‘A pinch-me moment’

Kati Tabin was in the midst of hugging her teammates and soaking in the moment when a stark reminder of the magnitude of the long and winding road that brought her to the pinnacle of this remarkable journey was brought to her attention yet again.

“That was just it — it was like a pinch-me moment, like Holy (crap), we did it,” Tabin said in a telephone interview over the weekend. “It was so crazy, because one of my teammates came up to me after the game and she said ‘hey, remember when you quit hockey?’

“It was just kind of funny to think about that and to think about where we are now. I’m just super grateful that I stuck with it.”

The Oakbank product has been a little busy since Wednesday night, when the Montreal Victoire became the first Canadian team to capture the Walter Cup as champions of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

The Victoire secured a 4-0 victory over the Ottawa charge to wrap up the best-of-five championship final three games to one and Tabin was on the ice as the final buzzer sounded.

“They put the girls out there who have been here since Day 1, which was pretty special,” she said. “Going into that game, I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to win. As the goals kept coming, we were getting more and more excited.

“Trying to hold our composure on the bench was pretty tough, but it was so cool to be out on the ice and to be on the ice and being able to celebrate right away.”

It turns out that the celebration is ongoing.

“The best part about it is that this entire group is so special. You could just kind of feel it from Day 1.”

“A lot of fun, to say the least,” said Tabin. “We’re getting invited to different things and just hanging out and doing whatever we can together.

“The best part about it is that this entire group is so special. You could just kind of feel it from Day 1. Good people, at the end of the day, and that’s who you want to go to battle with. So, winning with a group like that just makes it 10 times better.”

Wrapping up the title capped an exceptional and inspirational season for Tabin, one that included playing her first professional game in her home province during a PWHL Takeover Tour and representing her country at the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

Not a bad series of accomplishments for someone who had entered the working world on two separate occasions and thought she was retired from competitive hockey, only to be drawn back to pursuing her passion and chasing her dream with the support of her friends and family members.

Tabin, 29, is playing the best hockey of her career, finishing the PWHL playoffs with a goal and an assist in nine playoff games for the Victoire after chipping in two goals and 12 points in 30 games during the regular season.

There were some eyebrows raised in some hockey circles after the Victoire chose to face the Minnesota Frost in the opening round of the playoffs. The PWHL allows the top-ranked team in the regular season to pick its opponent. In this case, that opponent just happened to be the two-time defending Walter Cup champions.

“When we decided to go with Minnesota, there was not a doubt in anyone’s mind,” said Tabin. “We had all the confidence in our group in the world. It didn’t matter what team we played, we knew we had a really good chance to win.”

The best-of-five series offered plenty of drama, going the distance and ending with the Victoire coming away victorious in a battle that included four one-goal games and two contests that went to extra time — including a triple-OT thriller in Game 2 that Montreal won 1-0 on a goal from eventual Ilana Kloss Playoff MVP, Marie-Philip Pouin.

Poulin also scored the game-winner and series clincher in Game 5, setting the stage for the all-Canadian final with the Charge.

“Looking back at it now, I just think about this group and how resilient we are,” said Tabin. “The love for each other and wanting to put your bodies on the line and to do every single thing that you can right. A lot of heart and when you have that, you kind of feel invincible out there.

“We kept gaining more and more momentum, things started clicking and everyone started stepping up.”

Tabin concedes that she took a bit of grief in her family chat after missing a backhand opportunity in the opening-round series.

“We kept gaining more and more momentum, things started clicking and everyone started stepping up.”

“It was kind of funny. My family group chat was kind of chirping me — saying you know you’ve got to raise the puck,” said Tabin. “We were laughing about it and I just started thinking if I get that chance again, I’m not missing that.”

During Game 2 of the Walter Cup final, Tabin got another glorious chance and gave the family chat something to celebrate, scoring the equalizer before the Victoire once again won in overtime.

“The way that our faceoff play was drawn up, it wasn’t even for me to go through. I was going to win the puck back to my D partner (Maggie Flaherty),” said Tabin. “But the puck started bobbling, so I decided I would take this to the net. It was a special goal for me.

“I told (the family chat) to keep chirping me because apparently that’s what I need to score.”

All kidding aside, Tabin was incredibly thankful for the support of her family, friends and others who have been in her corner throughout this magical journey.

“Everyone has been super nice, some very nice messages, even from players on the Charge, girls I grew up playing hockey with and old coaches,” said Tabin. “They were saying ‘you deserve this, what an incredible year. We’re so happy for you.’ Loads of love coming in over these last couple of days. It’s really cool to say that we did it.”

Being a teammate of Poulin, considered by many to be the greatest women’s player of all time, is another one of the many highlights for Tabin.

“I cannot say enough about Marie. She’s incredible,” said Tabin. “She’s the ultimate leader, she’s such a good friend, such a good person. She never takes a day off. To see her succeed and get this Cup, it means a lot to all of us. But I’m even more happy that we were able to do that with her. She’s always battling and it’s extremely well deserved for someone like her.”

The PWHL recently announced expansion teams for Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose for next season, bringing the league to 12 teams.

That means another expansion draft that will significantly alter the Victoire roster, but it also represents the important growth the league has been looking for since its inception.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of moving pieces for us players, but as the league starts to settle at 12 teams, we want it to keep growing and we’re here to kind of set it up for the next generation…”

More teams also means more opportunities for female players to chase their dreams.

“It’s awesome to see it growing. It keeps getting better and better,” said Tabin. “That’s what we want. Obviously, there’s a lot of moving pieces for us players, but as the league starts to settle at 12 teams, we want it to keep growing and we’re here to kind of set it up for the next generation so that it’s all done and they’ve just got to come and play and not worry about the rest of it.”

Thanks to the benefit of some time for reflection, Tabin is taking plenty of positives from her Olympic experience, even though the gold-medal game ended in heartbreak with an overtime loss to the United States.

“(The Olympics) were my ultimate dream come true and you don’t really know what to expect, going into a gold-medal game,” said Tabin. “Canada and the U.S. is exactly what you want. I get goose bumps just thinking about it now. It’s such a cool rivalry. Not the outcome we wanted, but to be able to put on that Maple Leaf and represent Canada with such a great group of girls, I wish I could do it all over again.”

Given the way Tabin is playing right now, that opportunity might just be available to her four years down the road at the next Olympics in France.

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