2023 PHF All-Star Game: Stars to watch, what to know about the new format
The Premier Hockey Federation is putting pride on the line at its upcoming All-Star weekend. National pride, that is.
The PHF was inspired by its expanding global reach to create a whole new All-Star game format, featuring three teams made up of American, Canadian and international players selected from across the PHF’s seven teams.
Quick history lesson: The PHF began in 2015-16 as the National Women’s Hockey League with four clubs: The Metropolitan Riveters, Connecticut Whale, Boston Pride and Buffalo Beauts. The league expanded in 2018-19 when the Minnesota Whitecaps joined, soon to be followed by the Toronto Six in 2020-21 and the Montreal Force in 2022-23.
Back to this season: The PHF’s All-Star main event takes place on Sunday, January 29th at 7 p.m. ET in Toronto, and will be broadcast live across the U.S. on ESPN2 and in Canada on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN app.
“This is the best women’s hockey league in the world. If you want to watch some of the top players [for the first time], this is where you can do it,” Sami Jo Small, president of the Toronto Six, told ESPN recently. “The buzz around the PHF is really exciting and super positive, for not just women’s hockey, but women’s sport in general.”
Get ready for the PHF’s All-Star showcase with all the news, notes and names to know:
Format first: Three teams, one champion
Fun fact: The PHF planned to host its 2022 All-Star Game in Toronto.
A surge in COVID-19 cases — and restrictions — ultimately made that impossible. So, the league pivoted to holding its event last January in Buffalo. That was the PHF’s first crack at a three-team pattern too, with designated captains virtually drafting players from around the league to make for a best-on-best battle.
One year later, the PHF is taking that standard up a notch.
The league represents more players from around the world than ever before. Highlighting that depth was the impetus behind this season’s All-Star game formula, with 45 players — 15 per squad — pitted against one another by country. The All-Star game itself will be a four-on-four affair opening in round-robin contests, followed by a championship matchup.
Team Canada and Team USA square off first. That winner will play Team World in the second game; the losing side will face Team World in a third and final round-robin contest. The games will be two seven-minute periods of set time, with a one-round shootout happening between periods where either side can add bonus goals. The title game will feature the top two teams following the three-game round-robin.
“I think [the format] will create some new and exciting rivalries, but also allow the players to meet [people] from other teams and to just create some bonds that go beyond perhaps just on the ice,” Small said. “These women toil away on their own [PHF] teams and nobody else really knows what they go through except for their fellow hockey players at this level.”
Connecting with new — and familiar — faces is a major incentive for the players as well. Some of those selected might be wearing their country’s colors for the first time. Others have been on the international stage before. But most participants will agree: This new configuration adds serious spice to the All-Star weekend.
“I think it’s cool,” Metropolitan Riveters forward and Team USA selectee Madison Packer, making a record sixth All-Star game appearance, told ESPN. “I know players have already been talking on our team. A lot of us played together on other teams growing up so it’s fun to reconnect with some of those players. I think the grouping together of peoples’ countries and having the [international] team that brings together the dynamic of a lot of [different] players. It’s infusing an element to make it fun, and I think that there’s a lot of pride associated with it too.”
Break it down: Roster construction
The PHF All-Star game will highlight a solid mix of rookie and veteran talents.
Boston and the Metropolitan lead with nine selections reaching All-Star ranks. Toronto is sending eight players, Connecticut has six, Minnesota has five, and four each will come from Buffalo and Montreal.
Of the 45 players picked, 24 are PHF newcomers and 17 hold previous All-Star experience.
Further, 25 of the 45 chosen have senior national team credits on their resume. That includes all 15 members of the international group, boasting players from Austria, China, Czechia, Finland, Hungary and Sweden.
“The talent level is enormous within the PHF,” Small said. “There’s so many new players in the league, not just from North America, but really from all over the world. I think that really makes a statement about the PHF being a league where the top players who want to play and hone their skills and make a living can do that.”
Those picked to play in the All-Star game also got to vote on team captains. Packer will wear the “C” for Team USA, Boston’s Kaleigh Fratkin is leading Team Canada and Connecticut’s Kateřina Mrázová was selected to captain Team World.
In a news release, Packer pointed out that she and Jillian Dempsey tied in votes twice when teammates cast their ballots. Ultimately, Dempsey turned the captaincy over to Packer so she could “enjoy this one with my kiddos.”
Here’s the breakdown of players by country (including their PHF club):
Team Canada
Kelly Babstock (MET), Ann-Sophie Bettez (MON), Sarah Bujold (MET), Catherine Daoust (MON), Jade Downie-Landry (MON), Kaleigh Fratkin (BOS), Loren Gabel (BOS), Élizabeth Giguère (BOS), Mikyla Grant-Mentis (BUF), Brittany Howard (TOR), Kennedy Marchment (CTW), Corinne Schroeder (BOS) Kati Tabin (TOR), Saroya Tinker (TOR), Emma Woods (TOR)
Team USA
Jonna Albers (MIN), Sydney Brodt (MIN), Shiann Darkangelo (TOR), Jillian Dempsey (BOS), Kali Flanagan (BOS), Taylor Girard (CTW), Abbie Ives (CTW), Dominique Kremer (BUF), Patti Marshall (MIN), Sidney Morin (MIN), Madison Packer (MET), Amanda Pelkey (MET), Natalie Snodgrass (MIN), Allie Thunstrom (BOS), Olivia Zafuto (BOS)
Team World
Taylor Baker (MON/HUN), Ebba Berglund (MET/SWE), Fanni Gasparics (MET/HUN), Anna Kilponen (MET/FIN), Denisa Křížová (MIN/CZE), Dominika Lásková (TOR/CZE), Leah Lum (TOR/CHN), Eveliina Mäkinen (MET/FIN) Antonia Matzka (BUF/AUT), Kateřina Mrázová (CTW/CZE), Emma Nuutinen (BUF/FIN), Lenka Serdar (CTW/CZE), Aneta Tejralová (BOS/CZE), Minttu Tuominen (MET/FIN), Tereza Vanišová (TOR/CZE)
Spill on stars: Who to watch
These games will be jam-packed with star power. Keep your head on a swivel.
Let’s start with the rookies.
Boston’s Loren Gabel and Toronto’s Brittany Howard not only spotlight this year’s All-Star freshmen class but pace the PHF in scoring this season. Gabel is tied with Howard for most goals (14) and sits first in points (24) for the league-leading Pride. Howard is right behind Gabel with 22 points for the second-place Six.
Those two, playing together for Team Canada? Epic.
Tossing in some previous international experience (and winning pedigree) for Canada will be Montreal’s Ann-Sophie Bettez (15 points in 13 games), who earned an IIHF World Championship bronze with Team Canada in 2019.
Meanwhile, Gabel’s teammate with the Pride — five-time All-Star Dempsey — will be wearing the red, white and blue of Team USA. Dempsey’s having another great campaign in the PHF with a league-leading four game-winning goals, and sitting third in points (18).
Another Team USA standout is bound to be Connecticut’s Taylor Girard (16 points in 13 games). Packer, for one, can’t wait to share the ice with her.
“I think Taylor’s arguably the best player in the league this year,” Packer said. “She’s incredibly talented, humble and I’m super excited to see her shine in an All-Star environment because I think people will gain an even greater appreciation for just how talented and special she truly is.”
The USA crew also holds three 2018 Olympic gold medalists in Boston’s Kali Flanagan, Minnesota’s Sidney Morin, and the Riveters’ Amanda Pelkey. Suffice it to say, the Americans will have talent to spare.
Ditto the international crew.
Minnesota’s Denisa Křížová (six points in 14 games), Toronto’s Dominika Lásková (five points in 13 games), Connecticut’s Kateřina Mrázová (12 points in 13 games), and Boston’s Aneta Tejralová (seven points in 15 games) all won bronze at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
“There’s already so many players from so many different countries that are playing in this game,” Small said. “Having a world team allows those players to highlight their skills alongside the North American players who often get most of the recognition; the international players have an enormous amount of talent as well.”
For Packer, the PHF’s growth of players from outside North America just proves how reputable — and viable — the league itself has continued to become since its inaugural season.
“I was just talking to one of my teammates the other day from Finland, and she was like, ‘I didn’t really know what to expect coming to the PHF, you hear a lot of things,'” Packer recalled. “I think that’s the most popular comment is that [potential players] just hear so many different things. And [my teammate] said, ‘this is incredible, you guys are really making strides and this is really becoming established.’ So I think for a lot of the international players, it’s nice for them to see we really are building a league that has some sustainability and maybe that’s something they didn’t know.”
If the PHF’s All-Star weekend goes to plan, more people than ever can recognize what makes the PHF so special.
“I feel passionately about this,” Packer said. “I really do it because I love it, and I want there to be a sustainable place to play for many years to come. I think every year you see an influx of talent in the league and better players coming in. Some of the young talent that we have right now is amazing. And it’s because there were players before [this generation] and there’s going to be players after that, but getting everyone to buy into that mentality of what we’re building and what we’re doing [is crucial]. It’s been a lot of fun.”
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Jorge Castillo
NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton, one of the first known adopters of the torpedo bat, declined Tuesday to say whether he believes using it last season caused the tendon ailments in both elbows that forced him to begin this season on the injured list.
Last month, Stanton alluded to “bat adjustments” he made last season as a possible reason for the epicondylitis, commonly known as tennis elbow, he’s dealing with.
“You’re not going to get the story you’re looking for,” Stanton said. “So, if that’s what you guys want, that ain’t going to happen.”
Stanton said he will continue using the torpedo bat when he returns from injury. The 35-year-old New York Yankees slugger, who has undergone multiple rounds of platelet-rich plasma injections to treat his elbows, shared during spring training that season-ending surgery on both elbows was a possibility. But he has progressed enough to recently begin hitting off a Trajekt — a pitching robot that simulates any pitcher’s windup, arm angle and arsenal. However, he still wouldn’t define his return as “close.”
He said he will first have to go on a minor league rehab assignment at an unknown date for an unknown period. It won’t start in the next week, he added.
“This is very unique,” Stanton said. “I definitely haven’t missed a full spring before. So, it just depends on my timing, really, how fast I get to feel comfortable in the box versus live pitching.”
While the craze of the torpedo bat (also known as the bowling pin bat) has swept the baseball world since it was revealed Saturday — while the Yankees were blasting nine home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers — that a few members of the Yankees were using one, the modified bat already had quietly spread throughout the majors in 2024. Both Stanton and former Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, now with the Cincinnati Reds, were among players who used the bats last season after being introduced to the concept by Aaron Leanhardt, an MIT-educated physicist and former minor league hitting coordinator for the organization.
Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells were among the Yankees who used torpedo bats during their season-opening sweep of the Brewers.
Stanton explained he has changed bats before. He said he has usually adjusted the length. Sometimes, he opts for lighter bats at the end of the long season. In the past, when knuckleballers were more common in the majors, he’d opt for heavier lumber.
Last year, he said he simply chose his usual bat but with a different barrel after experimenting with a few models.
“I mean, it makes a lot of sense,” Stanton said. “But it’s, like, why hasn’t anyone thought of it in 100-plus years? So, it’s explained simply and then you try it and as long as it’s comfortable in your hands [it works]. We’re creatures of habit, so the bat’s got to feel kind of like a glove or an extension of your arm.”
Stanton went on to lead the majors with an average bat velocity of 81.2 mph — nearly 3 mph ahead of the competition. He had a rebound, but not spectacular, regular season in which he batted .233 with 27 home runs and a .773 OPS before clubbing seven home runs in 14 playoff games.
“It’s not like [it was] unreal all of a sudden for me,” Stanton said.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone described the torpedo bats “as the evolution of equipment” comparable to getting fitted for new golf clubs. He said the organization is not pushing players to use them and insisted the science is more complicated than just picking a bat with a different barrel.
“There’s a lot more to it than, ‘I’ll take the torpedo bat on the shelf over there — 34 [inches], 32 [ounces],'” Boone said. “Our guys are way more invested in it than that. And really personalized, really work with our players in creating this stuff. But it’s equipment evolving.”
As players around the majors order torpedo bats in droves after the Yankees’ barrage over the weekend — they clubbed a record-tying 13 homers in two games against the Brewers — Boone alluded to the notion that, though everyone is aware of the concept, not every organization can optimize its usage.
“You’re trying to just, where you can on the margins, move the needle a little bit,” Boone said. “And that’s really all you’re going to do. I don’t think this is some revelation to where we’re going to be; it’s not related to the weekend that we had, for example. Like, I don’t think it’s that. Maybe in some cases, for some players, it may help them incrementally. That’s how I view it.”
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Eli Lederman
USC secured the commitment of former Oregon defensive tackle pledge Tomuhini Topui on Tuesday, a source told ESPN, handing the Trojans their latest recruiting victory in the 2026 cycle over the Big Ten rival Ducks.
Topui, ESPN’s No. 3 defensive tackle and No. 72 overall recruit in the 2026 class, spent five and half months committed to Oregon before pulling his pledge from the program on March 27. Topui attended USC’s initial spring camp practice that afternoon, and seven days later the 6-foot-4, 295-pound defender gave the Trojans his pledge to become the sixth ESPN 300 defender in the program’s 2026 class.
Topui’s commitment gives USC its 10th ESPN 300 pledge this cycle — more than any other program nationally — and pulls a fourth top-100 recruit into the impressive defensive class the Trojans are building this spring. Alongside Topui, USC’s defensive class includes in-state cornerbacks R.J. Sermons (No. 26 in ESPN Junior 300) and Brandon Lockhart (No. 77); four-star outside linebacker Xavier Griffin (No. 27) out of Gainesville, Georgia; and two more defensive line pledges between Jaimeon Winfield (No. 143) and Simote Katoanga (No. 174).
The Trojans are working to reestablish their local recruiting presence in the 2026 class under newly hired general manager Chad Bowden. Topui not only gives the Trojans their 11th in-state commit in the cycle, but his pledge represents a potentially important step toward revamping the program’s pipeline to perennial local powerhouse Mater Dei High School, too.
Topui will enter his senior season this fall at Mater Dei, the program that has produced a long line of USC stars including Matt Leinart, Matt Barkley and Amon-Ra St. Brown. However, if Topui ultimately signs with the program later this year, he’ll mark the Trojans’ first Mater Dei signee since the 2022 cycle, when USC pulled three top-300 prospects — Domani Jackson, Raleek Brown and C.J. Williams — from the high school program based in Santa Ana, California.
Topui’s flip to the Trojans also adds another layer to a recruiting rivalry rekindling between USC and Oregon in the 2026 cycle.
Tuesday’s commitment comes less than two months after coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans flipped four-star Oregon quarterback pledge Jonas Williams, ESPN’s No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in 2026. USC is expected to continue targeting several Ducks commits this spring, including four-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene, another top prospect out of Mater Dei.
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