PWHL may consider using ‘Keeper of the Cup’ after Walter Cup’s summer travel woes

After a couple of embarrassing travel woes this summer, the Professional Women’s Hockey League may eventually use a so-called “Keeper of the Cup” to keep the Walter Cup under closer watch.

“Maybe somewhere down the road,” said Jayna Hefford, the league’s executive vice-president of hockey operations. “I think we’ve had so much on our plates and so much to work on and to build and to do.

“We haven’t got there yet, but we’re confident that it’ll travel around and still make its appearances so that people can feel part of it.”

The league’s championship trophy first went missing last month when it failed to arrive in Lethbridge, Alta., where it was to spend a day with Montreal Victoire forward Dara Greig.

A container did arrive, but not the one the PWHL shipped with the trophy inside. The league said the cup was “lost in shipment” before it was eventually found days later and reunited with the team.

“Turns out, even the Walter Cup can have a little off-season adventure,” the PWHL said at the time. “We’re looking forward to the Victoire continuing their celebrations alongside their cup.”

It’s unclear where the trophy was found or how it went missing. The league said it was working with its shipping company on the matter.

Then in early September, former Victoire forward Shiann Darkangelo posted on social media that the Cup didn’t arrive in time for an event she attended in Brighton, Mich.

The PWHL, which will kick off its fourth season this fall, didn’t comment on the second case. The league used the same shipping company on both occasions, according to a sourced report in The Athletic.

Greig’s plans in Lethbridge were postponed until this week. The cup was on display as she attended a meet-and-greet event with fans Wednesday night outside a city arena.

“The cup has been a lot of places,” Hefford said Thursday. “As travel happens, it happens to all of us, of course, where [there are] delays and cancellations and different things. It’s been challenging to move it as much as we’ve been moving it, but it’s important to us that it moves around and people have a chance to see it and touch it and feel it and create memories.

“So we’ll continue to move [it] around and hopefully we don’t have that happen again.”

The original sterling silver Tiffany & Co.-designed Walter Cup is kept at the Hockey Hall of Fame. The travelling cup is a replica of the one presented to teams on the ice after winning the championship.

“It wasn’t lost,” Hefford added. “It was delayed in transit. We always knew where it was.”

The National Hockey League uses a number of cup keepers to travel with the Stanley Cup throughout the year and ensure its safety at events, charity appearances and celebration days.

Hefford was joined by other league executives Thursday at the Hall as the PWHL announced it would host its first all-star event in Toronto on March 7.

The 12-team PWHL – which includes four expansion teams this season – is expected to release its 2026-27 schedule over the coming days. Training camps are scheduled to open Nov. 18.