Winnipeg’s Kati Tabin to celebrate PWHL championship at Oakbank Arena
Posted July 16, 2026 6:07 pm.
Last Updated July 16, 2026 7:41 pm.
It’s not every day you get to tour the old stomping grounds of a Manitoba hockey icon, Olympic medalist, and most recently, PWHL champion.
It’s Kati Tabin, and in just over a week she’ll be bringing the cup back home.
“Dream come true, it was such a fun season, yeah what a team we had, it was a lot of fun just being able to celebrate and look back on some of the ups and downs we had, it was awesome,” said Tabin.
PWHL champion is just the latest addition to an illustrious career that all started here in the Oakbank Arena, where Tabin first began skating at four years old.
She had to play on the boys’ teams growing up, but now, a full-circle moment, she is returning, with the Walter Cup in hand, giving young female hockey players across the province the role model she never had.
“Knowing that we have the league now, and you know, it’s a dream come true that I never even dreamed about, because I didn’t even think it was a possibility, so being able to bring the cup back to Oakbank and show everybody where I first started will be a really special moment,” said Tabin.
“My very first tryout here, the guy coaches baisically came up to me and said, this is a year of hitting, and you have to show us something or you aren’t going to make the team…so I remember this guy Brett Rudd, big strong guy, in this corner over here, he had the puck and I tried to hit him, and I didn’t know what I was doing and I just *bam* did one of these and bounced off of him, so that’s probably one of my favourite memories here honestly.”
Tabin says while the growth of women’s hockey has been great to see here in Manitoba, the next step is to bring a PWHL team to Winnipeg.
“I hope there is one day, and if there is, sign me up; I would love to do that. When I got to play in Winnipeg for the takeover game, it was so cool looking up and seeing all my family and friends, and seeing little girls making signs for me, yeah, just all around, a dream.”
Tabin will bring the cup home to Oakbank Arena on Saturday, July 25, and she says everyone is invited.
