The 2023 IIHF Women’s World Championship is being played in Brampton, Ontario, but when Hungary hits the ice at CAA Centre the crowd support goes well beyond the host country.
It’s the best of both worlds for Montreal Force defender Taylor Baker, a Canadian-Hungarian, who still feels the love while competing internationally for a visiting nation in her hometown.
“It’s great being home,” the Toronto native said after the team’s opening win. “A lot of my friends are here, it’s easy for my parents, and it was a great crowd with so many Hungarian fans to be in Toronto is awesome. When we get fans like that it makes it feel like the home team.”
What the Hungarian crowd lacks in size they more than make up for with passion displayed by the many flags in the stands, and lots of noise with banging drums, bells and chants echoing from start to finish.
“Even if there’s not a lot of them, they’re loud,” Baker said. “They’re really committed to cheering for us. It’s great to have them come out, it makes it home ice. It’s nice to play for the crowd and you want to perform for them.”
Hungarian fans had a lot to cheer for during the team’s 4-2 victory over France as the national team competes in its third-straight top division tournament and quest for a second-straight quarterfinal berth.
“It’s definitely a really good feeling to start off the tournament with a win,” Baker said. “It was our first game of the tournament so we have a lot to build on, but we won as a team and I think we’re going to continue that throughout the tournament.”
Baker is confident in her team, and in her game which she proudly developed over her first season in the Premier Hockey Federation.
“I feel really calm on the back end and that definitely came from the fast pace of the (PHF) season already,” she said. “My puck management and skating improved, making quicker decisions. The league is so much faster than I was used to, so I have to make decisions a lot faster and make my moves quicker so that’s something I think I got a lot better at this year.”
The 25-year-old scored one goal with eight assists over 24 games and represented Team World at the All-Star Showcase. She enjoyed making history with the league’s second Canadian team that also produced some of the season’s most boisterous crowds including the record setting home opener at the Verdun Auditorium.
“I loved it,” Baker said. “Montreal was an expansion team, but we were treated so well and the hockey is so strong, so fast, and it’s nice to see it growing so quickly. Every team is competitive, every game is quick paced. The support we’re getting from inside and outside the league with management and sponsorships is awesome.”
Baker’s first PHF season follows two spent in the European Women’s Hockey League with Mac Budapest where she moved after graduating from Rochester IOT in 2020. It was during that time when she took advantage of the opportunity to join the national team and became a Hungarian citizen and has since represented the country at the 2022 Olympic qualifiers and at last year’s World Championship.
“It was great to be back on North American soil,” she said. “It was nice to be back at a faster pace, obviously with the national team I get that faster pace, but playing with it more consistently and practicing with teammates with more experience to learn off of them is great.”
Fortunately for Baker, fans and family aren’t the only things familiar about this year’s tournament as she skates alongside Metropolitan Riveters Réka Dabasi and Fanni Gasparics who serves as Hungary’s captain. They were among a record 21 international players to compete in the PHF in 2022-23.
“I played against them all season and it’s great to be able to finally play with them again. It’s fun to see them on the other team but I prefer them on mine.”
