Michela Cava

Michela Cava
Cava with PWHL Minnesota in 2024
Born	(1994-03-26) March 26, 1994 (age 30) Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Weight	134 lb (61 kg; 9 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Right
PWHL team Former teams	Minnesota Frost Toronto Six KRS Vanke Rays Luleå HF/MSSK Brynäs IF Modo Hockey Toronto Furies Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs UConn Huskies
Playing career	2012–present

Michela Cava (born March 26, 1994) is a Canadian ice hockey centre for the Minnesota Frost 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]

Personal life

Cava has been in a relationship with her former Toronto Six and PWHL Minnesota teammate Emma Greco since October 2022.^[15]

Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2012–13	UConn Huskies	NCAA		34	10	7	17	16		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	UConn Huskies	NCAA		35	10	17	27	14		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	UMD Bulldogs	NCAA		32	3	3	6	8		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	UMD Bulldogs	NCAA		37	19	19	38	10		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Toronto Furies	CWHL		24	6	8	14	10		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Modo Hockey	SDHL		36	25	30	55	26		5	1	2	3	2
2018–19	Modo Hockey	SDHL		36	27	37	64	30		6	6	5	11	4
2019–20	Brynäs IF	SDHL		36	23	22	45	26		5	4	2	6	0
2020–21	Luleå HF	SDHL		36	29	37	66	22		9	5	5	10	4
2020–21	KRS Vanke Rays	ZhHL		—	—	—	—	—		3	0	3	3	0
2021–22	Toronto Six	PHF		11	4	3	7	6		1	0	0	0	0
2021–22	KRS Vanke Rays	ZhHL		12	3	13	16	4		8	6	11	17	8
2022–23	Toronto Six	PHF		24	9	12	21	8		4	3	3	6	0
2023–24	PWHL Minnesota	PWHL		24	5	3	8	4		10	4	4	8	4
CWHL totals				24	6	8	14	10		—	—	—	—	—
SDHL totals				144	104	126	230	104		25	16	14	30	10
ZhHL totals				12	3	13	16	4		11	6	14	20	8
PHF totals				35	13	15	28	14		5	3	3	6	0
PWHL totals				24	5	3	8	4		10	4	4	8	4

Sources:^[16][17][18]

Awards and honours

• 2012 Esso Cup MVP
• CWHL First Star of the Game (October 16, 2016)^[19]
• CWHL Second Star of the Game (October 30, 2016)^[20]
• SDHL Top Point Scorer, 2018–19 season
• SDHL Champion, 2020–21 (Luleå HF/MSSK)
• ZhHL Champion, 2021–22 (KRS Vanke Rays)
• PHF Playoff MVP, 2022–23 (Toronto Six)
• PHF Isobel Cup Champion, 2022–23 (Toronto Six)
• PWHL Walter Cup Champion, 2023–24 (Minnesota)

References

1. Graves, Wendy (January 8, 2017). "A league of her own". Hockey Canada. Archived from the original on January 19, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
2. Staffieri, Mark (January 2, 2017). "Michela Cava Making Key Contributions on Furies Offense". Women's Hockey Life. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
3. Graves, Wendy (August 23, 2016). "The next chapter: For the fourth straight year, a National Women's U18 Championship alumna went first overall in the CWHL Draft". Hockey Canada. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
4. "34 Players Named to 2017 All-Star Game". CWHL. December 19, 2016. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
5. Foster, Meredith (May 25, 2017). "Michela Cava, Sidney Morin sign in Sweden". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
6. Foster, Meredith (April 19, 2018). "Cava, Tougas return to MODO Hockey". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
7. Rönnkvist, Ronnie (September 2, 2019). "Poängdrottningen jagar nya mål – och matupplevelser". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
8. "Luleå vann kampen om Brynässtjärnorna". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). June 22, 2020. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
9. Levine, Josh (October 6, 2021). "Toronto Six Make Free Agent Splash, Sign Forward Michela Cava For PHF's Seventh Season". Premier Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
10. Kennedy, Ian (March 27, 2023). "PHF's Toronto Six Beat Minnesota Whitecaps To Win Isobel Cup". The Hockey News. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
11. Wegman, Josh (September 18, 2023). "PWHL Draft results: Minnesota takes Heise with top pick". theScore. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
12. Blount, Rachel (May 29, 2024). "PWHL Minnesota lifts Walter Cup as league's first champion with Game 5 win over Boston". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
13. Salvian, Hailey (May 29, 2024). "PWHL Minnesota wins first-ever Walter Cup championship". The Athletic. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
14. "PWHL Minnesota Re-Signs Cava, Křížová, Schepers". thepwhl.com. June 21, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
15. de la Cretaz, Frankie (February 14, 2024). "The Teammates-to-Dating Pipeline in Women's Sports Is Very Real—And Very Cute". SELF. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
16. "Michela Cava career stats". USCHO. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
17. "Michela Cava". CWHL. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
18. "Michela Cava, Player Statistics". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
19. "Game Recap: Game #7". CWHL. October 16, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
20. "Game Recap: Game #13". CWHL. October 30, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com