Local talent shines in women’s Fraser Valley Super League
Published 11:50 am Friday, July 31, 2026
As the buzzer signalled the end of the third period, the White and Blue teams gathered to celebrate the successful inaugural Fraser Valley Super League season.
The energy was high, and the music was pumping as the players reflected on the exciting nine-week season, with many fans eagerly waiting to take photos with some of the players in the league.
The Fraser Valley Super League started its inaugural season in June for female hockey players, uniting collegiate and professional talent in competitive yet fun games throughout the summer months.
Games were played every Wednesday night throughout June and July at North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex.
Former NHL player John Craighead had started the league for the men and approached Melanie Jue about what women’s hockey needs in the Lower Mainland.
“I told him that, you know, there’s a good contingent of college and pro girls that are in the Lower Mainland that don’t really have great places to train, and they definitely don’t have a league that they can all get together and play not-so-serious, but competitive, games,” Jue said.
So Craighead got to work and got the women’s league sponsored by Pepsi, provided the jerseys and booked the ice time.
“He’s helping to create an environment for these girls to come back and train,” Jue said.
The league is made up of players from the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), U Sports, NCAA and the European Women’s Hockey League.
There is no cost to any of the players. The only thing the league asks is that they communicate in advance about their availability, so they can have enough players to keep it competitive and keep the games going.
Jue added that they hope to play a few more games in August, but it will depend on how many of the women are still in town.
Throughout the seasons, over half a dozen players from the Professional Women’s Hockey League have participated, including Surrey local Jenn Gardiner, Richmond’s Katie Chan and Malia Schneider, who play for the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
Many PWHL draftees have also played, including Surrey’s Grace Elliot, who was drafted by the Seattle Torrent; Abbotsford’s Hailey MacLeod, who was drafted by the Montreal Victoire; Langley’s Sara Swiderski and Richmond’s Tova Henderson, who were both drafted by the Minnesota Frost.
The league gives the draftees an opportunity to play against Gardiner, Jenna Buglioni and Sandra Absteiter and gives them “a taste of what that pace is going to look like.”
Many of the players grew up in the Lower Mainland and have played on the same teams before, such as Gardiner and MacLeod, who both played on the Greater Vancouver Comets.
The women have loved it, Jue said.
In the past, some of the players would put on a “scrimmage-type game,” but it would not be serious or competitive.
“The feedback that I’ve gotten so far is they love it,” Jue said. “It’s an organized game; they know what’s going to happen every week, they can plan their schedules kind of around it. They’re keen to be part of it, and the pace is good, so it really supplements whatever additional training that they’re doing.”
The games are well attended every week with around 100 people – family, friends and fans – filling the stands.
This is especially important to the players who have played on teams far away from home, and their families get to come and watch them play closer to home. It also gives them a chance to catch up with old friends that their kids have played with growing up who are also playing.
Jue hopes the league continues to grow, “and give these athletes a bit of a pathway and a taste of what that next level looks like, because that doesn’t exist right now.”
It’s particularly helpful if you have not been drafted by the PWHL after finishing college and are “not quite at the peak of your career,” she noted.
The league gives those players a place where they can refine their skills and play against some of the best local professional players.
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