Joy Drop: Women's professional hockey is coming back to Montreal

Happy Friday, friends! Let's dive into some wonderful news this week from sports and beyond!

Let's start with some excellent expansion news: women's professional hockey is coming back to Montreal! Oui, mes amis!

The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) has announced that an expansion team will start in the eighth season of the league. The team will call Centre 21.02 high-performance hockey facility in Verdun, Que., its home. Since the CWHL shuttered in 2019, there has not been a consistent women's professional hockey team with a home base in Montreal. This will be the seventh team in the PHF. Here's to the growth of women's hockey!

Flipping to a sport on dry land, we know that the Women's Euros started last week and Canada WNT is killing it at the CONCACAF tournament. It faces the USWNT on Monday in the finals.

But another exciting tournament is in play on pitches in Morocco at three venues in Casablanca and Rabat. The women's AFCON tournament features the best national teams from Africa.

As many as 45,000 fans have packed into stadiums to cheer on these formidable squads. One of the most exciting moments was when Team Zambia (aka Copper Queens) advanced to the semifinals and earned its first berth in the Women's World Cup.

The winners of the tournament will take home $500,000 US but what is even more exciting is the way that women's football is being embraced so fully. There are still many barriers to play to ensure the safety and the full empowerment of women in football on the global stage. The final will be played on July 23. Check out how you can watch it here.

I love joy and nothing is as wondrous as the national team from Nigeria (Super Falcons) celebrating their win against Cameroon to put them in the semifinals, and give them a spot at the Women's World Cup in 2023. The Super Falcons are the only team from Africa to qualify to every Women's World Cup.

Please enjoy some of that jubilation.

I used to collect Barbie dolls when I was a kid. In the last year, I have acquired two dolls: a Sarah Nurse-inspired Barbie from Tim Horton's and a Billie Jean King Barbie. Now, here is one more I want to add to my collection. Famous Scientist,  Dr. Jane Goodall, has been made into the iconic doll for the Barbie Inspiring Women Series.

The doll is made from recycled plastic, retrieved from the Ocean. "So many people know about Jane because I'm in their school textbooks, and they learn about me at school," Dr.Goodall told People magazine. "So I think they'll be thrilled to be given a Barbie Jane."

I am all for supporting women in STEM and encouraging young girls to pursue careers in this field is fantastic.

I leave you with an older tune about beauty from one of my fave Canadian artists, Jane Siberry.