PWHL Minnesota's Michela Cava on inclusivity and winning it all

Michela Cava has had a busy off-season since she helped Minnesota win the first-ever PWHL championship at the end of May. She threw a pitch at the local baseball game in her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., she flew west to Vancouver to spend time with her girlfriend and fellow PWHL champion, Emma Greco, and then just last week, Cava inked a year-long extension to continue to play in the State of Hockey. 

The 30-year-old winger was one of three Canadians to win the Walter Cup in May, and Cava was in playoff MVP discussions, too, after tying for the league lead with eight post-season points. (The trophy was awarded to her linemate, Taylor Heise.)

Cava caught up with Sportsnet to talk coming alive in the post-season, helping further the PWHL’s message of inclusivity, and why winning seems to follow her everywhere she goes. This conversation was edited for length and clarity.

SPORTSNET: How’s the buzz back home in Thunder Bay about your win?

CAVA: It’s actually crazy. I went on the news last night with our [CBC] Thunder Bay Sports channel here, and I've had a couple of people reach out to do articles. I threw the first pitch at a baseball game [for the Thunder Bay Border Cats, a collegiate summer team in the Northwoods League]. It’s a humbling experience, and I’m not used to this [laughs]. I’m like, ‘Oh sure, that would be great – but are you sure you want me to do that?’”

No way — you’re a champion, and you were right there in the playoff MVP discussion.

Well, I’m really not used to this. It’s been a really cool buzz around the city, especially for all the young girls, having something to look forward to, and a player in the community. I think it's really cool for them and really cool for me too, because we had some big hockey names here in Thunder Bay as well while I was growing up. [Like Stanley Cup champions Patrick Sharp, Matt Murray and Jordan Staal.]  

You really elevated your game in the post-season [Cava had 8 points in 24 regular-season games, and 8 points in 10 playoff games]. Did something change for you? 

I think I just have a very competitive nature. I've been that way since I was a kid. And I mean, of course everybody is, but I just have this level in me that, when it is playoffs, I feel like I would do literally anything to try to get the team to win. I got a sniff of winning and what it feels like a few years ago, so now I just feel like every time we're in the position and we're that close, it's do-or-die. You’re like: We’ve got to do this. You know what it feels like after when you're lifting the trophy and celebrating with the girls. That definitely has a big impact, and I feel like that's why I get that way in the playoffs. 

And honestly, I felt really confident towards the end of the season in my play. I went through a few ups and downs throughout the year and just trying to find myself on this team and my role, since it was all so new… By the end of the season, I just felt like I could be myself on the ice and off the ice, and that definitely does make a huge impact on your play. I was like, “just be yourself and do great things,” and it felt really good. 

Your line with Kendall Coyne Schofield and Taylor Heise was really clicking. 

Yeah, this line was a lot of fun to play on. Every time we came off the ice, we always had something to say to each other. If we didn't have the greatest shift, somebody on the line was always like, “Okay, let’s go — we gotta do this!” And we all used our knowledge of hockey together. It wasn't one person trying to tell the line what to do, and I felt like that really helped us. We’re all very talented and skilled players and I really feel like that’s why we came together and played so well together, because we were always talking. 

This is your fourth straight professional title. [Cava won the PHF’s Isobel Cup in 2023 with Toronto, the 2022 Zhenskaya Hockey League championship with the KRS Vanke Rays, and the 2021 Swedish Women’s Hockey League title with Lulea HF.] How do you explain that? 

[Laughs.] I don't know — I've been lucky to play on a lot of good teams. … It's so hard to think about them all, and explain the experiences in a few sentences. But it's been really cool. And honestly, meeting all the different people has been the greatest part. As I get older, I usually play hockey still just to be around the group and they become like a family to you. It's definitely the main reason why I still love playing. 

It’s your second straight championship win with Emma [they were both part of the PHF’s final championship team, the Toronto Six]. What’s it like to win with her, back-to-back? 

It's something that we’ll remember for a long time. Obviously, we're very lucky to be able to have those experiences together. Yeah, [laughs] I don't really have very many words for that. We ended up finding each other in the group huddle right after we won, and I was just like: “We did it. We just did this!” It was so cool.

How was the celebration with the Walter Cup? It looks sturdy, but also like it could break if you dropped it?

[Laughs.] Yeah, I feel like all the trophies would break if you drop it in the wrong spot when it’s really high up in the air. When I picked it up, I really didn’t expect it to be that heavy. It looks really nice, but I had it for maybe five seconds or something on the ice, and then I was trying to get somebody else to take it and no one was stepping forward. I'm like, “Someone needs to grab this right now.” My arms are shaking, I can't have this any longer. It was the heaviest one I’ve ever had, for sure. 

Your team thought you’d be celebrating this win at home in Game 4 for a couple minutes. [Minnesota’s overtime winner in Game 4 was called back, then Boston scored less than a minute later to force Game 5.] What was that like?

That feeling when we did score in the overtime, it was one of the coolest things I've ever felt. I’m saying that now since we did win [in Game 5]. I'm not sure I'd have the same feelings if it didn't happen eventually. I had family take videos when it did happen, after we scored in overtime in Game 4, and they posted it in the group chat, and I'm like, I am not watching this! Unless we actually win. And then I could watch it.

I did watch it after and it was so cool, such a neat moment. The fans were going crazy. For us on the ice, obviously you're exhausted and you're like, ‘I can't play any longer.’ It was bittersweet, for maybe four minutes on the ice you’re so excited. Then the refs started going over to review the goal and I’m like, ‘This is not good.’

Goaltender interference is called, and you were probably scrambling to find your gloves and helmet…

Yeah, I think I threw my helmet so hard that I could barely even put it back on after. It was probably a little broken. But we had more than 13,000 people there. For me, that's new. The first time we had that many fans earlier this season, I actually started crying after the game. I had tears in my eyes and I was like, “This is so cool.” Because we're just we're just not used to it, most of us. I would say that's been the coolest part this year. 

Something I noticed this season about the fan experience: The in-arena Kiss Cam regularly showed gay couples kissing in the stands, and fans responded extra loudly with appreciation. Did you notice that? 

Yeah, honestly, it’s so awesome. They usually do that most games. I think our league is doing a very good job with that, and I think that is one of the reasons why we get as many fans as we do. They just know that we're all there for them. And they know that they can come to a game and not have anybody judging them and that we're all behind them. I think that's one of the big things that definitely helps the growth in our fans.

Do you think the PWHL has been promoting inclusivity since it started? 

Yeah, I feel very strong support from the league and, of course, from the fans. I think the fans love that a lot of us are very open with who we are and that they can kind of lean on us and feel a great amount of support, that they can come to the games and be whoever they want to be. And that we're on their side. I feel like that's a huge thing. And it hasn't been so open in the past, I would say. Even myself, the way I feel about it, I just feel like I need to be there for people that don't feel like they can be who they want to be. 

Were you always comfortable feeling like you can be who you want to be? And if not, when did that happen for you? 

I come from a small town. Well, I call it a town, it’s a city. But honestly, it did take me a while. I definitely have my family and friends behind me. 

But I just feel like it's important for everybody to know. We [she and Greco] obviously talked about it before because I never was actively showing my life on Instagram and those things, but obviously we have been open to it now. I think it's important for the followers and people to know that you don't have to be scared, and that people in our league and on our teams also support us. I think that’s important to do so people aren’t scared to play on teams and those types of things, too.

We knew that we didn’t care what other people think. And we’re super happy. We just wanted to enjoy our lives and not have any care about if people accepted it or not. I think that’s important, too. 

It was actually really cool — I think it was Game 4, there was a girl behind our bench, and she had a sign that said something like: “Thank you Emma and Michela for making me feel like I can be comfortable being myself.” I had thrown a puck to her, and she tagged me on Instagram afterwards. We actually ended up meeting her when we had our fan appreciation night on Friday after we won. To see people and the impact we make on people that are maybe struggling or just don't know how to be themselves, I think that's really cool. 

Absolutely. What went into your decision to re-sign in Minnesota? 

I really enjoyed my time in Minnesota, being so close to family and friends — also having my dog [a flat-coated retriever she got while playing in Sweden and named ‘Mats’ after Sundin] — which was a big reason for wanting to stay. But I also feel like I grew as a player and was given opportunities to better my game every day, and want to continue what we have been building here in Minnesota. 

[Editor’s note: Cava chose not to comment on a couple new developments with her club, which has had a busy off-season of its own: Minnesota’s firing of GM Natalie Darwitz days after the team won the title, and the team’s decision to draft Britta Curl, a second-round selection that drew the ire of many since Curl has demonstrated social media activity that targets members of the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities. Curl recently issued an apology.]

Next season will feature a longer regular season, with 30 games. What are you most looking forward to? 

I think it's going to be even better with the fans, which is crazy to say because it was a great first year for that. And a little bit longer of a season maybe to be able to get into a better rhythm at some points. Sometimes we didn’t have games for a week or so, and you can maybe feel like you’re on a little bit of a hot streak of something and then you’re not playing for a week. 

Starting earlier [in November, instead of January] will be good. I think everything will be a little bit more put together, and I can't wait to start Year 2. I mean, only a week out from the end of the season and I started to get the itch to want to go back. And them I’m like, “Okay, I need to relax a little bit too and enjoy the win for a bit.” It was a pretty incredible journey.