Growing up in Burlington, Emma Maltais played hockey with the boys. There was no option for her to play girls hockey in Burlington, though she soon joined the Oakville Hornets Girls Hockey Association.
From the time she set her sights on the ice, she had one goal – make the national team and represent Canada.
"That was a dream that could potentially become a reality one day," Maltais said. "I think that’s what motivated me, I was also really driven to go to an NCAA division one school."
Maltais has since gone on to captain Ohio State University’s women’s hockey team, win four gold medals with Team Canada – including one at the Olympics – and go beyond to play for a professional women’s hockey league as a member of the Toronto Sceptres in the PWHL.
To celebrate the PWHL’s success in its first season last year, and to kick off the upcoming season, artist Briony Douglas built a four-foot tall, six-foot wide goalie mask made of 127 hockey sticks used by players from each of the inaugural six teams – Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, New York, and Minnesota.
"It has been a long road for women in sports, and I know the PWHL has done so much to get where they are today," Douglas said. "My hope is people will see this art and it will spark a conversation to discuss and empower the Professional Women’s Hockey League."
The sculpture is set to be unveiled at the Eaton Centre in Toronto on Nov. 25 at 5 p.m., with Douglas, Maltais, and fellow Canada and Sceptres player Sarah Nurse.
Douglas has built sculptures for many sports teams in the past, including the Blue Jays and Raptors, as well as the Red Bull F1 team. She said the sculpture’s sponsor, Royale, helped keep the vision for the artwork pure.
"If you’ve seen my other work, you’ll know I’ve worked with a lot of other brands," Douglas said. "One thing I really respected about working with them on this project is that so many brands always want their logo on it, or to tell me how to do things. When they reached out I thought they’d want a sculpture made of toilet paper. But they just want to empower the league and empower these women."
The PWHL season kicks off on Saturday, Nov. 30, with a game between Toronto and Boston at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
The Sceptres played last season at Toronto Metropolitan University, and are moving to Coca-Cola Coliseum – also the home of the Toronto Marlies – for this season.
"It speaks a lot to the success that the league had in year one,” Maltais said. “As a player in Toronto, the fans were incredible. I’m really excited to get to play in Coca-Cola full time."
With the unveiling of the sculpture also only a few days away, Maltais is looking forward to to seeing the crowd reaction to the giant mask.
The sculpture will be unveiled on Nov. 25 at 5 p.m., with Douglas, Maltais, and Sarah Nurse in attendance. The mask will remain on display at the Eaton Centre until Nov. 28.