Elite women hockey players bring their game to Barrie for Dream Gap Tour

The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association's (PWHPA) 'Dream Gap Tour' will hit the ice in Barrie on Saturday.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance for our over 700 players to be able to see the best players in the world in their hometown," said Rob Emerson, the Barrie Women's Hockey Association president.

The travelling showcase hopes to set the foundation for the next generation of female hockey players by building toward a viable professional women's league where players won't have to also work second jobs.

"I think it means everything. We're the ones kind of driving this momentum right now, but they're the ones who are going to fully benefit from it," said Barrie's own Jessie Eldridge, a forward for team Harvey's.

"I think it's about our youth players seeing that there's an opportunity to keep going for this game. Everybody wants to chase a dream, and I think it's important for players to see that that dream can take them as far as they want to," added Emerson.

Many of the world's most elite women's players still have to work a wide range of careers, from teaching to firefighting, while training and playing hockey. The players hope their efforts now mean the youngsters in attendance won't have to do that when they become eligible for professional hockey.

"For this weekend, for them, it will be an entertainment aspect but also knowing that because of these games, their future is so much brighter," said Eldridge.

While the players know the presence of their tour means a lot to young girls in the communities the tour visits, they hope to expose their game to male hockey fans too.

"I think there's so much more to that. The young girls, we have their respect and their eyes often when we're on T.V. or at these showcases, but it's a lot of other people who may not necessarily give women's hockey the time of day," said Eldridge.

The PWHPA hopes weekends like this can create not just exposure but support.

"Exposing the women's game to young boys or anyone who is a part of the Colts organization to earn their respect can help us drive this forward," said Eldridge.

"We've got over 20 players that will be playing in the game on Saturday that have competed for Olympic gold and World Championship gold medals before, so this really is the pinnacle of women's hockey," said Emerson.

Eldridge, who sits fourth in scoring on the tour with three goals and nine assists in 11 games, says she'll be soaking up the chance to play in her hometown.

"There's people being able to watch my career kind of build but not being able to see it live. So being able to come home and have those people who mean a lot to me be in attendance will be very special," said Eldridge.

The players know that fan engagement is important while growing a sport like the Dream Gap Tour is trying to do.

"It gets to show the great females that we have in the game away from the rink. To be able to share a touch of that here and there not only inspires young females to want to pursue their hockey career but to do that while being good people along the way," explained Eldridge.

Saturday's game between Team Adidas and Team Harvey's, the top two teams in the Dream Gap Tour standings, gets underway at 1 p.m. at Sadlon Arena.

While organizers are expecting a crowd of more than 3,000 fans there are still good seats available to see the many stars in attendance, like Sarah Nurse and Marie Philip-Poulin.