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Hayley Wickenheiser
Hayley Wickenheiser is a Canadian icon and considered the greatest female hockey player of all time, aka The G.O.A.T. Wickenheiser is a four-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Canada's all-time leader in international goals (168), assists (211), and points (379). Wickenheiser is also the first woman to score in a men's professional hockey league after recording two goal's for HC Salamat in Suomi-sarja, Finland's third-division league. Over the course of the '03 season, Hayley played 23 games for HC, adding 10 assists.
IIHF Women's World Hockey Championships
At the age of fifteen, Wickenheiser played in her first women's world hockey championship for Team Canada in 1994 (New York). She played three games and posted one assist to help Canada win gold.
Fast forward to the 1997 world championships in Kitchener, Ontario. Wickenheiser is now 18-years old and naturally has more flare and confidence to her game. That tournament she led Team Canada in scoring with nine points and assisted the overtime game-winning goal in the championship final as Canada defeated the United States 4-3.
Wickenheiser went on to led Canada to the 1999 and 2000 women’s world hockey championship titles but was unable to attend the 2001 world championship due to a knee injury. In 2005 Team Canada lost the gold-medal game of the women’s world hockey championship to the United States. But Wickenheiser bounced back in 2007, dawning the Captain "C" and setting a Canadian record for most points (14) at a women’s world hockey championship with eight goals and six assists. During the '07 tournament in Winnipeg, Team Canada won its first world championship since 2004 after a dominating 5-1 win against the United States in the gold-medal game. As expected, Wickenheiser was awarded tournament MVP.
Wickenheiser was part of Team Canada in 2008, 2009 and 2011, when the Canadians took silver, losing the final to the United States. But Team Canada made a come back in 2012 after defeating the United States 5-4 in overtime to win gold. Wickenheiser later helped Canada to world championship silver medals in 2013 and 2016.
Olympic Career - Team Canada
At the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games, Wickenheiser settled for a silver medal after the United States defeated Canada 3-1 in the championship game. But just a few years later at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Wickenheiser was a co-leader in goals (seven), points (10) and was named the tournaments MVP after Team Canada captured its first Olympic gold medal with a 3-2 win over the United States.
The 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin saw two unlikely teams paired up in the gold medal game, Sweden and Team Canada. With a 4-1 win, Team Canada claimed another gold medal with Wickenheiser once again being named the tournament MVP after leading the event with 12 assists and 17 points.
Wickenheiser won her third goal medal during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Winter Games and became the all-time leading Olympic goal scorer (16) as Canada defeated Sweden 13-1, Slovakia 18-0, and Switzerland 10-1.
At the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, Wickenheiser was selected to the Canadian flag-bearer in the Opening Ceremonies. During the Olympic tournament, she recored two goals and three assists for five points in 5 games, helping Team Canada win its fourth consecutive gold medal.
Post Olympic Career
Wickenheiser retired from competitive hockey in 2017, finishing with 379 points (168 goals and 211 assists) in 276 games with Team Canada. She decided that it was time to spend more time with her family and re-focus on her plans to attend medical school. Wickenheiser began studies in health sciences prior to her retirement, earning a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in 2013 and a master's degree in science in 2016 from the University of Calgary. She later joined the university's Cumming School of Medicine in 2018.
In August 2018, Wickenheiser was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs as assistant director of player development, becoming the first woman to hold that position with the franchise. In July of 2022, Wickenheiser was promoted to assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and remains in this position. She often makes guest appearances on Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada.
Hayley Wickenheiser is not just a game-changer on the ice, but because of her effortless display of leadership, dedication, hard work, and compassion, she's become a role model for millions of women worldwide who seek a career in professional sports. If there's one woman who has earned her spot at the table, it is Hayley Wickenheiser.
Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia
