PLAYER PROFILE – Emma Maltais, the current Toronto Sceptres forward, was born in Burlington, Ontario and is currently 26-years-old. She grew up in Southern Ontario, where she made a name for herself before going to college in the U.S.
Emma Maltais: The Upcoming Toronto Sceptres Star
Personal Life
Maltais started skating at a very young age, as her father, Mario Maltais, said this about her according to Aura Carreño Rosas of CBC News:
“She started pretty early,” said Mario. “[We] made an ice rink in the backyard, and she was like only two and a half or three when she first skated, and [her older brother] Matthew put her in the net with a rubber puck, and they were playing in this little patch of ice.”
Her initial interest, though, was in gymnastics, as she went into competitive gymnastics, but then got cut from a team. Jennifer Hariss then said this about her daughter, Emma, and her transition into the game of ice hockey in the same Rosas CBC News article:
“A month later, the gymnastics club came back to me and said, ‘We made a mistake,’ and I said, ‘It’s too late now. We just enrolled her in hockey’ and [it’s been] hockey ever since.”
However, it has been a hard journey for Emma. What has helped her, though, was her mother, Harris, who has a close bond with Emma, represented via a tattoo as mentioned in the same CBC News article:
“[Emma and I] have a tattoo,” she said. “It’s a symbol that means ‘everything happens for a reason,’ and we both have the tattoo in the same spot because I truly believe that … and she’s [there] now, so it’s incredible.”
She also knew how to have fun, as she grew up watching ‘Gossip Girl,’ according to Ashley McLellan of the PWHL.
The Ohio State University (2017-22)
Maltais, a player for “The Ohio State University, made an immediate impact for her team, the Ohio Buckeyes. She played 37 out of 39 games and had 40 points, as she had 16 goals and 24 assists. She was tied for third all-time in rookie points. Amazingly, she led the team as a rookie in points, finishing second overall in the WCHA.
Maltais broke the record for WCHA Rookie of the Month wins, tallying three over the season. She also got the WCHA Rookie of the Week honors on three different occasions.
She also got home the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week award after her four-point weekend at Minnesota.
Then in her sophomore season, she was in all 35 games, as she had 15 goals and 28 assists, with a total of 43 points. Maltais led the team in points for a second consecutive year. Maltais finished the season with 83 career points and was tied for 17th in program history. Additionally, she made the All-WCHA First Team for the second straight season
Additionally, the 28 assists she had tied her for the sixth-highest assist total for any Buckeye in a single season.
Then in the 2019-20 season, she had 29 points in 38 appearances.
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Records Broken and the Last Few Years at Ohio State University
She broke the program’s single-season assist record, with a new career-high 40 assists and a season-high 19 goals. Maltais also finished second in the conference in points and assists scoring and third in power play points. She was able to earn a new season-high of 19 goals, finishing second-best on the team.
Maltais also finished second in the conference in point scoring and assist scoring and was third in power play points. She finished ninth in the country in points per game and fourth in the country in assists per game. Maltais earned her 100th career point with an assist to Bemidji State on Nov. 2.
Her awards included being named the WCHA Preseason Co-Player of the Year, WCHA Preseason All-WCHA, 2x WCHA Forward of the Week (10/8/19, 1/14/20), NCAA No. 2 Star of the Week (1/14), and WCHA Forward of the Month (January 2020). She was named First Team All-WCHA and chosen as an ACHA Second-Team All-American, and even more remarkably, earned the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top 10 Finalist.
Maltais’s contribution at Ohio State University was recognized by her head coach at the time, Nadine Muzerall, who said this at the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award website:
“Emma is all-around our most dynamic player, and she’s a threat in all aspects of the game,” Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall said. “Emma uplifts everyone without even having to say anything — just by her example, both on and off the ice. She sets a standard and represents our culture of what it’s supposed to look like to be that elite status.”
In the 2020-21 season, she played in all 20 games and had 16 points, which included five goals and a team-high 11 assists. Maltais recorded her 100th career assist against Minnesota and was the Patty Kazmaier Top 10 Finalist for a second year in a row.
She studied health sciences at Ohio State University and was an intern at the Ohio State University. Maltais also interned at the Ohio State Neurological Institute.
The Ohio State University was the institution where Maltais was able to prove herself and get to the next level, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL).
All the information above can be found in the link here: Ohio State Buckeyes Website
Toronto Sceptres (2024-Present)
The Toronto Sceptees, which was known as PWHL Toronto for its first season in 2025, was where Emma Maltais got her first shot at being a professional ice hockey player. She was selected in the second round, 11th pick by PWHL Toronto (now the Toronto Sceptres). This is what Maltais said about being drafted by the Sceptres, according to the CBC Sports YouTube Account on September 25, 2023:
With the Sceptres, Maltais scored the first-ever jailbreak goal (a shorthanded goal in the PWHL that ends the other team’s power play).
READ MORE: Toronto Sceptres Powerplay Was Clinical Against the Boston Fleet
Maltais had a very successful rookie season (2023-24 or the 2024 season). In 24 games, she scored four goals and delivered 15 assists for her team. Her second season was not as successful, but still, she made a valuable contribution to the team, scoring four goals and delivering five assists for the newly named Sceptres team in the 2024-25 PWHL season.
Maltais has been making contributions to her team recently, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against the New York Sirens and becoming a fan favourite in Toronto. That is not the only thing that has changed, though. She has also taken more responsibility with the Sceptres as a full-time centre. This is what Maltais said about the opportunity this season, according to C Benwell of The Hockey News:
“I’m excited to play centre. I’m up for the challenge,” Maltais said. “I’ve always been able to play both positions growing up, but at the pro level, there are so many more layers to the game.”
The Sceptres, though, is not the only team she is making a difference for. She is also playing well for the Canadian women’s national team. It also helps that Troy Royan, the head coach of the Sceptres, is also the head coach of the Canadian women’s ice hockey team.
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Canadian Women’s National Ice Hockey Team (2022-Present)
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Maltais’ first game as a member of the Canadian women’s ice hockey senior national team was when she made the Olympic team back in 2022. It was a memorable experience for two reasons: (1) she was a bubble player, as explained in the Benchmark YouTube Podcast back in 2022, and (2) she won a gold medal at the Olympic Games. This is what Maltais’ reaction was when she made the Olympic team, according to Kyle Cantlon of Yahoo Life.
While in 2022, Maltais was considered more of a bubble player, she has now developed into one of Canada’s most important players.
This was best displayed in the most recent Rivalry Series matches against the U.S. This is what Ryan, head coach of the Canadian women’s national team, said about Maltais, according to C Benwell of The Hockey News on December 14, 2025:
“I just told Emma, and I told them in front of the group,” Ryan said. “I’ve been around Emma since she was underage at the U18 level, and that might be the best, most mature 60 minutes of hockey I’ve seen her play.
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That is some high praise from a head coach who has experienced everything in the game of ice hockey. Expect Maltais to continue to make her mark, with both the PWHL and the Canadian women’s ice hockey team.
Next Game for Emma Maltais and the Toronto Sceptres
The Sceptres will face the Seattle Torrent for the first time in franchise history. Additionally, this particular game will be a PWHL Takeover Game at the TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, at 2:00 PM EST. The game will be shown live on CBC, as mentioned on the Toronto Sceptres calendar page.
Hamilton will look to sell itself as a potential PWHL destination, with the PWHL Takeover logo on centre ice.
Photo Credit: The Ohio State University Women’s Hockey Facebook Page, of Emma Maltais, on February 1, 2024.
