In the world of women’s hockey, we often hear the phrase “grow the game” almost as much as we hear goal horns and ref whistles. It is the constant mantra of both the CWHL and NWHL, as well as Hockey Canada and USA Hockey's most popular stars.

For some, that phrase has lost most of its impact and meaning over the years. For others, including Calgary Inferno assistant coach Mandi Duhamel, growing the game has never been more important.

One of the most influential people in the world of women’s hockey not only does she coach some of the world's greatest ice hockey players, she is also the Canadian Regional Director of Youth Programs for the NHL and was the head coach of the gold-medal winning Canadian Women's Masters National Ball Hockey team in 2016 and 2018. Herself a CWHL alum and a member of the NHL and NHLPA’s Female Hockey Advisory Committee, Duhamel is on the front lines of growing the women’s game.

On Sunday, she'll be behind the bench for the Inferno at the Clarkson Cup Final. In advance of the game, which will be shown on Sportsnet and TVA in Canada and NHL Network in the U.S., Duhamel spoke to Sporting News about the growth of women’s hockey, the role of ball hockey in the growth of the game, one league and what Calgary needs to do to defeat Les Canadiennes de Montréal.

Note: Portions of the interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Sporting News: You were recently named to the Female Hockey Advisory Committee. How important do you think the support of the NHLPA is to the growth of the women’s game, specifically with the CWHL and to the future of professional women’s hockey in North America?

Mandi Duhamel: There’s so much going on right now between the CWHL, the NWHL, and the NHL and those talks but we’re trying to keep away from that. The focus of this advisory committee is a combined effort between the NHL, the NHLPA and these amazing women. They have played the game, they’re in the Hall of Fame, they’re working with clubs currently and they come from all different sorts of backgrounds and areas of expertise. To sit in a room with them was a phenomenal experience for me.

The “One League” situation is something that will figure itself out one day. The focus of the advisory committee right now is determining what we can do to grow the female game. Once we get more females playing and more people watching and caring, the professional league for women will take care of itself. If we don’t have something to funnel into that, then it’s almost a moot point to discuss it.

So proud to be a part of this group of outstanding women! Taking strides toward increasing the awareness of female hockey and growing participation is a commitment by the @NHL and @NHLPA being guided by those who live the game. #IWD2019 #InternationalWomensDay https://t.co/Kh67WoPdlf — Mandi Duhamel (@mandiduhamel) March 8, 2019

We want to grow the game at a younger age, create more programming where girls feel welcome and secure when they do take part, and we want to identify female ambassadors. The reason the NHL and NHLPA combined their efforts to do this is because they wanted to get into female hockey, but they wanted to do it right. They didn’t want to just come in and say what they thought was best. They brought in a group of women that know the game in and out who can advise them on how to use their influence and presence in the best way possible.

SN: This might be a question that’s unfair because of how general it is, but what do you think is the biggest obstacle between young girls and hockey in Canada?

MD: It’s a very difficult question to narrow down into one answer. I could talk about it for days if you wanted me to! . . . Canada is such an amazing place to live, but it also presents different obstacles for different people.

When you’re looking at females specifically, there are a lot of obstacles that they will face growing up. We want everyone to feel included regardless of their background and have the opportunity to play hockey.

I think that the more that we market the game and the more that girls see women playing on TV and on social media, the more they’ll believe they can do it.

The motto that I’ve been working with these days is “if you can’t see it, you can’t do it.” That’s what gives girls hope and shows them that there’s a possibility of doing it. If girls don’t see other girls who look like them who came from the same places they’re from, it’s hard for them to formulate that possibility for themselves.

We want more facilities and more acceptance, we want all of those things. I think that the marketing side and getting more coverage of female hockey is one of the biggest obstacles that we’re facing right now, even though we’re actually overcoming it at the same time. There’s a lot of great work being down in our world today.

If we allow our five and six year old girls to see females playing hockey on Hockey Night in Canada we might start to see a change in the dynamic.

SN: What role does ball hockey and street hockey have in the growth of the women’s game?

MD: Skating is the most intimidating thing in the world, right? You can put a stick and a ball in a kid’s hands and they can have fun all day but if you put a pair of sharp blades on the bottom of their feet then you’re asking them to do something completely different. We all started with road hockey, right? We all started outside or competing in the basement or around the house with mini-sticks.

The unification is coming. The NHL is really considering street and ball [hockey] and how that can be brought into the ecosystem of developing hockey players. I’m a big proponent of ball hockey. I play it, I coach it, I love it. We already have the Canadian Ball Hockey Association established in Canada, so now it’s finding how we can work together . . . to bring the game from the floor to the ice and introduce that skating aspect of the game. How do we create an easy journey for someone to go from ball hockey to ice hockey with all of that equipment?

We definitely believe that ball hockey is a way to fall in love with the game in a new and diverse hockey, but linking it back to ice hockey is the ultimate goal.

Women’s Masters Team Canada 2018 World Champions after defeating USA Blue 2-1 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/gopQqu2BJf — Canadian Ball Hockey (@CanBallHockey) September 30, 2018

Martel, Rattray highlight Canada rosters for 2019 World Ball Hockey Championships

SN: You wear a lot of hats in the world of hockey . . . One of the hats you wear is an assistant coach with the Calgary Inferno. It’s been such a big year for the Inferno with all of the free agents and the arrival, and subsequent departure, of head coach Shannon Miller. Was the wealth of experience and character in the locker room the secret to Calgary not missing a beat after the coaching change?

MD: We are very, very fortunate to have a roster that has tons of medals walking out of that locker room. But the lack of egos and the amount of teamwork that we have in that room really made the difference. It wasn’t just [the Olympians], it was everyone who puts on that Inferno jersey. They really came together.

The absence of Shannon Miller and her philosophy led to us changing a few systems to adapt to what we felt we needed for the rest of the year but it was the players in the room who stepped up.

SN: Earlier this year Sporting News spoke with Inferno general manager Kristen Hagg about Calgary’s unique relationship with Les Canadiennes de Montréal. Is it fitting that this big rivalry will be featured in Sunday’s Clarkson Cup Final?

Inferno GM Kristen Hagg talks Calgary's hot first half, Shannon Miller's departure, more

MD: Not to take anything away from Markham, Toronto, Worcester or Shenzhen . . . It feels like one of those inevitable things that was meant to happen all year. There’s just something about when Calgary and Montréal get into an arena. There’s something that sparks so much excitement and that desire to come out with the win.

Our entire season has been leading to this, especially our series against them. We played them about a month ago and it was the most fun I’ve had behind the bench coaching hockey. The battles that go on, how excited the girls get, the rivalry really brings out something different in our team.

SN: Without showing your hand, how do the Inferno beat Les Canadiennes on Sunday? Is it as simple as slowing down their first line or just sticking to Calgary Inferno hockey?

MD: It’s a combination of all those things. When you manage to slow down their first line, their second line is ready to come right at you. So, it’s not something you can identify that easily.

They have a wide variety of talented players up front and on D. They also have quite a trio of goaltenders working with them.

We want to stick to our gameplan. We have established a good sense of our skill, but we have to watch how we set up defensively because of what they can do when they attack. I think a lot of it is going to come down to special teams on Sunday. It’s going to be such a battle on 5-on-5, so when you do have an advantage you need to really respond in those moments.

Montréal is so good at blocking shots that sometimes it feels like they have two or three goalies on the ice, especially when someone like [Erin] Ambrose is out there. We know the strategies and what we have to do to work around their strengths . . . We’ve worked all season for this one game. We’re sticking to our game plan because we’ve had success playing the way that we have.

SN: Finally, what do you hope the landscape of women’s hockey looks like five years from now?

MD: Five years from now? That is a good one.

Before, I was a lot more focused on the Canadian side of the game. In my new role with the NHL, I get to see a lot more on both sides of the border. It’s allowed me to really be in the trenches and to support the goals shared on both sides of the border. We in North America are the leaders in women’s hockey and will be for a very long time.

There are three key things I want girls to strive for in hockey.

First, it’s putting on that national logo, to someday play for Hockey Canada.

Secondly, I want them to get an education, the top thing you can get out of playing female hockey in Canada is a quality education. I don’t think people realize that there’s almost 40 schools that girls can receive a quality education from through playing hockey.

Third, I do want to have that single, unified professional league to serve as a beacon that will allow girls to play as long as they want and, someday, get paid to be there.