Pucks and Pitchforks spoke with Tatiana Rafter ahead of the Metropolitan Riveters double header with the New Jersey Devils. She talks about the importance of the NWHL, interacting with fans and what brought her back to the Riveters for a second season.
The New Jersey Devils announced a historic partnership prior to this season. They would become the first NHL team to partner with a women’s professional hockey team. It ended with a rebranding of the New York Riveters into the Metropolitan Riveters. One of the perks of the partnership is the Prudential Center will be home to a first-of-its-kind double header this Saturday.
We spoke with Tatiana Rafter, who plays forward for the Riveters. She’s already had an impressive career, winning gold for team Canada at the 2013 Winter Universiade. She also won Canada West Player of the Year for the UBC Thunderbirds in 2014, the first time a player’s won in team history.
She played very well in her first season with the Riveters, scoring six goals on a ridiculous 15.4% shooting percentage. Now, she’s getting ready for her third season in the NWHL.
“I just can’t seem to let go of the game. I’m really appreciative for what the game has given me and I just want to give back,” Rafter said. “I think this is the best way for me to do it right now.”
This weekend’s matchup with the Boston Pride starts the season for the Riveters, and the players are starting with a bang. In front of NHL fans, this game will bring a whole new audience to the budding league.
“I never played on an official NHL rink before, so that will be really exciting. It’s a pretty big step for our league. It’s the first ever partnership like this. I would describe it as a landmark event,” Rafter said. “And I think it was also be really cool to adopt some Devils fans and vice versa.”
The NWHL prides itself on fan interactions. Rafter tells me that her entire team will spend as long as possible with fans after every game. No matter how long fans want to spend with the ladies, the players are happy to spend time with fans. Rafter especially tells me the fans are what keeps her passion alive. She sees the future of women’s hockey every time she takes the ice.
“Whenever I play a game and interact with young fans afterwards, you always see this look in their eyes that their dreaming and they’re thinking of the future. I just watched some pro female players play hockey. And it was awesome. Whenever I see that look on their face it just reminds me how important it is. Just to see the growth, and maybe one day that little girl will have a full-time job. With the double header, were both playing on that ice. A young boy and a young girl have the same ability to dream,” Rafter said.
This is clearly a landmark for women’s hockey. The ability to get young Devils fans, both boys and girls, to give them something they will remember. This one game could be the reason the USA gets their next Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight or Tatiana Rafter.
Women’s hockey has already taken a strides in popularity years before this partnership. Mostly thanks to a rivalry between Team Canada and Team USA, which produced one of the best gold medal hockey games you’ll ever see back in 2014 (men or women). The game is growing, and the growth of the NWHL proves that.
This partnership between the Riveters and the Devils is another step in the right direction.
“I am so appreciative of the Devils support for the Riveters and the National Women’s Hockey League. I think this has had a big impact already,” Rafter said.
People are rallying behind this league. Even within the Prudential Center, Rafter tells me that the women who work for the Devils have been excited for this Saturday’s game against the Pride.
“A lot of the women that work in the building, they’ve gotten together and rallied the women for the game.”
This Riveters team has a lot to get behind. Janine Weber is a machine, scoring 10 goals and 12 assists in just 17 games. Rebecca Russo hands out assists like they’re going out of style. Then you can see Rafter doing something like this:
There’s so much more to all these females stories. They want to tell you their story. If you see Tatiana at the rink on Saturday, ask her about her tattoo. It’s a great story that will make you laugh. This partnership is more about women’s hockey. This is about showing the superstars that you never heard of until now. It’s about giving you another team to root for. It’s another jersey (that is now in the beautiful red and black) to hang in your closet until game day. This Saturday’s double header is about a day of hockey.
This partnership between the Devils and the Riveters already made a huge impact. People are talking about the NWHL, and they should. There will only be more conversations once Saturday comes around.
Once you watch Saturday’s game, make sure to watch the Riveters play the rest of the season. They will often be the NWHL game of the week, which can be streamed on their Twitter.
If you want to hear more from Tatiana Rafter, check out her podcast she did with Devils All Access hosts Amanda Stein and Arda Ocal. You can listen to it below.