Purple Reign

Nearly a week on from our new champions being crowned you join us on an unbearable Bank Holiday weather where I had to strip off multiple times throughout the show to cool off as we celebrate the Montreal Victoire's achievementThis felt like years in the making as Montreal has had the tools since day 1 but never found a way until now to bring them together in the Walter Cup Playoffs as star netminding and an almighty penalty kill were two big factors to winning the cup

Now that the 2026/27 PWHL Expansion class is complete we recap each of the four markets that were chosen to enter the league and for one market in particular I get very emotional We can't wait to welcome Detroit, Las Vegas, Hamilton and San Jose to the Professional Women's Hockey League this Fall

Normally Eurovision Week is a highlight of my year as it is full of joy and love and the only time I as a british citizen get to listen to songs in other languagesBut the Gaza Conflict has poisoned the contest that I once held dear and because of my position on Israel I had to boycott the 70th edition in Vienna This boycott was not easy especially earlier in the week with the Semis but thankfully I was able to get through the Grand Final as Game 2 of this year's Walter Cup Finals was happening at the same timeAt the end we will have a look at the Grand Final Recap and the Winner's Reprise of Bangaranga by Dara for Bulgaria

While we're still not happy to see Las Vegas enter the league that doesn't stop us for being happy about their choice for their new general managerClearly Las Vegas has hired someone who knows not just the business side of things but also how to successfully market a product

More than a week after they were announced to be joining the league PWHL Detroit wasted no time in hiring a womens hockey legend as their geeneral managerBut what's interesting is her connection to the Los Angeles Kings who of course are supported by my fellow Purple Trio members Pluto & Lady who are taken aback by the announcement

I am beyond over the moon that my NHL hometown of San Jose has been chosen as the 12th team and final expansion market for this round as the Bay Area begins a brand new era at The TankSan Jose wasn't seen as a contender for expansion to begin with and I definitely did not see it coming hence why I spent the entire day as an emotional wreck All that's left to say is a huge welcome to PWHL San Jose and for to work out how to do Minneapolis & San Jose in the same trip

The all star weekend isn't what it used to be over in the NHL but you do wonder what might happen if the PWHL wanted to do one especially as we have room in our schedules to do itThe Purple Trio are split as to whether or not we should have a PWHL All Star Weekend as we debate the matter for ourselves and state our cases

While there hasn't been any talks about taking the PWHL outdoors that doesn't stop the Purple Trio from entertaining the idea of a potential futre outdoor gameI personally think we should follow the Heritage Classic route and schedule one every few years to avoid the novelty wearing off as it has done so in the NHL

Following on from our last episode we pick up from the breaking story from Czechia as Carla's replacement has been confirmed as fellow PWHL coach Brian IdalskiIt's interesting move given where Czechia are right now but he has got form as he was with China's national team when they hosted the Winter Olympics and he has plenty of experience coaching women's hockey

Some unexpected news on the iyernational scene as Carla MacLeod will not be returning as the coach of Czechia's national women's team with immediate effectThis is an absolute shock and I'm left speechless as Carla totally transformed Czechia into a nation who could be seen as a potential medals contender