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

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 on Tuesday that Cava and another forward, Tereza Vanišová, have signed two-year Professional Women's Hockey League Standard Player Agreements to join the team through the 2026-27 season. 

Cava, 31, told CBC Thunder Bay that she had "really good years" in Minnesota the past few seasons, but she felt it was time for a change.

"After having really good conversations with the GM out in Vancouver [it] just seemed like the right fit for me and the time of my career to kind of get that stability of having a two-year contract," she said.

"A lot of my good friends from Minnesota actually [have] already taken the expansion draft out there and I just think it's going to be a really good group and a really good culture in the locker room and that's something I'm really excited to join." 

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

"Michela has tremendous vision, and her elite playmaking will help our offense," Gardner Morey said in a news release. "She is also a proven winner as a member of five straight championship teams." 

Cava finished fourth in Minnesota scoring this season with 19 points, including nine goals and 10 assists in 30 games. Since joining the team as a 12th-round pick in the inaugural PWHL Draft, she has amassed 27 points (14G, 13A) in 54 games, elevating her offensive production in the playoffs with 13 points (7G, 6A) in 18 postseason contests. 

Cava split her NCAA tenure between the University of Connecticut and the University of Minnesota-Duluth and has been playing professionally since 2016-17. Her five straight championships count two Walter Cups, an Isobel Cup with the PHF's Toronto Six (2023), and overseas titles with the KRS Vanke Rays in Russia's ZhHL (2022) and Luleå in Sweden's SDHL (2021).

Cava said she's excited about being part of hockey at the PWHL level. 

"I graduated over 10 years ago now but I've tried a bunch of different pro leagues and I just think it's incredible the success we've had bringing all the fans together just to kind of cheer on the eight teams," she said.

"It's super cool to be a part of, and I think it's only going to keep getting better. And it's just cool for the young girls to be able to have something to look forward to and playing instead of just kind of going to college and then trying to figure out their career after that.

"I just think it's very, very, very awesome for everybody involved, so it's so cool," added Cava.