Michela Cava Explained

Michela Cava
Birth Date:26 March 1994
Birth Place:Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Height Ft:5
Height In:4
Weight Lb:134
Position:Centre
Shoots:Right
League:PWHL
Team:PWHL Minnesota
Sex:f
Career Start:2012

Michela Cava (born March 26, 1994) is a Canadian ice hockey centre for PWHL Minnesota of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

Playing career

Along with goaltender Danika Ranger, Cava is one of only two players to have won a gold medal at the Esso Cup, Canada’s National Female Midget Championship and the U18 Canadian women’s nationals.[1] Cava was the first, winning the Esso Cup with the Thunder Bay Queens in 2010 and with Team Ontario Red at the 2011 nationals.

College

Cava played college ice hockey her first two seasons with the University of Connecticut Huskies. Prior to her junior season, she transferred to the University of Minnesota Duluth to join the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey program. In her final NCAA season, she recorded 38 points in 37 contests, including 12 multi-point games.[2]

Professional

Cava was selected by the Toronto Furies in the third round of the 2016 CWHL Draft.[3] She made her debut on October 14 against the Boston Blades. Cava recorded a five-game scoring streak, starting on October 30 and lasting until November 20. She was selected to compete in the 2017 CWHL All-Star Game.[4]

After just one year in Toronto, Cava left the league to move to Sweden, signing with Modo Hockey in the SDHL.[5] She would score 55 points in 36 games in her first season in Sweden, leading Modo in points and finishing 5th in the league in scoring.[6] The next year, she would score 64 points, finishing the season as the SDHL's leading scorer.

In 2019, Cava left Modo to sign with Brynäs in Gävle, seeking a new challenge and wanting to move to a bigger city.[7] She would score 45 points in 36 games for Brynäs, finishing fourth in club scoring, as the club advanced to the SDHL semi-finals for the first time in seven years. She would sign with Luleå ahead of the 2020–21 SDHL season.[8]

On October 6, 2021, Cava signed with the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation.[9] She would be named the Playoff MVP for the 2022–23 season, leading the Six to win the Isobel Cup.[10]

Cava was drafted in the 12th round of the 2023 PWHL Draft by Minnesota.[11] During the 2023–24 season, she recorded five goals and three assists in 24 regular season games. During the playoffs she tied Taylor Heise for the team lead in scoring with four goals and four assists in ten games, and helped Minnesota win the inaugural Walter Cup.[12] [13] On June 21, 2024, Minnesota re-signed Cava to a one-year contract for the 2024–25 season.[14]

Career statistics

  Regular Season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2012–13 NCAA34 10 7 17 16
2013–14 UConn Huskies NCAA35 10 17 27 14
2014–15 NCAA32 3 3 6 8
2015–16 UMD Bulldogs NCAA37 19 19 38 10
CWHL24 6 8 14 10
SDHL36 25 30 55 265 1 2 3 2
Modo Hockey SDHL36 27 37 64 306 6 5 11 4
SDHL36 23 22 45 265 4 2 6 0
SDHL36 29 37 66 229 5 5 10 4
ZhHL3 0 3 3 0
PHF11 4 3 7 61 0 0 0 0
KRS Vanke Rays ZhHL12 3 13 16 48 6 11 17 8
Toronto Six PHF24 9 12 21 84 3 3 6 0
PWHL24 5 3 8 410 4 4 8 4
CWHL totals24 6 8 14 10
SDHL totals144 104 126 230 10425 16 14 30 10
ZhHL totals12 3 13 16 411 6 14 20 8
PHF totals35 13 15 28 145 3 3 6 0
PWHL totals24 5 3 8 410 4 4 8 4
Sources: [15] [16] [17]

Awards and honours

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Graves. Wendy. 2017-01-08. A league of her own. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170119121931/http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/2016-17-nwu18t-ranger-in-league-of-her-own. January 19, 2017. 2017-01-24. Hockey Canada.
  2. Web site: Staffieri. Mark. 2017-01-02. Michela Cava Making Key Contributions on Furies Offense. 2020-11-21. Women's Hockey Life. en-US. September 26, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200926173552/https://womenshockeylife.com/michela-cava-making-key-contributions-on-furies-offense/. live.
  3. Web site: Graves. Wendy. 2016-08-23. The next chapter: For the fourth straight year, a National Women's U18 Championship alumna went first overall in the CWHL Draft. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202020029/https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/u18-nationals-alumnae-highlight-2016-chwl-draft. February 2, 2017. 2017-01-24. Hockey Canada.
  4. Web site: 34 Players Named to 2017 All-Star Game . CWHL . 2016-12-19 . 2017-01-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170116151054/http://www.thecwhl.com/32-players-named-2017-cwhl-star-game . 2017-01-16 . dead.
  5. Web site: Foster. Meredith. 2017-05-25. Michela Cava, Sidney Morin sign in Sweden. 2020-11-21. The Ice Garden. en. September 26, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190926042740/https://www.theicegarden.com/2017/5/25/15694506/michela-cava-sidney-morin-umd-cwhl-sdhl-modo. live.
  6. Web site: Foster. Meredith. 2018-04-19. Cava, Tougas return to MODO Hockey. 2020-11-21. The Ice Garden. en. October 18, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211018063545/https://www.theicegarden.com/2018/4/19/17258064/cava-tougas-return-to-modo-hockey-sweden-sdhl. live.
  7. Web site: Rönnkvist. Ronnie. 2019-09-02. Poängdrottningen jagar nya mål – och matupplevelser. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20230212191641/https://hockeysverige.se/2019/09/02/poangdrottningen-jagar-nya-mal-och-matupplevelser. February 12, 2023. 2020-11-21. HockeySverige. sv.
  8. Web site: 2020-06-22. Luleå vann kampen om Brynässtjärnorna. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201128162453/https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/OpwQgO. November 28, 2020. 2020-11-21. Aftonbladet. sv.
  9. Web site: Levine . Josh . 2021-10-06 . Toronto Six Make Free Agent Splash, Sign Forward Michela Cava For PHF's Seventh Season . 2021-12-08 . Premier Hockey Federation . December 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211208205556/https://toronto.premierhockeyfederation.com/news/toronto-six-make-free-agent-splash-sign-forward-mi . live.
  10. Web site: Kennedy . Ian . PHF's Toronto Six Beat Minnesota Whitecaps To Win Isobel Cup . The Hockey News . 10 December 2023 . en . 27 March 2023.
  11. Web site: Wegman . Josh . PWHL Draft results: Minnesota takes Heise with top pick . theScore . 10 December 2023 . en . 18 September 2023.
  12. News: PWHL Minnesota lifts Walter Cup as league's first champion with Game 5 win over Boston . . Rachel . Blount . May 29, 2024 . June 21, 2024.
  13. News: PWHL Minnesota wins first-ever Walter Cup championship . . Hailey . Salvian . May 29, 2024 . June 21, 2024.
  14. Web site: PWHL Minnesota Re-Signs Cava, Křížová, Schepers . thepwhl.com . June 21, 2024 . June 21, 2024.
  15. Web site: Michela Cava career stats. USCHO. 2017-02-07. February 8, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170208033717/http://www.uscho.com/stats/player/wid,9419/michela-cava/. live.
  16. Web site: Michela Cava . CWHL . 2017-02-07 . February 8, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170208034538/http://www.thecwhl.com/player?playerId=116&season=15 . live .
  17. Web site: Michela Cava, Player Statistics . Elite Prospects . 2022-10-10 . en . October 11, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221011015007/https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/370285/michela-cava . live .
  18. Web site: Game Recap: Game #7 . CWHL . 2016-10-16 . 2017-01-24 . February 2, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170202025134/http://www.thecwhl.com/game-summary?game_id=7 . live .
  19. Web site: Game Recap: Game #13. CWHL. 2016-10-30. 2017-01-24. February 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202024431/http://www.thecwhl.com/game-summary?game_id=13. live.