Toronto’s 1-3 start shows best of the best will be tested in the PWHL

Article content

Troy Ryan looks up and down his roster and he knows he has a talented hockey team.

Article content

He knows that for a fact.

Article content

But what he also knows is that through four games his team has played to a 1-3 record and if it wasn’t totally apparent before, talent alone isn’t going to get the job done in the PWHL.

The PWHL is like no other league that any of the women playing in it have ever competed in before. There are no nights off. Six teams, all of them with high-end talent, all of them with depth.

Ryan contrasts that with the level of play a member of his women’s national team would see at a world championship. You have those monster matchups against the U.S., but other opponents down the ladder aren’t going to give you that same level of competition.

Article content

Article content

“Even top players are not used to back-to-back-to-back pretty good opponents,” Ryan said, explaining where his charges have to get to for them to be successful in this league. “Take someone like Brittany Howard. She would be in that exact situation. PHF (Premier Hockey Federation) had a substantial amount of players that aren’t playing in this league. So the time she has here is not the same”

And by time, Ryan is talking about reaction time, time to get a shot off, time to make a move. All of that time is condensed in a league where basically everyone has been the best player on whatever team she has played for.

Howard scored 16 goals in 20 games for the Toronto Six in the PHF last season. And while she has yet to find the back of the net through four PWHL games, Ryan sees that coming.

Article content

“Honestly, I have really liked what she has done (to this point) as well, but there’s a lot going on,” he said. “She is trying to process things and figure out where she fits. Once she gets the hang of it, she’s going to be dangerous.”

Among Howard’s best skills is the speed with which she gets off a shot and the accuracy of it. But through four games there have been precious few chances for her to use it.

Ryan is well aware of that and was tinkering with his power play for a good part of Tuesday’s practice to find her open space where teammates can get her the puck.

The skill set is still there. It’s just going to take some adapting to a higher level of competition than what she faced in the PHF to get that shot off.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Article content

Howard is not alone in that regard. Up and down the Ryan’s lineup, players are learning that what brought them success in previous leagues isn’t necessarily going to cut it in the PWHL.

“I had a video session with Rebecca Leslie,” Ryan said, using another of his forwards as an example. “A great player, great skills. I think she had six shot attempts the last game and all of them were tipped. Someone got their stick on them. A couple of years ago, she would have got those shots off and felt great about her game. But now all she’s thinking about is not getting those shots off.

“The time is not the same. The size of the players is a little bit different. The physicality of the game is a little bit different. So a lot of it is those players need to figure some of that stuff out or they won’t figure it out and then they just won’t play.”

Article content

Ryan’s not making threats. He’s just pointing out the changes that need to be made now that everyone is playing at a higher level. Ryan believes it’s not that much different than a highly skilled American Hockey League player trying to make the jump to the NHL.

“You see a guy in the AHL and he’s dominant and people are asking why isn’t that player getting a shot in the NHL?” Ryan said. “Then they get a shot and they don’t touch the puck. They can’t do it in those (tighter confines.) They aren’t used to that calibre.”

Ryan has seen at least a full period of the kind of play he needs from his team in the four games they have played. He knows they are capable. He just needs to see them do it a little more consistently.

“People don’t realize this, but some top players can play one great game and then have five games where they sort of go through the motions and I just don’t think this league is going to allow for that,” he said.

QUICK HITS

Barring an unforeseen situation arising, Ryan confirmed it was his intention to go back to Kristen Campbell in the Toronto net. Campbell has started every game thus far for Toronto and was pulled after the first period in their last game with her team trailing 3-0 … Samantha Cogan missed her second consecutive practice on Tuesday and appears to be unlikely to play in Wednesday’s game with Boston (7 p.m., Mattamy Athletic Centre.) Defender Olivia Knowles returned to the ice, but was in a red non-contact shirt. She was listed as day to day.

[email protected]

Article content