Chapter Nineteen #3
Then she graduated, entered local news and followed the available work toward junior hockey.
She had not thought of that team in years.
Now Halifax was receiving a professional one.
The moderator opened the floor for questions.
Television reporters asked about economic impact and ticket pricing. Another reporter asked when the team name would be announced.
Tessa waited until the first wave passed, then raised her hand.
The moderator called on her.
“Tessa Brantley, Halifax Tribune,” she said.
“You’ve emphasized that this will be a full professional franchise rather than an extension of the Convoy’s existing operation.
Will the team have independent hockey operations, dedicated training facilities and its own medical and performance staff from the beginning, or will those departments be shared? ”
Batemann nodded before she finished.
“The business side will benefit from some existing resources within the ownership group, particularly during the launch,” he said. “But hockey operations will be independently led. The general manager, coaching staff, medical staff and player-development structure will belong to this team.”
The commissioner added that league standards required dedicated player facilities and resources equivalent to those of existing franchises.
Tessa wrote the answer.
Then followed up.
“Will those dedicated facilities be ready before training camp, and will the team have its own permanent dressing room at Atlantic Centre rather than converting a visiting space for games?”
The question produced a more specific answer.
Construction would begin in the spring. The organization planned a permanent dressing room, training area and offices within the arena, with a separate practice facility agreement nearing completion.
Tessa saw several reporters writing more quickly.
Another question moved to public financing.
Tessa waited again.
When called on a second time, she asked about regional access.
“You’ve described this as a team for Atlantic Canada, not only Halifax.
Are there plans to hold preseason games, practices or community events in places like Charlottetown, Moncton or Sydney, particularly in markets where girls currently have limited opportunities to see professional women’s players in person? ”
The commissioner smiled.
“Yes,” she said. “That was one of the strongest parts of the Halifax proposal.”
The ownership group planned a regional preseason tour and rotating youth clinics. Nothing had been finalized, but Charlottetown and Moncton were among the cities under consideration.
Tessa felt the answer personally.
She imagined a girl in Prince Edward Island sitting in an arena rather than on a living-room floor, watching professional players who did not disappear for four years between meaningful broadcasts.
Her next note was underlined twice.
The press conference continued for nearly an hour.
When it ended, Tessa moved toward the front rather than immediately returning upstairs. She introduced herself to the league commissioner, confirmed the timeline for hiring hockey operations staff and requested a separate interview about the expansion process.
She spoke with Batemann about why the family pursued the team. His answer began with business, market demand and arena dates, but became more animated when he described taking his granddaughter to a women’s game in Montreal.
“We’ve spent years talking about Halifax as a hockey city,” Batemann said. “This is a chance to prove we mean all of hockey.”
Tessa wrote the quote down.
It would likely become part of the lead.
By the time she reached the media room, she had enough material for three stories.
Elaine messaged before Tessa sat.
Elaine: Well, not Viktor.
Tessa exhaled.
Tessa: Thank God.
Elaine: Can you give me 1,000 on the announcement and a sidebar on facilities/regional plans?
Tessa smiled at the screen.
So much for filing once.
Tessa: Yes.
Elaine: Then four days off. I mean it.
Tessa: Filing soon.
She put the phone down.
The blank document opened beneath her fingers.
Tessa wrote:
Halifax has spent four decades calling itself a professional hockey city. Beginning next season, it will have another team with which to prove it.
The story moved quickly after that.
She explained the announcement, the timeline and the Batemann family’s role. She detailed the independent hockey operations structure and plans for permanent facilities. She included the regional tour, youth clinics and the possibility of preseason games beyond Halifax.
The personal memories remained outside the article.
Her mother waking her for Olympic games.
The university press box where she learned to record line combinations.
A captain thanking Tessa for showing up because no reporter had attended the previous weekend.
Those details belonged to her, at least for now.
But they shaped the questions.
They made the announcement feel larger than another ownership transaction.
Tessa finished the main story in seventy minutes. The facilities sidebar took another forty. She read both carefully, corrected three typos created by fatigue and sent them to Elaine.
The reply arrived a few minutes later.
Elaine: Excellent. You clearly care about this.
Tessa looked at the sentence.
She did.
The realization felt obvious once someone else named it.
Tessa: I covered women’s hockey in university. I forgot how much I liked it.
Elaine: Don’t forget again. Now go home.
Tessa closed the laptop.
Below the media room windows, employees dismantled the press conference stage. The league logo had disappeared from the screen, replaced again by the Convoy mark. The covered display was being wheeled toward the loading area, HALIFAX COMING NEXT SEASON still visible across it.
No name yet.
No players.
Almost no history.
Only a beginning.
Tessa gathered her things and slipped the credential over her head.
Her phone vibrated before she reached the elevator.
Matvei.
Matvei: What is news?
Tessa smiled.
Tessa: Halifax is getting a women’s professional team next season. Same ownership.
The response took longer than usual.
Matvei: Big.
Tessa: Very big.
She looked once more through the window toward the empty rink.
The first game remained months away.
There would be an executive search, a general manager, coaches, players and an expansion draft. A name would be chosen. Colors would appear. Eventually, a team would take the ice beneath banners that did not yet exist.
Tessa felt the first pull of another question.
Then another.
She stepped into the elevator already thinking about the next story.