The Clarkson Cup is the top prize in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. People in Yorkton had the opportunity to see the cup and meet two of the country's top women's players, Meaghan Mikkelson (left) and Natalie Spooner.
Meaghan Mikkelson and Natalie Spooner are two of Canada's premier women's hockey players, whether you know them from their Olympic gold or their experience on the Amazing Race Canada. They're touring the Prairies to get people talking about the Canadian Women's Hockey League with the Prairie Toyota Clarkson Cup Tour, bringing the CWHL's top prize to prairie towns.
Mikkelson says that it has been about getting to places where they might not have the chance to visit during the hockey season, and meeting people where they might not otherwise have the chance.
Mikkelson grew up in Regina, and has family in Manitoba, so it's been a chance to get back to her roots as well.
The league is relatively young, beginning in 2007. Mikkelson says that the league has been a long time coming, and has been growing every year since it began. Part of helping the league grow is just increasing its profile.
While Canada has always had a strong Olympic program for women's hockey, Mikkelson says that the CWHL is a way for players to develop and grow outside of that single event every four years.
Promoting the league goes beyond Mikkelson and Spooner, however, because it's as much about the generation that is playing in the future as it is about the current players. That's part of the reason the tour brought out a synthetic ice rink, to get kids the chance to be on the ice with premier hockey players, and Mikkelson says the league is now a goal for young girls getting into the sport.
Outside of hockey, Spooner and Mikkelson were also in the second season of the Amazing Race Canada, which they learned about three days after getting back from Sochi. Mikkelson says it was an unforgettable experience.
The back to back adventures for the duo were also a way to keep from having any sort of lull after the Olympics were over.
Between Olympic gold and the Amazing Race Canada, Mikkelson says that they believe 2014 was a good year for building awareness of women's hockey. She says it was a chance to show their personalities beyond who they are as players.