"Why don't we make a music video?" Emma Maltais on TikTok and How Athlete-Led Social Media Has Helped Grow the PWHL

If you're a regular TikTok scroller, there's a good chance you've come across at least one professional women's hockey player. With superstars like Natalie Spooner, Sarah Nurse, and Emma Maltais making content about their lives, training, and hanging out with their teammates, fans have more access than ever to their favourite players.

I sat down with Emma Maltais to talk about how she got into making social media, specifically TikTok, a priority for her, and the impact that it's had on her career and on the women's game as a whole.

She told me that she'd always enjoyed social media and watching how her teammates embraced the platform.

But the person who got her into posting on social media? Her Team Canada teammate Emily Clark.

"Initially, when I first got involved with Team Canada, I watched Emily Clark and Sarah Nurse make TikToks. And Emily made a comment to me, like a lot of young girls recognize her from TikTok," Emma told me, "And we had just finished a [World Championship] together, and we had done a lot of posting together, and people were liking it, and I was gaining some followers."

That was when she realized that she wanted to make this more than just a one-off thing. She made it her goal to get more comfortable in front of the camera over the next year and, most importantly, to be her authentic self online.

"Once I started seeing the connections being made from TikTok, it inspired me to keep going. You see little girls with signs that refer to your TikToks... so I think that's what inspired me to keep going with it."

Now, with over 1 million likes and 47.3 thousand followers on TikTok, making social content comes naturally to her, and it's basically expected among her teammates.

"The way I create my content, I feel like it's very fun and it kind of ends up being a team activity," She said, "It's turned into every time we have a bus ride with Hockey Canada, if I don't make a music video, people are like, 'Why aren't you making one?'"

One of her most-watched types of videos is the music video lip-sync, usually featuring her Toronto Sceptres or Team Canada teammates.

So, how do you get some of the best hockey players in the world to lip-sync the lyrics to a popular song?

"I'm very extroverted, I think I just was like, 'Why don't we make a music video?' So I sit in the back of the bus with Ashton Bell, Pou [Marie-Philip Poulin], Stace [Laura Stacey], Jamie, Clarky [Clark], a lot of the ones I can get to do some stuff. And once you have Pou doing it, it's like okay, this is kind of cool."

From there, she just walks down the aisle, asking who wants to be in it.

"Sometimes we'll get like Jocelyn Larocque, and I'm like 'Hell yeah'. I feel like I celebrate it, and it starts to get fun. It's like a team bonding moment, especially early in the season."

As for the players who aren't interested, Maltais says sometimes she just has to read the room, but also not make assumptions.

"It depends on the person, like I think I know who's not down. But also, I feel like you get surprised who wants to be in it."

@emmamaltais Lol for those who were wondering this is take 1 #pwhl #toronto #womenshockey @Kristen Campbell ♬ Austin (Boots Stop Workin') - Dasha

And now, she's taking on the same role that Emily Clark played for her.

"I encourage some of my Ohio State teammates, like Peyton Levis, on New York, and Emma Woods, too, from the Sceptres. I think the big thing is like, getting over the hump, like, to not care what people think."

It's not just her encouragement, though; a lot of it comes from what the players have seen from the fans and from the league.

"I think the reaction of fans to the social media that our teams do is really cool," Maltais told me, "And I think our media team for the Sceptres in particular does a really good job of posting and a really good job of humanizing all of us. So, I think that encourages people the most, honestly."

Maltais told me that she thinks social media from the players and the teams together has helped the league to grow as large as it is.

"My boyfriend, he's watching all the videos, and if he's watching, then there's definitely young girls watching, and so many older women who are fans and come to the games." She said, "I think the tag team approach has been pretty cool... Like if the Sceptres are posting with Nursey [Nurse], it's going to be a benefit for both sides."

Even having someone like Poulin or Nurse on her social media has helped her to grow. "I always joke with Sarah Nurse and Pou, like when they're in my photos, they are always my cover photo."

The partnership between the players and the teams works because the players are just as invested in the league's growth. It's also helpful that there is buy-in from all sides.

"It seems like we have this culture where it's okay to be in those videos and it's not looked down upon."

From a personal level, it's helped her to build her personal brand and bring in sponsorships.

"For me, it's a direct correlation [between her social media presence and sponsorship]. The on-ice piece is always the main focus, but I think my comfortability and my ability to share my authentic self are unique amongst athletes. So I feel like that's what sometimes draws brands in."

As a fellow Gen-Zer, I wanted to know if she felt like growing up as social media became more popular gave her a leg up on some of the older players, or if there wasn't really much of a difference.

"I think it depends on the person," She said, "I feel like someone like Pou might not be into it as much, but like, she loves to have fun and be in videos. I think someone our age, maybe we are more inclined to create more because we see it more. I think someone our age is more inclined to, like, make a habit out of it."

To her, it's more about personality than age.

"I definitely still think there are older people in the hockey world that love to create and are good at it."

And now, with players coming into the league who haven't really lived without having a social media presence, Maltais predicts and hopes we'll see more cool content.

"With the younger generation coming up, and like a lot of support from the girls who are older in the league, encouraging people who are comfortable doing it, and have experience to do it on their phones... I think that's really cool. So I could see it growing immensely with the amount of support the league has between teams."

And the expansion draft has only amplified the collabs.

"I also think with the roster changes, like, you could see some, like, interesting collabs and stuff, which would be kind of fun, like making light of certain situations."

Similarly to how the league has changed and grown over the first two seasons, Maltais thinks we'll see the same when it comes to social media.

"We're just getting more creative, having more and more fun with it, and like, honestly, getting to know each other around the league. So I think there will be a lot of cool things."