In this episode of Checking the Box, Eleni and Mike dissect the 2025 PWHL Draft, which they both believe should be renamed the PWHL Entry Draft, and talk about the three blockbuster trades that stole headlines on draft day. Our hosts also discuss what happens after a player is drafted, what it means to go undrafted, and some other key events from the draft itself, including the Ottawa Charge selecting two players from the Russian national team.

Checking the Box is co-hosted by player agent and partner of Cook Stark Hockey, Eleni Demestihas and The Ice Garden Managing Editor and owner, Mike Murphy. Checking the Box will be a monthly (roughly) PWHL and pro women's hockey-centric pod offering unique perspectives from behind the glow of a laptop screen and the agent's desk.

Welcome back to Purple Posts, a podcast about the memorable, funny, and sometimes just strange moments in the history of women’s hockey. On this episode, host LJ is joined by Elisha Côté, TIG’s Ottawa Charge beat writer, to talk about the Ottawa Alerts, an early 20th-century women’s hockey team in Canada’s Capital Region, with some diversions into what it would be like to play hockey in a skirt, why Ottawa has a bad track record with sports team names, and trying to solve the mystery of a trophy’s namesake dentist.

Sources for this episode include:

• https://todayinottawashistory.wordpress.com/2022/03/12/the-ottawa-alerts/
• https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-alert-a-tribute-to-women-who-helped-break-the-ice-a-century-ago-1.7015481
• https://teams.geegees.ca/tradition/alertscup
• https://hockeygods.com/images/22333-Ottawa_Alerts_1923_LOHA_Champions___Women_s_Ice_Hockey_History
• https://thehockeynews.com/womens/other-news/ottawa-swept-first-international-womens-hockey-series
• https://ottawatourism.ca/en/connect-ottawa/evolution-ottawas-professional-womens-hockey-league
• https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/past-presentations/women-on-ice-ottawa-s-own
• 
  

If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a five-star review. You can also follow The Ice Garden and become a paid subscriber today at https://www.theicegarden.com/#/portal/signup.

Intro and outro music: Modestly Rude by Jhovanny Fontanez © copyright 2009. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Nobuo3000/19015

Mike from The Ice Garden is joined by Eleni, a player agent at Cook Stark Hockey, to break down the PWHL’s first-ever expansion with the addition of Seattle and Vancouver. From navigating the exclusive signing period to preparing for the expansion draft on Monday evening, they dive into what this historic offseason looks like from the perspective of a women’s hockey agent.

Checking the Box is co-hosted by player agent and partner of Cook Stark Hockey, Eleni Demestihas and The Ice Garden Managing Editor and owner, Mike Murphy. Checking the Box will be a monthly (roughly) PWHL and pro women's hockey-centric pod offering unique perspectives from behind the glow of a laptop screen and the agent's desk.

Follow the Ice Garden and become a paid subscriber today at ⁠https://www.theicegarden.com/#/portal/signup⁠⁠

Harrison Browne, former professional hockey player, and Rachel Browne, Harrison's sister and investigative journalist sit down with The Ice Garden's Meredith Foster to talk about their book. Let Us Play: Winning The Battle For Gender Diverse Athletes, publishing on May 27, takes the reader beyond crass sensationalism and into the realities of history, science, and oppression for a thought-provoking and informative look at what equity should look like for athletes of all genders.

Harrison came out as transgender back in 2016 at the start of the second NWHL season. At the time he was a forward for the Buffalo Beauts; he went on to win two Isobel Cup championships, one with the Beauts in 2017 the same season he came out, and a second with the Metropolitan Riveters a year later in 2018. He retired from pro hockey following his second Isobel Cup win and currently works as an actor and filmmaker.

Welcome to the 2025 PWHL Finals! For the first time in league history we have a Canadian team in the final two teams remaining in the PWHL Playoffs. Alyssa and Maya discuss Game’s 1 and 2 of the series before they’re joined by Elisha Côté who shares her first-person experience of the highs and lows of the opening two games in Ottawa.

Follow the Ice Garden and become a paid subscriber today at ⁠https://www.theicegarden.com/#/portal/signup⁠⁠

Dive into the heart of all the weekly PWHL action with “P-Dub in Twenty,” your go-to podcast for keeping up with the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Join Alyssa and Maya every week as they dissect each game, talk about the big time storylines, and share their insights on the players that stood out to them.

The 2025 PWHL Playoffs are underway and man oh man has it been a doozy. Alyssa and Maya discuss Games 1-3 in the Sceptres/Frost series before they dive into Games 1 and 2 between Montreal and Ottawa, including the infamous quadruple OT game.

Follow the Ice Garden and become a paid subscriber today at ⁠https://www.theicegarden.com/#/portal/signup⁠⁠

Dive into the heart of all the weekly PWHL action with “P-Dub in Twenty,” your go-to podcast for keeping up with the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Join Alyssa and Maya every week as they dissect each game, talk about the big time storylines, and share their insights on the players that stood out to them.

After a few weeks away P-Dub in Twenty makes its return as the 2025 PWHL Playoffs are set to begin. As the regular season has come and gone, there are only four teams remaining to battle for the Walter Cup. Alyssa and Maya discuss the craziness of the final few days of the regular season before jumping into this year’s PWHL Playoff bracket.

Follow the Ice Garden and become a paid subscriber today at ⁠https://www.theicegarden.com/#/portal/signup⁠⁠

Dive into the heart of all the weekly PWHL action with “P-Dub in Twenty,” your go-to podcast for keeping up with the Professional Women’s Hockey League. Join Alyssa and Maya every week as they dissect each game, talk about the big time storylines, and share their insights on the players that stood out to them.

Purple Posts, a podcast about the memorable, funny, and sometimes just strange moments in the history of women’s hockey, is back! This time, LJ is joined by Eleni Demestihas, Director of Hockey Operations for Cook Stark Hockey, to talk about some infamous USA-Canada brawls, how increased physicality is changing the women’s game, and which players are most likely to throw down.

You can watch the full clip of the December 2013 fight here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1cks76

You can find Eleni’s original article for TIG about the fight here: https://www.theicegarden.com/law-and-boarder-breaking-down-a-legendary-usa-canada-brawl-womens-hockey/

If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a five-star review. You can also follow The Ice Garden and become a paid subscriber today at https://www.theicegarden.com/#/portal/signup.

Intro and outro music: Modestly Rude by Jhovanny Fontanez © copyright 2009. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. https://dig.ccmixter.org/files/Nobuo3000/19015