For Ottawa's first PWHL players, new hockey league a dream come true

As one of only six franchises playing in the inaugural season of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), Ottawa's team has already scored three of Canada's top players.

Forwards Emily Clark and Brianne Jenner and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer have each signed three-year deals with the yet-unnamed team ahead of the upcoming draft.

All three played for the women's national team and have earned Olympic medals for Canada. 

The honour of being the first player signed to the league is "still sinking in, but definitely a dream come true," Clark told CBC Radio's All In A Day.

From a young age, Clark said, she'd always wanted to be the "first girl" to play for the NHL.

The 27-year-old from Saskatoon said she never gave up on the dream of playing professional hockey — and joining the PWHL means she's been able to make it happen.

"I feel like a kid, honestly, with the excitement around it," said Clark, adding she's excited to move to Ottawa and explore her neighbourhood and local restaurants.

Jenner said signing with Ottawa was "absolutely" her first choice.

"It's the right fit for me, the right fit for my family," the 33-year-old from Oakville, Ont., told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning. "We're just so excited to get there, get to know the community and become a part of the community."

Jenner, who's played hockey since she was just two, said she's thrilled that young women and girls now have a professional league as well as the national team to look up to.

"It's just so monumental for our sport [and] for our future generations of girls and boys," she said.

The new league was created with participation from members of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association — a group for which Jenner served as a founding board