Thunder Bay's Michela Cava 'really excited' to join PWHL Vancouver

Desmond Brown · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 19, 2025 11:57 AM EDT | Last Updated: 13 minutes ago

Thunder Bay's Michela Cava says she's "really excited" to join PWHL Vancouver, and she welcomes the "stability of having a two-year contract."

PWHL Vancouver announced connected Tuesday that Cava and different forward, Tereza Vanišová, person signed two-year Professional Women's Hockey League Standard Player Agreements to articulation the squad done the 2026-27 season. 

Cava, 31, told CBC Thunder Bay that she had "really bully years" successful Minnesota the past fewer seasons, but she felt it was clip for a change.

"After having truly bully conversations with the GM retired successful Vancouver [it] conscionable seemed similar the close acceptable for maine and the clip of my vocation to benignant of get that stableness of having a two-year contract," she said.

"A batch of my bully friends from Minnesota really [have] already taken the enlargement draught retired determination and I conscionable deliberation it's going to beryllium a truly bully radical and a truly bully civilization successful the locker country and that's thing I'm truly excited to join." 

Cava has won back-to-back Walter Cup titles arsenic a subordinate of the Minnesota Frost, with PWHL Vancouver wide manager Cara Gardner Morey saying she has proven herself arsenic an outstanding player.

"Michela has tremendous vision, and her elite playmaking volition assistance our offense," Gardner Morey said successful a quality release. "She is besides a proven victor arsenic a subordinate of 5 consecutive title teams." 

Cava finished 4th successful Minnesota scoring this play with 19 points, including 9 goals and 10 assists successful 30 games. Since joining the squad arsenic a 12th-round prime successful the inaugural PWHL Draft, she has amassed 27 points (14G, 13A) successful 54 games, elevating her violative accumulation successful the playoffs with 13 points (7G, 6A) successful 18 postseason contests. 

Cava divided her NCAA tenure betwixt the University of Connecticut and the University of Minnesota-Duluth and has been playing professionally since 2016-17. Her 5 consecutive championships number 2 Walter Cups, an Isobel Cup with the PHF's Toronto Six (2023), and overseas titles with the KRS Vanke Rays successful Russia's ZhHL (2022) and Luleå successful Sweden's SDHL (2021).

Cava said she's excited astir being portion of hockey astatine the PWHL level. 

"I graduated implicit 10 years agone present but I've tried a clump of antithetic pro leagues and I conscionable deliberation it's unthinkable the occurrence we've had bringing each the fans unneurotic conscionable to benignant of cheer connected the 8 teams," she said.

"It's ace chill to beryllium a portion of, and I deliberation it's lone going to support getting better. And it's conscionable chill for the young girls to beryllium capable to person thing to look guardant to and playing alternatively of conscionable benignant of going to assemblage and past trying to fig retired their vocation aft that.

"I conscionable deliberation it's very, very, precise awesome for everybody involved, truthful it's truthful cool," added Cava.