New-look Grand Slam of Curling series kicks off under new ownership

TORONTO – Teresa Resch likes to put her time and energy into organizations that go beyond the surface level.

Resch was officially named the president of Toronto’s new WNBA expansion team in May and will be one of the keynote speakers this week at Elevate, a Canadian tech conference that emphasizes using innovation to better the world.

The parallels she saw between WNBA Toronto and Elevate are what led her to agreeing to speak at the conference on Thursday.

“Ultimately, this team, WNBA Toronto, yes, it’s a basketball team, but we are about way more than basketball, and I think in the same way that’s Elevate,” she said last week. “So yes, it’s a technology conference, but it’s about way more than that.

“You look at all the different speakers, it’s really a gathering of people who are passionate, who are innovative, who are really game changers. You want to surround yourself with people like that.”

Resch and Jayna Hefford, the senior vice president of hockey operations for the PWHL, will be speaking at Toronto’s Meridian Hall in a panel moderated by TSN’s Kayla Grey on Thursday afternoon.

They will be discussing the rapid rise of women’s professional sports over the past three years.

“More than anything, there’s so much excitement in this marketplace for basketball,” Resch said in a video call from her office. “I can’t wait to share that with some of these people that are maybe new to the game, who are just starting to pay attention and be able to share our story in a more robust way.

“I’m really looking forward to speaking to this audience.”

Resch is also looking forward to building her front office.

Whitney Bell was named WNBA Toronto’s chief marketing officer and Lisa Ferkul the team’s chief revenue officer last Wednesday. Resch said that she would begin her general manager search in earnest after the WNBA’s current post-season ends no later than Oct. 20.

“I think the biggest thing that we get to do is we get to name this team. We get to build a brand identity,” said Resch, noting that WNBA Toronto did a team name campaign over August. “That was incredible. We got all kinds of inspiration and submissions from across Canada and really the world.

“There’s 98 different countries that interacted with the site, which is pretty incredible (…) now we are going through the process of design.”

WNBA Toronto has a podcast called “Bringing Home the W,” which gives behind-the-scenes details on its name selection process.

Coca-Cola Coliseum, the arena that will be home to WNBA Toronto and the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres, will also undergo back-of-house renovations to better support those teams before the basketball team has its inaugural season in 2026.

Resch was the Toronto Raptors’ vice president of basketball operations and player development before leaving the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment property to become the first hire for the new WNBA franchise.

Because Elevate is usually at the same time as Raptors’ training camp, Resch often missed most of the tech conference. She was able to catch a couple of presentations over the years, however, including tennis superstar Venus Williams and former United States First Lady Michelle Obama.

“It was right when (Obama’s) book had come out,” said Resch, referring to “The Light We Carry.” “That was really great to hear her.

“I think I took a page of notes that I will sometimes reference back to.”

Raptors team president Masai Ujiri wished Resch luck at the NBA team’s media day on Monday and announced Tyla Flexman as her replacement.

“A tough loss with Teresa, but she’s gone on to do bigger and better, and Tyla has come on to do bigger and better with us,” said Ujiri. “I think Teresa did an incredible job, and Tyla will even take it to another level.

“I am so excited, so excited for my girl, Teresa, with her new job and where she is, I think she will do great, and it’s a blessing for us to have that team in Toronto.”

Flexman was formerly a member of Canada’s national women’s field hockey team.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

CALGARY – Rookie Samuel Honzek continued his scoring tear on Monday with a brilliant short-handed effort as the Calgary Flames beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in overtime.

The 19-year-old Slovak, who was the Flames’ first-round pick, 16th overall in 2023, sits alone atop the NHL’s pre-season scoring leaders with seven points (including two goals) in five games.

Brayden Pachal, Blake Coleman, and Nazem Kadri — with the game-winner on a slick setup from Andrei Kuzmenko — also scored for Calgary (5-0-1), which has yet to lose in regulation.

Eeli Tolvanen, Ville Ottavainen and Shane Wright replied for Seattle (1-3-1).

In his first full game after playing two periods in each of his first two starts, Dan Vladar — coming off off-season hip surgery — made 30 saves for the win.

At the other end, Joey Daccord made 23 stops for the Kraken.

Tied 2-2 after the first period, Seattle had multiple chances to take the lead early in the second when Calgary took four penalties in the first six minutes.

But not only did the Flames kill off the extended power play time for the visitors that included a pair of two-man advantages, Honzek ignited the home crowd with his highlight-reel goal at 6:33.

Sprung on a 1-on-1 by Yegor Sharangovich’s breakout pass, Honzek skated down the right wing through the neutral zone and into the Seattle end where he used his 6-foot-4 frame to power his way around defenceman Vince Dunn, then as he cut across the front of the net, he neatly eluded Daccord’s poke check before tucking the puck in while falling to the ice.

Honzek, who turns 20 on Nov. 12, played last season with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants where injuries limited him to just 33 games in which he had 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists).

After taking the lead, the penalty barrage in the second continued for the home side with Blake Coleman’s penalty with seven seconds left — Calgary’s sixth minor of the period — finally costing them with Wright scoring 39 seconds into the third to tie it 3-3.

Seattle opened the scoring 3:18 into the game when Rasmus Andersson’s turnover was grabbed by Chandler Stephenson, who promptly sent a backhand pass into the slot that was buried by Tolvanen.

After Calgary surged in front on goals less than four minutes apart by Pachal and Coleman, the visitors tied it with 15 seconds remaining in the period when Ottavainen’s long slapshot eluded Vladar.

BARRIE BATTLING

Picking up a pair of assists for the Flames with secondary helpers on both first period goals was defenceman Tyson Barrie, who is in Flames’ camp on a professional tryout. The 33-year-old has three assists in three games. Barrie has played 809 career NHL games and should he sign with Calgary, would join his fifth NHL organization. He played last season for Nashville.

UP NEXT

Kraken: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Flames: Visit the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

EDMONTON – It may have been a victory, but the Edmonton Oilers feel they are still very much a work in progress.

Leon Draisaitl scored the shootout winner on a slapshot as the Oilers won their second straight pre-season game, defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Monday.

Corey Perry and Ben Gleason also scored for the Oilers, who improved to 3-3 in NHL exhibition action.

“We just wanted to get our battle level up a little bit,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who registered a pair of assists on the night. “I think everybody has another level that they can get to. Hopefully we will get there this week.

“We haven’t played much with our group. To get some rhythm and some camaraderie, all that stuff is important.”

A lot of the focus was on getting the first look of the new potentially powerhouse second line of Draisaitl, Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner.

“They are just getting used to each other right now,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch. “They had some good chances, probably not as many as you would expect in a game like tonight. But it was a good first step.”

Arshdeep Bains and Nate Smith replied for the Canucks (2-2-1), who have lost three in a row.

“It’s not about the win or loss, the group really did a great job,” said Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, whose team dressed the less experienced lineup. “I’m really proud of the way they played. I just like the way that they stuck with it. That is a good hockey club over there, and I think we did a nice job.”

There was no scoring in a rather relaxed first period, with Edmonton putting eight shots on Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen and Vancouver responding with seven on Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner.

Vancouver broke the deadlock six minutes into the second period on the power play as Kiefer Sherwood made a nice pass from the side of the net out to Bains, who unleashed a bullet before Skinner could get across.

Edmonton almost responded a few minutes later as Perry was sent in alone, but he was unable to deke his way past Lankinen.

The Canucks led 16-15 on the shot clock through 40 minutes.

The Oilers tied the game four minutes into the third period as Perry swept out in front of the net and made a nice move and got the puck behind Lankinen this time.

Edmonton surged ahead on the power play midway through the third as McDavid sent it back to Gleason who sent a hard wrist shot into the net with Arvidsson providing a screen in front.

However, Vancouver answered back just 19 seconds later as Smith deftly redirected a Kirill Kudryavtsev shot through Skinner’s legs, eventually sending the game to extra time.

Vancouver had a wide-open net to shoot for late in overtime, but Draisaitl lifted Daniel Sprong’s stick at the last second.

NOTES

It was the first meeting between the two teams since the Oilers defeated the Canucks 3-2 in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series in May … Edmonton released veteran forward Mike Hoffman from a PTO on Monday, and the Canucks did likewise with PTO invite Sammy Blais … The Oilers are down to 36 players (five injured) in camp and are hoping to trim to 27 players before the team’s final two pre-season games. Defenceman Darnell Nurse is expected to be back for one of the two final tilts, and backup goalie Calvin Pickard is expected to return to the ice in a few days after taking a hit to the head on Saturday against Seattle … Vancouver star forward J.T. Miller has skated all camp, but has yet to suit up for a game, while defenceman Quinn Hughes has played just one.

UP NEXT

Canucks: Host the Oilers on Friday.

Oilers: Visit the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.