Czech forward Katerina Mrazova (left) and Finnish defender Ronja Savolainen (right) will return to being teammates with the PWHL's Ottawa Charge after the 2025 Women's Worlds.
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
Ottawa enjoyed the international hockey spotlight during the holidays when it hosted the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. And now the Canadian capital is making its presence felt in a different way here at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Czechia. How so?
Nearly 16 percent of the PWHL players competing at this tournament are Czechs (nine out of an overall total of 57 PWHLers). And more of the host nation’s stars play for the Ottawa Charge than for any other PWHL clubs. That trio includes sniper Tereza Vanisova, workhorse blueliner Aneta Tejralova, and playmaking centre Katerina Mrazova.
That’s not even to mention Carla MacLeod. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and 2009 Women’s Worlds MVP on defence with Team Canada, the 42-year-old now wears two hats as the coach of the Charge and of the Czech women’s national team.
The PWHL has unquestionably increased the intermingling of top players of different nationalities. At these Women's Worlds, Ottawa's Czechs are seeing their pro teammates on opposing national teams over and over.
It was on the mind of star Finnish defender Ronja Savolainen when her blue-and-white squad downed the host Czechs 4-2. She is in her first season with the Charge. The two-time Olympic bronze medalist and six-time SDHL champ with Lulea shared a hug with Mrazova and some kind words in the handshake lineup afterwards.
“I had a lot of Ottawa teammates from the Czech team,” Savolainen said. “It’s hard to play against them. I would like to have them on my team too, but soon I will [again]. But it was nice to get a win over them. They’re so talented and there are other PWHL players on the [Czech] team.”
Canadian veterans Brianne Jenner and Jocelyne Larocque – each of whom owns two Olympic gold medals and four Women’s Worlds titles – were in a similar boat heading into their last round-robin game on Monday versus Czechia.
Without the Charge, Jenner, the 33-year-old MVP of the 2022 Olympic tournament, would only be passingly familiar with Tejralova, the 29-year-old captain of the Czech team. That’s because Canada has only faced Czechia thrice at the Women’s Worlds, posting a 5-1 win in 2023 and wins of 5-0 and 4-0 in 2024. However, the Canadian power forward has developed affection and respect for her 164-cm, 53-kg teammate from Prague.
“She’s a great player, and she’s one of those players that plays a lot bigger than she is,” Jenner said. “She plays a great defensive game, and she’s smart offensively. So you certainly have to kind of try to make her life difficult!”
Similarly, Larocque has a better appreciation of Vanisova’s skills since joining the Charge in a December trade with the Toronto Sceptres. The 29-year-old Strakonice native, whose resume includes a 2023 Women’s Worlds bronze medal as well as three championships in the now-defunct PHF, is contending for the PWHL goal-scoring lead this year with 15 goals. Slick, speedy, and aggressive, Vanisova isn’t easy to shut down either in games or in practices.
“She’s definitely had a great season,” said the 36-year-old Larocque, for many years regarded as one of the top shutdown defenders in women’s hockey. “She’s an offensive threat. So it’s about just making sure to take away her time and space.”
Naturally, Larocque hopes Vanisova creates plenty of time and space for herself six days after these Women’s Worlds end, as the PWHL season resumes with the Montreal Victoire visiting Ottawa on 26 April.
The Charge are in a tight playoff race. With just three regular-season games remaining, they have 39 points, putting them fourth in the PWHL standings with the final playoff berth. They’re just one point back of the Boston Fleet and one ahead of the reigning champion Minnesota Frost.
And thus, the veritable United Nations of talent in that Charge dressing room will need to come together again quickly. If, as a group, they can get on the same page the way Jenner and Mrazova did as one of the PWHL's most dynamic offensive duos in 2023-24, they might be in for some post-season excitement.
Other PWHL clubs, naturally, are experiencing a similar dynamic in Ceske Budejovice with their Finnish and Swiss players battling Canadians and Americans. Going from friends to foes to friends always adds a little spice and subtext to the games as we progress toward the final showdown for the medals.
Nearly 16 percent of the PWHL players competing at this tournament are Czechs (nine out of an overall total of 57 PWHLers). And more of the host nation’s stars play for the Ottawa Charge than for any other PWHL clubs. That trio includes sniper Tereza Vanisova, workhorse blueliner Aneta Tejralova, and playmaking centre Katerina Mrazova.
That’s not even to mention Carla MacLeod. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and 2009 Women’s Worlds MVP on defence with Team Canada, the 42-year-old now wears two hats as the coach of the Charge and of the Czech women’s national team.
The PWHL has unquestionably increased the intermingling of top players of different nationalities. At these Women's Worlds, Ottawa's Czechs are seeing their pro teammates on opposing national teams over and over.
It was on the mind of star Finnish defender Ronja Savolainen when her blue-and-white squad downed the host Czechs 4-2. She is in her first season with the Charge. The two-time Olympic bronze medalist and six-time SDHL champ with Lulea shared a hug with Mrazova and some kind words in the handshake lineup afterwards.
“I had a lot of Ottawa teammates from the Czech team,” Savolainen said. “It’s hard to play against them. I would like to have them on my team too, but soon I will [again]. But it was nice to get a win over them. They’re so talented and there are other PWHL players on the [Czech] team.”
Canadian veterans Brianne Jenner and Jocelyne Larocque – each of whom owns two Olympic gold medals and four Women’s Worlds titles – were in a similar boat heading into their last round-robin game on Monday versus Czechia.
Without the Charge, Jenner, the 33-year-old MVP of the 2022 Olympic tournament, would only be passingly familiar with Tejralova, the 29-year-old captain of the Czech team. That’s because Canada has only faced Czechia thrice at the Women’s Worlds, posting a 5-1 win in 2023 and wins of 5-0 and 4-0 in 2024. However, the Canadian power forward has developed affection and respect for her 164-cm, 53-kg teammate from Prague.
“She’s a great player, and she’s one of those players that plays a lot bigger than she is,” Jenner said. “She plays a great defensive game, and she’s smart offensively. So you certainly have to kind of try to make her life difficult!”
Similarly, Larocque has a better appreciation of Vanisova’s skills since joining the Charge in a December trade with the Toronto Sceptres. The 29-year-old Strakonice native, whose resume includes a 2023 Women’s Worlds bronze medal as well as three championships in the now-defunct PHF, is contending for the PWHL goal-scoring lead this year with 15 goals. Slick, speedy, and aggressive, Vanisova isn’t easy to shut down either in games or in practices.
“She’s definitely had a great season,” said the 36-year-old Larocque, for many years regarded as one of the top shutdown defenders in women’s hockey. “She’s an offensive threat. So it’s about just making sure to take away her time and space.”
Naturally, Larocque hopes Vanisova creates plenty of time and space for herself six days after these Women’s Worlds end, as the PWHL season resumes with the Montreal Victoire visiting Ottawa on 26 April.
The Charge are in a tight playoff race. With just three regular-season games remaining, they have 39 points, putting them fourth in the PWHL standings with the final playoff berth. They’re just one point back of the Boston Fleet and one ahead of the reigning champion Minnesota Frost.
And thus, the veritable United Nations of talent in that Charge dressing room will need to come together again quickly. If, as a group, they can get on the same page the way Jenner and Mrazova did as one of the PWHL's most dynamic offensive duos in 2023-24, they might be in for some post-season excitement.
Other PWHL clubs, naturally, are experiencing a similar dynamic in Ceske Budejovice with their Finnish and Swiss players battling Canadians and Americans. Going from friends to foes to friends always adds a little spice and subtext to the games as we progress toward the final showdown for the medals.