In a league of their own

It’s on to the next challenge for Sarah Nurse.

The 2018 Olympic silver medallist went second overall to the Toronto Furies in the 2018 CWHL Draft, opening the book on her professional career after a successful four-year run at the University of Wisconsin.

The Hamilton, Ont., native has been no stranger to the red and white of Team Canada, wearing her country’s colours in 46 games across all three levels of the national women’s program – Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 Team, Canada’s National Women’s Development Team and Canada’s National Women’s Team.

Her international career includes gold at the 2013 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship and 2014 Nations Cup, and silver at the 4 Nations Cup in 2015 and 2017, at the 2017 Nations Cup and in PyeongChang.

But Nurse was far from the only Team Canada alumna to have her name called on draft day. When it was all over, 14 players with Team Canada experience – including five of the six first-round picks – had joined a CWHL roster.

The list includes Halli Krzyzaniak, a two-time U18 world champion and three-time member of the Canadian contingent at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, and Rebecca Leslie, who wore the ‘C’ with Canada’s National Women’s Development Team at the 2018 Nations Cup.

Four other draftees have also worn letters for Canada: Victoria Bach (alternate captain), Krzyzaniak (captain and alternate captain) and Nurse (alternate captain) with the development team, and Krzyzaniak (alternate captain) and Hannah Miller (alternate captain) with the under-18 side.

All told, 10 players have won a U18 world title (Bach, Geneviève Bannon, Catherine Daoust, Krzyzaniak, Leslie, Miller, Eden Murray, Kimberly Newell, Nurse and Shea Tiley), five have won gold with the development team (Bach, Mellissa Channell, Krzyzaniak, Leslie and Nurse) and one has helped the senior team top the podium (Krzyzaniak). Combined, they’ve brought home 18 gold medals.

Team Canada alumnae selected in the 2018 CWHL Draft included:

1st Round
2. Toronto – Sarah Nurse
WU18: 2012-13 – 7GP 1G 0A 1P
NWDT: 2014-17 – 21GP 7G 12A 19P
NWT: 2015-18 – 18GP 4G 1A 5P

3. Markham – Victoria Bach
WU18: 2013-14 – 8GP 5G 3A 8P
NWDT: 2014-18 – 30GP 15G 17A 32P

4. Calgary – Halli Krzyzaniak
WU18: 2011-13 – 18GP 3G 9A 12P
NWDT: 2014-17 – 15GP 0G 3A 3P
NWT: 2014-17 – 34GP 3G 6A 9P

5. Shenzhen – Kimberly Newell
WU18: 2012-13 – 6GP 1.65GAA 1SO 6-0-0

6. Toronto – Shea Tiley
WU18: 2013-14 – 7GP 0.99GAA 2SO 4-1-0
NWDT: 2016 – 2GP 0.00GAA 0SO 1-0-0

8. Toronto – Brittany Howard
NWDT: 2018 – 1GP 5G 1A 6P

2nd Round
10. Calgary – Rebecca Leslie
WU18: 2013-14 – 8GP 2G 6A 8P
NWDT: 2015-18 – 19GP 5G 8A 13P

12. Montreal – Geneviève Bannon
WU18: 2012-13 – 10GP 1G 3A 4P

3rd Round
14. Toronto – Mellissa Channell
WU18: 2011 – 3GP 0G 0A 0P
NWDT: 2012-16 – 19GP 1G 5A 6P

15. Shenzhen – Hannah Miller
WU18: 2012-14 – 18GP 6G 4A 10P
NWDT: 2017-18 – 6GP 1G 5A 6P

5th Round
26. Markham – Gina Repaci
WU18: 2010-11 – 8GP 1G 1A 2P
NWDT: 2014 – 3GP 0G 0A 0P

28. Montreal – Catherine Daoust
WU18: 2012-13 – 10GP 1G 3A 4P

8th Round
42. Calgary – Eden Murray
WU18: 2012-13 – 10GP 1G 2A 3P
NWDT: 2016 – 1GP 0G 0A 0P

9th Round
48. Montreal – Olivia Atkinson
NWDT: 2017 – 2GP 0G 1A 1P