Maggie Flaherty on Three Cups, Montreal and What She Still Wants to Do With the Trophy

Maggie Flaherty has won the Walter Cup three times. She has drunk from it. Her dog has eaten out of it. She has not yet eaten from it herself.

"I'd like to put some food in there and eat a bowl of cereal or something," Flaherty told the Duluth News Tribune during a visit to Amsoil Arena last week, where she was among former UMD Bulldogs on hand for a pro camp ahead of PWHL training camps opening November 18.

Flaherty spent the first two of her three championship seasons with the Minnesota Frost, then signed with Montreal ahead of 2025-26. The Victoire won the franchise's first Walter Cup title that spring, with Flaherty contributing three goals and an assist in the postseason. She re-signed with Montreal this summer on a two-year deal.

The defender grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota, played at UMD, and won back-to-back titles in Minnesota before making the move to a new country and a new language. She described the adjustment as a genuine culture shift. "Moving to a new city, let alone a new country, and one that speaks a lot of French, was quite a change-up," she said. "We say the State of Hockey is Minnesota, but Canada claims their whole country is the Country of Hockey."

On the Cup itself, the rules got a little stricter this year. After the trophy took some damage during the championship parade and celebrations in Canada, players were required to send photos before and after their day with it. "Don't drop it" was, per Flaherty, essentially the only official instruction.

On the league's trajectory, Flaherty pointed to the TV deals secured this season, rising youth participation numbers in expansion markets, and Takeover Tour crowds exceeding 18,000 and 20,000 in NHL arenas as signs of real momentum. "I think there's a lot of places to grow, but I think it's going in the right direction," she said.

Her one ask for the future: every PWHL team playing in an NHL rink on a regular basis.