Women’s hockey stars coming back to Toronto as Dream Gap Tour makes second stop

The Professional Women’s Hockey Association’s Dream Gap Tour is returning to Toronto.

Canadian national team forwards Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin and American stars Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight are among the 120 players participating in a six-game showcase Jan. 11-12.

The PWHPA features roughly 200 players, including the Canadian and American national teams, who are touring this winter to market their desire for a sustainable women’s pro league.

The collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League this year after 12 seasons, and the players’ refusal to join the U.S.-based NWHL because they don’t believe it’s financially sustainable, gave rise to the union.

Toronto was the first Dream Gap Tour stop Sept. 21-22. Showcases followed in Hudson, N.H., and Chicago, as well as exhibition games in Boston and San Jose, Calif.

Four of five games in Toronto will be played at Herbert H. Carnegie Centennial Centre. One will be held at the Al Palladini Community Centre in Vaughan, Ont., and the sixth is in a location still to be announced.