she has adapted well to the physicality of the North American game.
Each team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League will play 24 regular season games beginning with the New York-Toronto contest on Monday, New Year’s Day. The season will finish in late May-early June and there will be a break for the World Women’s Championships.
The league plans to expand to a 32-game schedule beginning in 2024-25 with games running from November to May followed by the playoffs.
