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Vancouver Goldeneyes training camp live blog
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Photo credit: Lachlan Irvine | CanucksArmy
Lachlan Irvine
Nov 10, 2025, 14:10 ESTUpdated: Nov 14, 2025, 14:29 EST
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Vancouver, BC — Professional women’s hockey has officially arrived in Vancouver, as the PWHL’s Vancouver Goldeneyes host their inaugural training camp this week at the Pacific Coliseum. Here at CanucksArmy, that means bringing a portion of our in-depth coverage to a brand new hockey team, starting with our training camp live blog.
We’ll be updating this blog every day throughout this week, so keep this page bookmarked as we bring you all the biggest stories from Goldeneyes camp!

Day 4

11:30: Practice today involved a lot of offensive zone drills, with some more unconventional tactic. One drill had the defence start lying on the ground, roll over when the whistle blew, and then get into position to defend as the forwards set up. It’s a very neat drill to watch as the players all dash into position.
10:30: We’ve returned to the Duck Pond for one more day of training camp. The initial schedule had the team practicing Friday as well, but they’ve shuffled today to a full team practice before a scrimmage tonight at 5:00 pm.
With every player on the ice except Nina Jobst-Smith (injury), they’ve got a full ice passing drill going through both sides of the ice. Every goal on the final part of the drill, where the attacking skaters set up in the offensive zone, is met with loud stick taps on the boards.

Day 3

12:00: The media got to talk to the players a little earlier today, including Team Canada hopeful forward Hannah Miller. With only ten days between now and the Ducks’ first game against the Torrent, Miller knows that rallying the players together into a team is a big part of the challenge. But she feels they’re well on their way already.
“The off-ice component and the communication is a big part of that. Getting to know people, getting to know how they communicate, chatting on the bench, on the ice, learning tendencies, how players play the game, all of that will be super key,” Miller said. “I think our staff and the girls so far, it’s just a great environment already.”
“I’ve only been here for a few days and I can already say that the environment is great.”
Michelle Karvinen, the team’s top pick from the summer draft, talked about the full circle moment of returning to the city where she played for Finland in the 2010 Olympics.
“My Olympic dream came true here and now my pro dream is coming true as well. So yeah, it’s kind of like a little fairytale, I would say.”
Karvinen was coached for years by her father Heikki, and Michelle isn’t the first of his pupils to end up on a Vancouver pro hockey team. The first was her friend Jannik Hansen, who Michelle has looked to for advice with since arriving.
“He’s been helping me out a bit and just trying to navigate everything here, so it’s definitely been nice to have someone you know being here,” Karvinen said.
“Obviously, seeing Jannik’s career here, it’s been amazing. Also, being able to go here is pretty cool because Denmark is a very small country and also very, very small when it comes to hockey. So being from the same town and being in Vancouver, both of us, it’s pretty cool.”
11:00: The second group is out on the ice, running the same drills as the earlier ice time.
10:30: The first group’s practice is over, we’ll get a Zamboni clean before the next group comes out. But not before Kristen Campbell and Kim Newell end their day on the ice by working with goalie coach Joey Ali on playing the puck.
10:20: The forwards and defense have been split up into separate groups, with the forwards working on passing in the offensive zone, and defenders working on moving screens in front of the goaltender.
10:00: The neutral zone drills have given way to 3-on-1s, as the team works on their ability to finish with numbers. Meanwhile you can hear Kristen Campbell talking to her defenders from the press box, making sure they’re aware of passing lanes and players open.
9:30: Back at the Pacific Coliseum as we reach the halfway point of Goldeneyes camp. The first group of skaters are kicking things off with a back and forth passing drill in the neutral zone that ends with a shot off the wing at one of the goalies.

Day 3 begins at the Coliseum with a passing drill. #Goldeneyes

— Lachlan Irvine (@lachinthecrease.com) 2025-11-12T17:39:49.161Z

Day 2

1:00 Wrapping things up from Day 2 at the Coliseum, but we’ll back again tomorrow with even more coverage as the team continues to take shape ahead of their preseason tilts with the Seattle Torrent.
12:30: Media spoke to two players today, both former Minnesota Frost players: Sophie Jaques and Michela Cava.
Jaques arrived late Sunday after the Rivalry Series games and has been getting her bearings this week, but is excited to be playing and living in a city like Vancouver. “I always grew up like learning about Vancouver, and I knew that deep down I kind of wanted to live out there someday. So I think once the cities got announced, and Vancouver was one of them, it was like I kind of wanted to jump on that opportunity to get to come out here.”
Cava, along with Jaques, brought two Walter Cups to the Frost and has the experience of being a champion in this league. “It definitely comes down to how you perform at the end,” Cava said. “You go through a lot of up and downs throughout that time, and you just got to be able to stick together as a group and find ways to win, and we can bring that that culture here.”
Cava also talked about the energy for the team around Vancouver and playing in the Pacific Coliseum. “It seems like we’re going to have great attendance and great fans in the building,” Cava said. I think it’s crazy where this league has gone with having fans watching the games and it’s always fun to have a loud Barn.
“I’m hoping our fans can come and show the support and be there for us, and we could put on some good hockey for them.”
12:00: We’ve reached the neutral zone scrimmage again. So much of this drill is being able to work within a smaller amount of space on the ice, and the creative ways the players find to open it up. Goalies have to be on their toes as well, with so little space between both nets.
We’ll be heading to conduct interviews shortly.
11:30: We’re seeing the same drills from the earlier groups, with a big emphasis on odd man rushes. Both teams are working on transitions through the neutral zone and creating space in the offensive zone, with the expectation of having the speed to chase and track down the puck carrier.
11:10: The second skate is beginning with a smaller group than the previous ones. Among those on the ice are Michaela Cava, Sophie Jaques, and Brooke McQuigge. Emerance Maschmeyer is in goal at one end as well.
Once again, Sarah Nurse and Nina Jobst-Smith will not skate with the two groups due to injury.
10:30: The first skate is over, and Team Blue had to skate a few laps after losing the blue line to blue line scrimmage. Kristen Campbell stayed out for a bit after the scrimmage to run some drills with Joey Ali before the Zamboni hit the ice.
10:00: The drills Brian Idalski is putting his players through today are heavy on rushes and quick skating. Players will start a 1-on-1 at one end, and when the whistle blows, skate hard to the other to catch up to a new one starting, until each side has three players.
9:30: Group 1 has hit the ice, and we’re starting with a mixture of players from both groups doing 1-on-1 zone entries and 2-on-1 odd-man rushes.
The players have jersey numbers today, corresponding with their assigned group. That caused a little confusion in press row at first due to some duplicates, like when Izzy Daniel and Sydney Bard went head in head both wearing #5 sweaters.
So far we’ve seen some early defender combos forming. Bard and Madison Clough have taken quite a few turns as a pair in drills, as have Claire Thompson and Karley Garcia.
9:10 am: We’re back at the Pond on Renfrew for Day 2 of Goldeneyes camp.
Today we’re expecting the players to be split up into two practice groups based on jersey colours for the first time, with the Cream team will be on the ice first at 9:30, followed by the Blue team at 11:05.
Notable players skating in first group include North Vancouver native Hannah Miller, Claire Thompson and Tereza Vanišová.

Day 1

12:10: The first scrums are underway, with Claire Thompson was the first to speak today. Thompson is fresh off her rookie season with the Minnesota Frost, where she won the Walter Cup. But Goldeneyes GM Cara Morey, Thompson’s former coach at Princeton, was a big reason she was drawn to sign in Vancouver.
“We’ve been chatting a lot in the off season. I’m really excited,” Thompson said of her experience with Morey. “I had four wonderful years with her at Princeton, and we have a great relationship, and I’m excited to build something special here with her.”
Jenn Gardiner is a native of Surrey, coming off two seasons in Montreal with the Victoire. She was incredibly happy about getting to wear her hometown on her sweater for the first time.
“I haven’t stopped smiling since I signed in Vancouver,” Gardiner said. “Today was very surreal to actually get to put on our logo, to put on our jersey today, and skating out and being the first female hockey team here in Vancouver to skate onto the Pacific Coliseum with our logo at center. There’s no feeling to describe it, it’s home.”
“I can’t wait to see it packed with fans and just so many friends and family as well.”
12:00 pm: The first practice of the week has ended, and the players are doing their off-ice training in the same meeting space that will become the media room next week. As players file into the room, so too will a lot of the players we’ll be talking to today including Claire Thompson and Jenn Gardiner.
11:45: Today’s practice ended in the defensive zone, with a net on either end for small ice scrimmage. One thing to notice about these players is that even though a lot of them are just getting to know each other on the ice, the skate isn’t all fun and games. Serious coaching is being done by Brian Idalski and his assistants, even stopping up drills to reset and talk.
One important update is Sarah Nurse did not skate today due to travel issues getting into Vancouver from the Rivalry Series games this weekend. Nina Jobst-Smith also did not skate and was in a walking boot.
My live blog was a little all over the place today, as it’s Day 1 of an expansion team for us in the press just as much as it is for the players. We’ve gotten a walkthrough of the building, including all the press areas and in a few moments we’ll be talking to the first sets of Goldeneyes players. I’ll be posting key quotes throughout the week on here, but longer features will be going up on a separate Substack which I’ll be posting a link to later today, so keep your eyes peeled!
11:15: The Goldeneyes players have been split up into two groups and are playing keep away drill, where four players stand at the corners of the neutral zone and players in the middle have to try to break the play up. If the team in the middle can’t interrupt the pass, another player gets added in until they do.
On the other side the goaltenders were having their drills with goalie coach Joey Ali, running them through the basic moves across the net with a shot at the end.
11:00: The players have hit the ice as one big group today, a change from the originally scheduled two skate plan, so a shorter day plan.
No names or numbers on the backs of the practice jerseys is making things a little hard to tell who is who, but I can tell you that the national team players have arrived after playing in the Canada-USA Rivalry Series this week. The media will be talking with a few of them, including Sarah Nurse, Jenn Gardiner and Emerance Maschmeyer later this afternoon.
The coaches have started by putting the players and goalies at separate ends, with drills running for the netminders at the east end of the rink while head coach Brian Idalski runs skater drills.
10:30 AM: We were officially underway at the Pacific Coliseum.
Today has been a mixture of announcements, both for the arena and the team. First, PNE President and CEO Shelley Frost showed the media the Coliseum’s assortment of new food offerings for Goldeneyes games, including charcuterie boxes, Black Forest cake in a jar, gourmet sausage rolls, and the undoubtedly crowd-pleasing $5 draft beer and wine.
Then, Frost unveiled the arena’s $6 million in upgrades, with the crown jewel being the Coliseum’s new Samsung video board. Frost said the PNE was waiting to make any major renovations until a new tenant for the building came in, and the PWHL expansion presented that opportunity. The board isn’t the most technologically advanced, featuring a simple four-screen and bottom ring design, but it is a massive upgrade from the previous board used by the Vancouver Giants in the 2010s.
After Frost, up stepped Goldeneyes president of Director of Business Operations Tania Richards, to reveal the brand new logo at centre ice. This is a first for any team in the PWHL, having an arena to themselves and the ability to put the giant Goldeneye and sponsors on the ice and dasher boards. For anyone who’s spent a day in this rink before, be it for a Canucks or Giants game, let me tell you: the ice (and the arena) is sparkling.
The players have now hopped on the ice, and the real work begins. Stay tuned for updates throughout the day!

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