The Toronto Six is a professional women's
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 h ...
team based in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anc ...
playing out of
Canlan Ice Sports – York. They are one of two Canadian teams in the
Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) (formerly known as the National Women's Hockey League) along with the
Montreal Force, and the first
expansion team
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
to join the league since the collapse 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) in 2019. The team was founded in 2020 with their
inaugural regular season held in
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303.
The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh ...
, followed by the
Isobel Cup playoffs in
Brighton, Massachusetts
Brighton is a former town and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of Brighton. Initially Brighton was part of Cambridge, and known as ...
.
History
Following the 2018–19 season, 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) 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.
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. 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.
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). 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
The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share th ...
,
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
Elaine Monica Chuli (born May 16, 1994) is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender, currently playing with the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). She played college ice hockey with ...
,
Shiann Darkangelo,
Emma Greco, and
Taylor Woods
Taylor Cassidy Woods (born September 26, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and strongwoman, currently playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Toronto Six. A defenceman who has also played as a two-way forward, ...
. 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. It was also the first trade in franchise history. 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
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near ...
of the
Buffalo Beauts, as general manager on May 11, 2020.
The team name, colours, and logo were announced by the NWHL on May 19, 2020. 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 city's
416 area code, as well as the current municipality's original cities of
Old Toronto
Old Toronto is that part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that corresponds to the original City of Toronto which existed from 1834 to 1998. It was first incorporated as a city in 1834, after being known as the town of York, and being part of York Co ...
,
North York
North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a pop ...
,
Scarborough,
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as ...
and
Etobicoke
Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipal ...
plus the borough of
East York
East York is a former administrative district and municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a semi-autonomous borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toro ...
. The team colours were revealed as red and gold, the former representing the country of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...
and the latter representing the
Golden Horseshoe
The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The ...
. The logo is a combination of the letter "T", "O" and the number 6, with a maple leaf in the middle.
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. On October 13, Tyler Tumminia stepped down as club chairperson to become interim NWHL commissioner. On October 20, the club announced team president Digit Murphy would also be the inaugural head coach.
In January 2021, the team announced a partnership with the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
Th ...
's
Brampton Beast
The Brampton Beast were a professional ice hockey team based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The team originally played in the Central Hockey League for one year during the 2013–14 season prior to the league's folding before joining the ECHL ...
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." The Beast's head coach Spiros Anastas then joined the Six during the 2020–21 season as an assistant coach while the Beast were inactive due to the pandemic. However, the Beast ceased operations entirely in February 2021.
Inaugural season
Due to the ongoing restrictions during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the Six started their
inaugural season in a bubble with the rest of the league in
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303.
The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh ...
, in January 2021. The leadership for the inaugural season included
Shiann Darkangelo appointed as the first team captain in franchise history, while Emma Woods and Emma Greco served as alternate captains. The Six played their first game on January 23 against the
Metropolitan Riveters, losing by 3–0. The following day,
Lindsay Eastwood scored the first goal in franchise history via a power play in an eventual 6–5 shootout loss to the
Minnesota Whitecaps with assists credited to Emma Woods and Shiann Darkangelo.
Breanne Wilson-Bennett scored twice in the game, recording the first multi-goal game by a player for the team. Other Six players to score versus Minnesota included
Mikyla Grant-Mentis and
Taylor Woods
Taylor Cassidy Woods (born September 26, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and strongwoman, currently playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Toronto Six. A defenceman who has also played as a two-way forward, ...
. The Six earned their first win on January 26, 2021, with a 2–1 victory over the
Boston Pride. The Six came back from a 1–0 deficit with a pair of third period goals by
Brooke Boquist
Brooke Boquist (born July 27, 1996) is a Canadian ice hockey forward, currently playing with the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
Playing career
Across 139 NCAA Division I games with the Providence Friars of Hockey East, ...
and Mikyla Grant-Mentis, whose goal stood as the game-winner. Boquist was named the First Star of the game, while Elaine Chuli recorded 24 saves in the win.
The Six went on to win their three remaining games to clinch the top seed for the
Isobel Cup playoffs. On February 3, 2021, the season was suspended due to positive cases of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
within the bubble. On March 8, 2021, the league announced that the
Isobel Cup playoffs would be held March 26–27 at
Warrior Ice Arena in
Brighton, Massachusetts
Brighton is a former town and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of Brighton. Initially Brighton was part of Cambridge, and known as ...
.
The Six lost their semifinal game to the fourth-seed and eventual champion
Boston Pride 6–2.
Following their inaugural season, assistant coach
Lisa Haley, who had also coached in Toronto as head coach for the
Ryerson Rams women's ice hockey program, was appointed as the league's senior vice president of hockey operations. Six forward
Mikyla Grant-Mentis became the most decorated player in a single NWHL season, Grant-Mentis earned a record four accolades. She won the NWHL's Most Valuable Player award, the first Black player to win the league's MVP, tied as the leading scorer in the league, and captured the league's Newcomer of the Year award.
Transition in second season
In May 2021, the owners of the Six also bought the
Metropolitan Riveters as part of the league's push to have all teams be independently owned. In September 2021, the league rebranded as the
Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) to promote inclusivity.
On June 7, 2021, Mark Joslin, previously head coach of the
Ontario Junior Hockey League
The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best d ...
's
Toronto Patriots, was hired to replace Digit Murphy as head coach, becoming the first black head coach in NWHL history. Murphy retained her position as team president. The Six added Hockey Hall of Fame member
Angela James to their coaching staff on June 24. At the end of June, Krysti Clarke, previously the manager of operations with York United FC of
Canadian Premier League
The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; french: Première ligue canadienne, links=no) is a professional men's soccer league in Canada. At the top of the Canadian soccer league system, it is the country's primary national soccer league compe ...
soccer, replaced
Mandy Cronin as general manager. With five picks among the top ten in the
2021 NWHL Draft, three of the picks were in the first round. Picking third overall, the Six selected Maegan Beres from Boston College, followed by Tatum Skaggs fourth overall, and
York Lions skater Taylor Davison with the fifth pick, marking the second straight season that the Six have drafted a player from a
U Sports women's ice hockey program. In addition, Davison made U Sports history, becoming the highest drafted player from the league.
Towards the end of the
2021–22 season, the team was sold to a new ownership group including
Anthony Stewart,
Angela James,
Bernice Carnegie, and
Ted Nolan.
Transition in third season
On May 31, 2022, co-owner
Angela James was promoted from assistant coach to General Manager of the Six. Additionally,
Digit Murphy would be leaving her post as the Six's Team President & Director of Player Personnel to join the
Metropolitan Riveters as their new Team President, but would "maintain involvement, advising on the logistics of the team" while "transitioning from her role as President." On June 14, 2022, the Six announced the hiring of
Geraldine Heaney as their third head coach in franchise history. On September 27, 2022,
Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then wa ...
reported that
Sami Jo Small joined the leadership as team president.
Season-by-season records
Team
Current roster
Coaching staff and team personnel
* Head coach:
Geraldine Heaney
* Assistant coach: Kevin Greco
* Assistant coach: Jessica Turi
* Goaltending coach: Nick Grainger
* Head athletic therapist: Cam Borody
* Equipment manager: Kris Franzoi
Front office
* President:
Sami Jo Small
* General manager:
Angela James
Captains
*
Shiann Darkangelo,
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
–present
Head coaches
*
Digit Murphy, 2020–2021
*Mark Joslin, 2021–2022
*
Geraldine Heaney, 2022–present
General managers
*
Mandy Cronin, 2020–2021
* Krysti Clarke, 2021–2022
*
Angela James, 2022–present
Franchise milestones and statistics leaders
Awards and honors
*
Mikyla Grant-Mentis: 2021 Most Valuable Player, 2021 Newcomer of the Year, 2021 Foundation Award, 2021 Fans' Three Stars
References
External links
Official website
{{Ontario Sports
Toronto Six
Premier Hockey Federation teams
Ice hockey teams in Ontario
Ice hockey clubs established in 2020
Women's ice hockey teams in Canada
2020 establishments in Ontario
Ice hockey teams in Toronto