Women's hockey is tremendously popular in Canada ... every four years.
Until very recently, Canadians only jumped out of their seats to cheer for women playing hockey during the Olympics. Perhaps it's easy to get swept up in the excitement of the tournament. Perhaps there's something novel about watching a sport you don't usually watch (in my case, it's moguls). Perhaps it's because Team Canada is so incredibly dominant on the international ice. Whatever the reason is, record-breaking audiences tuned in to watch Team Canada defeat the Americans in overtime in Sochi in 2014.
After the Olympics were over, and Marie-Philip Poulin became a household name, fans came out to watch the (then) Montreal Stars play at Etienne-Desmarteau Arena in Rosemont.