Jill Saulnier's hockey career at crossroads due to CWHL folding

Hockey player Jill Saulnier has a spring ritual. Each year, the Halifax native heads home after a season of playing pro hockey and suiting up for Canada's national team.

As she makes the drive home east this year, she's not sure what direction her hockey career is heading because the league she played in this year, the Canadian Women's Hockey League, folded at the end of the season.

"That was really heartbreaking and we found out about it when we were over in Finland playing in the world championships," said Saulnier. "It's definitely disappointing."

Just one week after Saulnier's Montreal Canadiennes played in the league final against Calgary, the CWHLshut down because it was deemed to be "economically unsustainable."

That's left more than 150 professional women's hockey players in limbo.

"From a players standpoint, I know that things are completely up in the air right now," said Saulnier. "I packed up my truck last night in Montreal and I drove home with everything because my team folded and our jerseys were put on eBay."

The 27-year-old Saulnier saidshe remains firmly committed to playing for Canada's national women's team.

She and fellow Nova Scotian Blayre Turnbull of Stellarton both played for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea and the recent IIHF Women's World Championships in Finland.

There has been speculation two Canadian teams, Montreal and Toronto, will join the U.S.-based National Women's Hockey League (NWHL)and it will function as a seven-team league next season. The league currently has teams in Buffalo, N.Y., Boston, Newark, N.J.,Minneapolis-St. Paul and Stamford, Conn.

Turnbull played last season with the Calgary Inferno and is in the same state of limbo as Saulnier.

Saulnier she doesn't think Toronto and Montreal will join the NWHL.

"It's a really sad situation, you have all the players from our old league at home right now training for the summer with no final destination for next year, which is pretty crazy," she said.

For now,Saulnier is looking forward to settling back in to her hometownand forthe second straight year, she and Turnbull will be holding hockey camps for young female players.

Saulnier saidshe will continue to train hard during the off-season and enjoy some time at her new Halifax condo.

She's confident she'll have a team to play for in the fall.

"Something will happen, here's hoping we will have our skates on somewhere in September," said Saulnier.