Battle of Bay Street brings Bourbonnais full circle

A charter member of the New York Sirens, the professional sojourn of Jaime Bourbonnais has involved numerous linkages to her hockey heritage. Growing up as a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Mississauga-born blueliner experienced two of her biggest games in the venues her favorite team has called home.

Having played in the first-ever PWHL game, held on January 1, 2024, at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), housed inside the iconic Maple Leaf Gardens, Bourbonnais logged an assist in a 4-0 New York win. Certainly, the brush with history served as prologue in an exciting narrative.

As a young spectator, the Air Canada Centre, known today as Scotiabank Arena, provided her with the opportunity to enjoy numerous NHL contests. Decked out in the Maple Leafs third jersey, enhanced by an embroidered retro logo, echoing sentiments of previous glories, said jersey proved a hallowed keepsake. Featuring the signatures of numerous Leafs stars, it was always worn with pride by Bourbonnais.

Growing up to become a role model herself, akin to the NHLers she watched, Bourbonnais starred at the provincial level with the Oakville Jr. Hornets. Followed by a fantastic four-year stint with the Ivy League’s Cornell Big Red, the opportunity to skate with the Canadian national women’s ice hockey team allowed for another special linkage. Worth noting, her great uncle Roger, a member of the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame, wore the Maple Leaf at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Games, earning a bronze medal.

Gracing the ice at Scotiabank Arena for a January 25, 2025 faceoff versus the Toronto Sceptres, promoted as the second “Battle of Bay Street”, Bourbonnais enjoyed the opportunity to wear another special jersey. Worth noting, both Sirens and Sceptres wore jerseys part of Molson’s “See My Name” jersey program. Said jerseys feature the Molson logo on the upper back while the players names are visible on the bottom of the jersey back.

Considering the Canadian content on the Sirens roster, the Arena held special meaning for another player with a career path similar to Bourbonnais. Raised in Georgetown, Sarah Fillier also played in the Ivy League, wearing the Princeton Tigers colors. Having called Bourbonnais a teammate at the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championships, both are now garbed in the Sirens colors.

The excitement of playing on NHL ice marked more than a dream come true. Signifying an important validation, players like Bourbonnais are truly major league athletes, Scotiabank Arena providing the celebrated stage. With a capacity crowd of 19,102, many of the fans on-hand are going to grow up dreaming of emulating the likes of Bourbonnais and the other empowering PWHL skaters.

Despite the final score, one which saw the Sceptres prevail in a 4-2 final, it could not dampen the sense of celebration for an elated Bourbonnais. Logging a solid 19:41 minutes of ice time, it was part of a bigger story. Absorbing the sights and sounds, skating across the frozen perimeter branded with the Maple Leafs logo at centre ice, a feeling of homecoming encompassing her sentiments on a magical day.   

“I think result aside, that game was so special to play on that ice. Even just looking down at the ice and seeing the Maple Leafs logo in the middle, that was pretty cool. I grew up cheering for a lot of Leafs games, and I still cheer for them. It was pretty surreal to play and even though the crowd wasn’t cheering for us, it was pretty electric. I am just proud of myself, and I played for little Jaime out there today.”

Featured image by Lori Bolliger Photography