The week of May 4, 2026 is easily going to serve as a monumental week for women's sports.
We've already seen the announcement of a PWHL franchise heading to Detroit ahead of the league's fourth season. Just a day later, hints would emerge suggesting that Hamilton, Ontario, could be the site of the PWHL's 10th team.
And this weekend, two WNBA franchises will make their regular-season debuts. On Friday, the Toronto Tempo will take on the Washington Mystics at the Coca-Cola Coliseum, an inaugural contest that will serve as the first WNBA regular-season game to feature a Canadian franchise. The next day, the Portland Fire will host their inaugural regular-season game against the Chicago Sky.
For those reading this and thinking "ok, but what's the connection to the Edmonton Oilers?", there is one; specifically, through defenseman Darnell Nurse.
The Nurse family is full of athletes
In terms of the connection to the WNBA, enter Kia Nurse, Darnell's sister. Her decision to sign for the Tempo made her the first Canadian (both her and Darnell are from Hamilton) to sign for the expansion franchise. She also scored the first points for the franchise in a preseason game against the Connecticut Sun.
Besides serving as one of the Tempo's many veteran players, Kia helped kickstart the Phoenix Mercury's run to the WNBA Finals in 2021. She also played for the New York Liberty, who drafted her in 2018, the Seattle Storm, the Los Angeles Sparks, and the Chicago Sky.
Darnell's cousin is hockey player Sarah Nurse. Since the PWHL began play in 2024, Sarah established herself as one of the league's biggest names, recording 23 points in 24 games during the league's inaugural season. Her second and final season with the Toronto Sceptres would see her record just 14 points in 21 games, though her 2025-26 campaign currently sees her just shy of a point-per-game pace.
At the international level, Sarah spent much of the last 15 years establishing herself as a legend of the game. After finishing second at the U18 Women's World Championship with Canada, she would go on to earn another silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and then bronze at the 2019 Women's World Championship. A run of three consecutive gold medals would see her Canadian team win the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Women's World Championship while also earning gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics. That said, two of her last three medals were silver, coming at the 2023 and 2025 editions of the World Championship.
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