SHAPING UP: 'Compete' is the word of the day at first Ottawa Charge training camp session

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Coach Carla MacLeod used a couple of new methods to deliver messages at the opening on-ice session of training camp for the Ottawa Charge.

Subtle, she was not.

“I just bag-skated them for the first time,” MacLeod told media members moments after the practice at TD Place. “So I think we’re setting a different tone, and part of that is we know we need to be tougher, we need to be stronger, we need to be ready.”

Both physically and mentally.

To emphasize the latter, she quoted Kara Lawson, the coach of the Duke Blue Devils women’s basketball team.

“She had a message to her team a couple of years back, when she said: ‘You know, as coaches, we can make things hard, we can make you work hard, by design, but we can’t infuse compete. It’s got to come from within,’ ” MacLeod explained. “That’s the piece that we’re excited for our players to really take advantage of, that they can determine their level of compete and not only for their own performance, but to elevate their teammates as well.

“So it’s going to be a topic. They’re probably going to get sick of me talking about it, our coaching staff talking about it, but it’s going to be an important piece for us.”

Nobody was sick, from the bag skate or any type of harping done by the coaching staff on Thursday.

On the contrary, whether it be rookies or veterans, Day 1 was embraced by smiling players just happy to be back on the ice in preparation for the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s second season.

“Awesome, super fun,” said Logan Angers — a 24-year-old goalie from Winnipeg who was signed as a free agent after spending the past five seasons putting up stingy numbers in the NCAA with the Quinnipiac University Bobcats — of her first full team practice with the Charge. “Everyone was super supportive the whole practice. After every drill, you get a couple high fives, and ‘good jobs.’ I think the support is just unreal, kind of pushing you through that practice and kind of making it easy for everyone.”

Said Stephanie Markowski, a fourth-round pick from Edmonton: “I think the compete was really high, and honestly, I was just enjoying it and trying to soak in the moment.”

Playing down the “bag skate” was Emily Clark, a two-way forward who was fourth in Ottawa scoring last season with four goals and 11 assists while also serving as an assistant captain.

“I thought they were pretty nice to us,” she said with a chuckle, referring to the coaching staff. “Could have been worse. No, it was good. A really high compete practice. The whole skate was pretty tough, got some good work in and it was nice to finish off with some conditioning.”

While finishing in fifth place and out of the playoffs in Year 1, Ottawa did score 62 goals, which was second-most in the league behind only the 69 scored by first-place finishing Toronto.

The Charge is looking to raise the bar with its offence.

“Obviously, it’s really tough to score in this league,” said Clark. “There’s a lot of incredible players and goalies. So, I think we’re definitely having a shooter’s mentality right from the bat too.

“When we’re first getting out (today) here trying to get to know everyone, everyone wants to give up the passes to set up a nice play, but I think we’re encouraging lots of shots and everyone to shoot, so that’s going to help us offensively.”

GAMING ON

Another sign that the women’s pro game has become a big hit is an announcement by EA Sports of a “major holiday” for ‘NHL 25’ — a multi-year partnership with the PWHL which will bring the players and teams into the gaming world, along with a new NHL Arcade Series and a 4 Nations Face-Off. The launch for the PWHL in ‘NHL 25’ will be on Dec. 5. “I slept better knowing that,” MacLeod joked when asked about the league being brought into the EA Sports family, before turning serious. “I think it’s incredible. I look back at when I was growing up and my passion for the game, and I didn’t have the chance to not only see women playing the game, but certainly no electronic version of us, nothing being celebrated, or hockey cards. For us to be at this level, and for it to be seen as a real sport … and it’s been a long journey to get here … I tease at the start, but those moments are really important for us and really important that it’s reflected in society the right way. And those moments matter.” Admitting her passion for gaming, Markowski was also thrilled to be joining EA Sports. “Now little girls can play and see their role models on video games because before it was only the men. I think it’s a huge step for women in general.” Said Angers: “I’m not someone who really plays but I think I might have to play just to play us in the game. I think it’d be awesome, I think it’s such a great opportunity for women’s sports and for all the kids who play the game and can be us out there is awesome.”