Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast — up for PWHL top defender and MVP — didn't think she'd reach this level

Justin Chandler · CBC News

· Posted: May 26, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 26

For hockey subordinate Renata Fast, the past 2 years of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) person been "more than we ever imagined," and an accidental to turn arsenic a subordinate successful ways she ne'er thought possible.

Fast, who's from Burlington, Ont., and lives determination today, plays defence for the Toronto Sceptres. Though her squad was eliminated from the playoffs connected May 14, Fast distinguished herself successful the league's 2nd year, becoming a finalist for 2 awards.

Alongside Minnesota Frost teammates Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson, Fast is up for the PWHL's apical defender distinction. And alongside Montreal Victoire skipper Marie-Philip Poulin and Boston Fleet guardant Hilary Knight, she's besides successful the moving for league MVP. 

Speaking earlier the league announced her MVP candidacy, the 30-year-old told CBC Hamilton it was a "huge honour" to beryllium named 1 of the defenders of the year.

"It's ever bully to person a small spot of idiosyncratic acknowledgement," she said. 

"I person to springiness a batch of recognition to my teammates for the vie that they've shown each time successful signifier to propulsion maine to beryllium better, arsenic good arsenic my coaches. I deliberation they've enactment a large concern successful maine arsenic a idiosyncratic and a subordinate to spot however acold my crippled tin go."

Fast had six goals and 16 assists successful 30 games this season, tying Jaques for the scoring pb among defenders. She led the league successful hits (63). With a full of 739 minutes and 45 seconds of play, she was connected the crystal much than immoderate subordinate successful the league, averaging 24:39 per game. 

According to a PWHL quality release, grant winners volition beryllium announced June 25 astatine an lawsuit successful Ottawa.

The league's finals are inactive underway, with the defending champions Minnesota Frost playing the Ottawa Charge successful a best-of-five series. 

"Obviously, we wanted to triumph that Walter Cup truthful it was a disappointing decorativeness [for the Sceptres]," Fast said, but it was a "great" regular play with her squad coming successful second. 

"Every night's a battle," Fast said. "I deliberation we learned a batch and we'll beryllium acceptable to spell for twelvemonth 3 arsenic well."

PWHL acceptable to grow for adjacent season

Next twelvemonth is acceptable to beryllium different large 1 for the league, which is rapidly increasing successful popularity, averaging 7,500 fans per crippled past play compared to past season's 5,500, according to the PWHL.

This past season, teams had names and unsocial brands for the archetypal time, games became viewable connected much platforms with Prime Video streaming some, and PWHL teams became a large portion of the latest instalment of the fashionable NHL video crippled franchise, with playable rosters that see Fast.

The league is present expanding to adhd 2 teams successful Vancouver and Seattle for adjacent season. The six existing teams volition each suffer 4 players arsenic portion of a June enlargement draft, meaning rosters volition look rather antithetic adjacent season. The coming alteration has been the source of immoderate consternation for players near wondering wherever they'll beryllium adjacent year.

Fast said knowing her squad is going to alteration made the extremity of this play harder.  "It's large for the league. Obviously, it is simply a small spot disappointing to cognize that our halfway won't beryllium unneurotic successful the future."

WATCH | The PWHL enlargement draught explained:

Fast is an Olympian and represented Canada nationally earlier the league's commencement successful 2023. Still, Fast said, she didn't deliberation she'd scope the accomplishment level she has since.

"I'm precise thankful that it's a clip successful my vocation that I've been capable to really play successful [the PWHL]," Fast said.

Players successful the league person said being capable to vie professionally has opened up the accidental for advancement successful a mode not imaginable before. 

In 2024, Hamilton's Kayla Vespa, who plays with the New York Sirens, told CBC Hamilton that earlier joining the PWHL, she was playing hockey successful the evenings past moving arsenic an overnight snowplow driver  —  a demanding schedule. 

"I privation to play hockey and I besides wanted to evidently person a realistic living, paying occupation and whatnot. So I did both. Now with this league and the salaries, it's conscionable been incredible," Vespa said astatine the time.

Fast said having accordant training, high-end coaching and regular contention has allowed her to excel. 

She describes her benignant arsenic "aggressive, successful your face, shut-down defence."

Fast is besides fast, arsenic evidenced by a breakaway extremity she scored successful overtime against the Frost backmost successful February. Picking up a blocked changeable successful the Sceptre's zone, she raced past the opposing team's defenders, winning the crippled with 3 seconds to spare.

WATCH | Renata Fast's precocious overtime victor lifts Sceptres implicit Frost connected Feb. 11:

"I deliberation I tin usage my ft velocity and and my borderline enactment to my advantage, taking distant clip and abstraction from opponents. … I cognize that's what's gotten maine this acold successful my career," Fast said. 

Whereas her relation connected Team Canada was to unopen down opposing teams' apical players, Fast said there's an onus connected her to play much offensively with the Sceptres.

"It's been 2 years of learning the violative broadside of my game, the risks that I tin instrumentality knowing that I inactive request to beryllium beauteous stingy defensively. I felt that this twelvemonth I managed that beauteous good and had occurrence connected some ends of the ice."

Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks are 2 defenders Fast enjoys watching to larn from, she said, and 2 of her long-time inspirations are Olympians Cheryl Pounder and Becky Kellar. 

The brace utilized to tally hockey camps that Fast attended and now, she sees them regularly arsenic they commentate connected PWHL games. 

"I wouldn't person adjacent known the opportunities that are retired determination successful athletics if it wasn't for that campy I went to," Fast said.

In a "full ellipse moment," Fast present runs her ain hockey camps for up-and-comers, teaching alongside teammate Emma Maltais, who's besides from Burlington.

As of publication, Fast's website says her 2025 camps sold retired "in minutes" with constricted spots remaining for goalies. 

"It's been unthinkable to beryllium capable to springiness backmost successful the assemblage that we're from and prosecute with a batch of the young girls that are playing," Fast said.

"I deliberation we've had immoderate unthinkable bonds with immoderate of those young girls and past to ticker them make implicit the past benignant of mates years has been truly neat."