If anyone knows the ups and downs of women's hockey over the past few years, it's Brittany Howard.
She was named an all-star last season in the Premier Hockey Federation, leading the Toronto Six with 16 goals and 10 assists in 20 games. After the Six won the Isobel Cup in March, the free agent signed weeks later with the Boston Pride.
Then the PHF folded, voiding all the contracts, to make room for the Professional Women's Hockey League. In September, she was drafted by PWHL Toronto. Howard was right back where she started, with her life turned upside down.
“I had actually given up my lease here (in Toronto), so I had to find new living accommodations,” she said about last summer’s back-and-forth between the two cities.
She said she was lucky to take over a sublease at a place occupied by Canadian Olympic gold medallist Jamie Lee Rattray, who was drafted by PWHL Boston.
“Obviously in June and July we were a little upset with the news, but then a few days after that rolled over we were just very excited for this new opportunity and this new league,” Howard said about coming back to Toronto.
“This is only two hours down the road from my hometown of St. Thomas, so being in Toronto is like home, and it was a very special moment to be drafted by Toronto.”
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For Howard, being on the move has become somewhat routine. After a successful college career with Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania — where she was the all-time leading scorer with 181 points in 138 games — she was selected by the Buffalo Beauts in the third round of the 2017 National Women Hockey League draft.
The NWHL, which later became the PHF, operated from 2015 to 2023.
But instead of playing for the Beauts, she chose to join the Toronto Furies of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. When that league collapsed in 2019, Howard spent the next three seasons with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association — founded in the aftermath of the CWHL's dissolution. She then left to play for the Six.
Toronto selected Howard in the eighth round of the PWHL draft mainly because of her offensive prowess. She has one assist in two games heading into Wednesday's road date in Minnesota.
The experience the 28-year-old forward gained over the years from college to the pro leagues will come in handy.
“Last year was a great season, and we had a great team and a very special championship run with the Toronto Six,” she said.
She cited the familiarity she has built with goaltender Carly Jackson, who was her teammate with the Toronto Six, as well as reuniting with former Toronto Furies teammates (including Natalie Spooner, Renata Fast and Sarah Nurse) as part of the reasons she’s excited for this season.
“It’s nice to have familiar faces in the change room this year,” said Howard. “I think each player on this team has a different skillset that they bring, and it’s definitely something that builds the team."
That level of familiarity will be considered as the season progresses and the team's coaching staff tries to find lineups that work best together, said head coach Troy Ryan.
"I think she will be successful whenever she finds little spots on the ice and she's able to get in position where she can release that shot," the coach said after Monday's practice about Howard, who had four shots in Friday's 3-2 win in New York.
"That just takes time, and I think it comes with team chemistry. We're just a couple of games in, and I think she just needs a little time to get comfortable with her linemates and find those spots."
Howard said the historical season opener on New Year's Day marked an important breakthrough for the city, for the game of hockey in general and for women across the country.
“It was such a surreal moment. I’ve played in Toronto the last five years and I think I’ve played like in every professional league in North America, but that was certainly different,” she said about the emotions of playing in the opening game for the league.
“You could feel the excitement in the crowd, a packed house at Mattamy Athletic Centre, just the history of the Maple Leaf Gardens and being able to play there in that inaugural game, that was special. I think myself and my teammates and all the players really acknowledged that and felt the emotions on the ice.”
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