New Vancouver players look to balance Olympic, PWHL ambitions

VANCOUVER — Denisa Krizova gets goosebumps when she thinks about the growth of women’s hockey.

Over her career, she has watched the Professional Women’s Hockey League emerge and now expand, and the international game become increasingly competitive as European nations begin to challenge stalwart contenders Canada and the United States.

It wasn’t long ago that the PWHL Vancouver defender and the rest of Czechia’s women’s team were struggling to get into top international tournaments.

Last April, the nation hosted the women’s world hockey championship for the first time. The country narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, falling to Finland in overtime in the third-place matchup.

“Czech loves hockey. Czech’s been always known for hockey. We love this sport. I’m honestly so happy that we are improving,” Krizova said.

“If I remember when I played for national teams like 10, 15 years ago, and we played in (the International Ice Hockey Federation’s) Division Two. And now we’re here, trying to get a medal in Olympics. It’s an unbelievable journey.”

Czechia made its Olympic debut at the 2022 Beijing Games, but lost to the Americans in the semifinals.

“Obviously it was a great experience. Not the outcome we wanted, but it was our first Olympic experience, so we were very inexperienced,” said Tereza Vanisova, a forward for both the Czech national team and PWHL Vancouver. “I have good memories, for sure.”

Beijing was strange, too, because COVID-19 restrictions kept fans and families from filling the stands.

With the Milano-Cortina Games on the horizon, Krizova is looking forward to seeing what it’s like to play on hockey’s biggest stage with a full crowd.

“That’s why I think we’re extra excited about Italy, because hopefully we’ll experience everything that comes with Olympics, including fans,” she said. “And (Italy) is close to Czech. So we are going to have our families and friends there, so I think it’s going to be extra special.”

Battling for Olympic hardware isn’t Krizova and Vanisova’s lone ambition for 2026 — the pair are also looking to help Vancouver capture a PWHL championship in the club’s first season.

Krizova knows what the feat will take. She spent the last two seasons playing for the Minnesota Frost, both of which ended with the team hoisting the Walter Cup.

With Vancouver and Seattle joining the league, Krizova knew a move was possible. But when neither of the new clubs reached out ahead of the expansion draft, the defender thought she’d be staying in Minnesota.

She was wrong.

Vancouver selected her 12th overall in the expansion draft.

“I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it,” Krizova said. “I was at home in Czech, and I was just like, ‘Mom, you need to pinch me.’ Like, ‘This is not happening. Is it happening?’”

Joining Vancouver is bittersweet, she added.

“I love Minnesota. I had so much fun here, and I made so many great memories. I’ll always have that in me,” she said from her home in Minnesota. “But I’m super excited about Vancouver and all the fans there. … So I’m super excited to live it now.”

Vanisova took a different path to PWHL Vancouver.

The 29-year-old forward signed with the expansion club as a free agent after a standout campaign with the Ottawa Charge last season.

She led Ottawa in scoring with 15 goals and seven assists over 30 regular-season games, then added another goal and three assists during playoffs before the Charge fell to the Frost in the final.

Playing in the final was “huge,” Vanisova said.

“I believed in our team until the last moment. It was very, very tight games. And I think that just experience wise, it’s good to have playoff experiences,” she said.

“I think it just makes you more, maybe, mentally tougher. Or you don’t stress too much about the playoffs at the end, when it comes.”

By the time June came around and Vanisova had to make a decision about her next contract, Vancouver had already amassed a wealth of talent. The team picked up former Toronto Sirens sniper Sarah Nurse, coaxed forward Jenn Gardiner away from the Montreal Victoire, and collected goalie Emerance Maschmeyer from the Charge.

Seeing the list of players was part of why Vanisova opted to ink a deal with Vancouver.

“I think the team is great and has a huge potential. And I don’t know — I could see us to be the championship team,” she said from her home in Pilsen, Czechia. “So we’ll see. Obviously, it’s hard to say. But I can see this team’s gonna have a really good performance on the ice.”

PWHL Vancouver will play its first-ever game on Nov. 21, hosting expansion side PWHL Seattle.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2025.