YORKTON - The Toronto Maple Leafs might be in the midst of the longest Stanley Cup drought in the NHL – it is a very long time since 1967 – but TO does have a championship hockey team.
The Toronto Six won the 2023 Isobel Cup March 26, emblematic of being the top team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
“What a surreal moment for all of us,” Winnipeg-born defenceman Kati Tabin told Yorkton This Week in a recent interview. “It was an absolute grind for the whole playoffs.”
The final was a classic needing extra time before the Six edged the Minnesota Whitecaps 4-3. It was the first victory by a Canadian team – Montreal is the other franchise in Canada having just joined the PHF this season.
Tabin said there is no doubt the dramatic finish added to the emotion of the win.
“Obviously, if we had won 5-0 I don’t think it would feel as good,” she said. “Going into overtime and winning adds to it . . . It was just crazy. It’s still hard to put into words.”
Considering the Six are a fairly new franchise -- the team was founded in 2020 with their inaugural regular season held in Lake Placid, New York due to COVID – the team was still a confident bunch in the final.
“In between (periods) we all had confidence in each other . . . We were all just trying to pump each other’s tire,” said Tabin. “There wasn’t a moment in the game I felt we were going to lose.”
Tabin said it was a case of the Six finding confidence way back at the start of the season, and building on it.
“From day one we built connections,” she said.
Tabin said there was a realization the Six has “this incredible group,” one they felt could “go all the way this year.”
In Tabin’s case it was contributing as best she could as the schedule moved on.
“I just try to help as much as I can every single game,” she said.
While the win was huge for the Six, it was also a big one for the continued development of women’s hockey.
Tabin said to start it’s just great the PHF exists giving women a place to play and get paid, adding that has not always been the case.
When Tabin was five she said, “I never saw a future, a dream of having my NHL.”
The PHF is the dream for young female hockey players today, suggested Tabin, adding she believes the opportunities will continue.
“It’s just going to continue to grow,” she said.
Tabin said things such as having games on TSN and ESPN add profile and put more eyes on the game, which is huge. She said building an audience is a challenge.
“That’s the hardest part, just getting people out,” she said, adding once people attend games they will see a good brand of hockey.
A championship for a Canadian team is another “step in the right direction,” said Tabin, adding it helps the sport and league gain some recognition amid the varied pro sport options in Toronto.
The PHF was established in 2015 with four teams and has since grown to seven: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, Minnesota Whitecaps, Montreal Force and Toronto Six.
