Mellissa Channell (born December 16, 1994) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for

PWHL Minnesota Minnesota are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). History It was revealed on August 29, 2023, that one of the PWHL's first s ...

of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played for the

Toronto Furies The Toronto Furies were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in Toronto, Ontario, as members of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Toronto Furies played their home games at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto. The team was establish ...

of the

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey féminin ‒ LCHF) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league ...

(CWHL). She played

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Early life

Channell was born and raised in Canada before moving to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

to play hockey. She played two years with the Detroit Little Caesars U-16 program, and one year with the Little Caesar's U-19 team that won the state championship her freshman year of high school. She then played for the

Burlington Barracudas The Burlington Barracudas were a professional women's ice hockey team based in Burlington, Ontario. They were one of the founding teams of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) from its inaugural season in 2007 until 2012. The Barracudas� ...

of the

Provincial Women's Hockey League The Provincial Women's Hockey League (or PWHL) is a Junior women's ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada that was founded in 2004. It is considered to be the highest level of junior women's amateur ice hockey in Ontario, and is sanctioned by Hocke ...

for two seasons, where she recorded seven goals and 30 assists in 57 games.

College career

Channell began her collegiate career with the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

during the 2013–14 season. During her freshman year, she appeared in all 38 games and recorded two goals and ten assists. During the 2014–15 season, in her sophomore year, she recorded three goals and 17 assists in 36 games. During the 2015–16 season, in her junior year, she recorded three goals and 12 assists in 37 games. During the 2016–17 season, in her senior year, she recorded three goals and 14 assists in 36 games. On March 17, 2017, during the 2017 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, she scored the game-winning goal with 17 seconds remaining to send Wisconsin to the championship game.

Professional career

Channell was drafted 11th overall by the Connecticut Whale in the

2016 NWHL Draft Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * '' Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film di ...

. After not signing with the Whale, she was drafted 14th overall by the

in the

2018 CWHL Draft The 2018 CWHL Draft, the ninth and final in league history, took place on August 26. It marked the first and only draft Jayna Hefford served as CWHL commissioner. The CWHL indicated that general managers were authorized to "pre-sign" their first an ...

. During the 2018–19 season, she recorded 12 assists in 28 games. She then played four seasons in the

Professional Women's Hockey Players Association The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey. It was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian W ...

(PWHPA). On September 18, 2023, Channell was drafted in the tenth round, 59th overall, by

PWHL Toronto Toronto is a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). History On August 29, 2023, it was announced that Toronto would be home to ...

in the

2023 PWHL draft The 2023 PWHL Draft was the first draft in Professional Women's Hockey League history, and took place on September 18, 2023, at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Taylor Heise was the first pl ...

. After being placed on waivers by Toronto, she signed a one-year contract with

on December 22, 2023. During the 2023–24 season, she recorded two assists in 24 regular season games and five assists in ten playoff games. During game five of the Walter Cup finals against

PWHL Boston Boston are a professional ice hockey team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. They are one of the six charter franchises of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). History It was revealed on August 29, 2023, that one of the PWHL's first si ...

, she recorded three assists in the game to help Minnesota win the inaugural Walter Cup. She became the first PWHL player to record three assists in a postseason game. Her three assists in the game exceeded her regular-season point total.

Personal life

Channell is the daughter of former professional ice hockey player and current scout Craig Channell.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Channell, Mellissa 1994 births Living people Burlington Barracudas players Canadian women's ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Ontario PWHL Minnesota players Toronto Furies players Walter Cup champions Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey players