The PWHL played a large role in Renata Fast's pursuit of IIHF honors

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Life isn't back to normal for Troy Ryan's PWHL Toronto team, but nobody's complaining.

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Although Ryan, point guard Gina Kingsbury and goalie Kristen Campbell returned to practice Tuesday from a group that was in Utica, N.Y., for the tournament, the aura of the gold medal celebration is one of surgery.

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Other contributors to Canada's IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship gold medal — defensemen Renata Fast and Jocelyn Larocque and forwards Sarah Nourse, Blair Turnbull, Emma Maltais and Natalie Spooner — were all allowed a full day to recharge before rejoining the PHWL. teammates for the trip to Boston, where the team plays on Thursday.

Examples of the impact the PHWL has had on the women's game at the international level were scattered throughout the tournament, but none were greater than the performance of Fast, a veteran blueliner and mainstay on the national team.

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Considered one half of the best defensive pairing in the women's game along with Canadian and Toronto teammate Larocque, Fast and Larocque assumed that role again at the tournament, logging just over 23 minutes a game to help Canada to its 13th World Cup. gold.

What pushed Fast over the top in the women's world defenseman title was the addition of an offensive game that Ryan and his PWHL coaching staff have been pushing since the start of the season.

In addition to their ever-steady defensive work, he and Larocque helped hold Canada to eight goals in seven games, five of the gold medal finalists, with Fast and Larocque also key contributors. attacking.

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Larocque's five points tied her in a three-way tie for second on the Canadian team with Laura Stacey and Christine O'Neill, while Fast led the team with six points, three goals and three assists.

Both of Toronto's PWHL defensemen led the team in plus-minus, with Larocque plus-16 and Fast plus-15 for the tournament.

Ryan was a defensive player in Toronto and was put on duty for Team Canada when he had a chance to score. He and his coaching staff in Toronto and the Worlds have encouraged defensemen to attack and created a culture where all five skaters on the ice have offense, not just three forwards.

Fast's three goals in the tournament are testament to his growing confidence in his own attacking play. It also doesn't hurt that his ability to get up and down the ice allows him to recover defensively before most opponents can get the puck to the offensive end.

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“You can see the confidence in him now,” Ryan said. “The scoring, the plays he makes on the blue line. He has all the tools, so all he has to do is have the confidence to do it.

“The one thing we looked at at Worlds was our shooting and we do that here, but it's just to make people comfortable, if you have the mentality to attack from the blue line, you don't tend to block your shots and if they do. blocked, they're blocking in this zone instead of the blue line because you attacked instead of waiting to find the perfect lane. That's one of the things he's doing better than anyone else right now.”

While Fast is putting together team and individual gear in the world, another Toronto defender, Kali Flanagan, is back in Toronto, and the rest of the team is working to get to that point.

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A former U.S. national team player, Flanagan, like Fast, is a skilled offensive defenseman who is now working on the skills Fast is showing off at the world level.

As quick as he is, Flanagan has a natural attacking flair that has been on display this season, but with him and countless defenders constantly prioritized, it's easy to get carried away with the old mindset of preventing goals rather than contributing to them. .

Something as simple as aggressively taking shots from the blue line, even with defending forwards in the lanes, is something that takes time to master.

“They've spent their whole lives saying, 'Don't block this footage,'” Ryan said. “I think you've got to flip it a little bit and block the shot because if you're prone to attack, it's not going to be a good block.”

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Flanagan and his PWHL Toronto defense partner Allie Munro were on the ice after learning to pass each other at the blue line and one-time them into the back of the net.

“I love watching Renata play,” Flanagan said. “He's obviously a great skater, so just being able to play with him and watch him this year, I've learned a lot from him. He's been really great in the world, so I think the next step for me is to try to attack … I think I have a little offensive ability in my game, so it's for me to develop that and find the next level.” I'm trying to do it.”

But like Fast, Flanagan says a big reason he's progressed in his game is the freedom Ryan and his coaching staff have given him to play.

“Our staff allows us to make mistakes,” Flanagan said. “They hold us to a really high standard, but there's a level of fear of failure that allows you to achieve even greater success and push yourself to do things you didn't think were possible.”

It paid off for Fast and Larocque. Flanagan looks to be next.

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