
Quebec City, Quebec will be hosting a Professional Women’s Hockey League regular season game on January 19 according to Rogers Sportsnet on Tuesday. The game will be played at the Videotron Centre, and will feature the Montreal Victoire and Ottawa Charge.
The Videotron Centre was opened in 2015. Its primary tenant is the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. There was hope by building the arena, that Quebec City would see the return of the National Hockey League and/or have a successful bid for the Olympic Winter Games. Neither has transpired yet.
Quebec City applied for a NHL expansion franchise in 2016. However, the NHL only accepted one franchise at the time, and that was Las Vegas. According to Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette, there is a belief that as long as Gary Bettman is the NHL Commissioner, there will never be NHL hockey in Quebec City. The Nordiques were in the NHL from 1979 to 1995 before moving to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche. As for the Olympic Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee has determined every host venue through to 2034.
By hosting a PWHL regular season game, there is a belief that Quebec City is interested in a PWHL franchise. There are three PWHL franchises based in Canada. They are in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.