Legacies, leaps and bounds

Today, a border battle of sorts will take place in Hamden, Connecticut when the Wisconsin Badgers play the Minnesota Gophers for the women's Division I National Championship. Minnesota is seeking their first Championship since 2016, Wisconsin their first since 2011 (they've had 2 title game appearances since then). The game is broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Wisconsin and Minnesota have a long tradition of hockey that goes back as long as hockey has been played. Their women's programs though, understandably have a shorter tenure. Minnesota's club team became varsity in 1997 (notable freshman and future Ohio State head coach Nadine Muzerall on the roster) and Wisconsin debuted in 1999 (freshman Kerry Weiland went on to play in the 2010 Olympics). Before the NCAA made women's hockey a championship sport, from 1997 to 2000 the first College National Championships were won under the AWCHA banner, an alliance created and financed by the US Olympic Committee.

In 2001 the NCAA awarded a championship in women's hockey for the first time, and since that time girls and women's participation in hockey in the US has more than doubled, from around 45,000 to almost 100,000 today. The ability to play for a National Championship, new college programs, and increased enrollment are all part of the legacy of the 1998 Olympics. In 2001 there was 23 NCAA Div I programs, compared to the 35 today. I would guess the number of varsity programs that existed prior to 1997 is in the low teens.

We are now one year removed from the shootout thriller in which the Lamoureux twins solidified their place in women's Olympic hockey lore. Monique scored the tying breakaway goal in the third, and Jocelyne delivered the oops I did it again / star spangled dangle, shootout winner for team USA. I have wondered what the legacy of those Olympics will be.

To me, the biggest legacy so far, the leap and bound forward, is seeing games and programming broadcast on the NHL Network.

Things didn't get off to a great start. The Four Nations Tournament in Saskatoon in the fall, featured a one camera, no commentary stream for Canada's first game. The next game, versus the US, was broadcast on tv in Canada, but was not at all available in the United States. Hell broke loose, as you would expect. At a last moment, the NHL.com streamed the Canadian broadcast of the final. You know how these things are finicky. Personally my computer kind of sucks, so I knew my best bet was to watch on my phone. Not ideal, yet still better than the the game one stream and, the game two blackout.

Things have only got better since then. A US Canada rivalry series was announced. There were some shit show elements, like at first it looked like BC players were going to have to miss the Beanpot, and other players were going to have to miss a weekend of league play. Ultimately the college players sat the series out, although pro leagues were affected. Hopefully that can be ironed out for next year. Yes, next year, there really needs to be a next year, because this thing was amazing. The lack of college players actually added an extra flavor to the whole thing, showcased a modified group of players, demonstrated the depth of both countries programs. Savannah Harmon, Hailey Scamurra, Halli Krzyzaniak, Brittany Howard, Victoria Bach, Rebecca Leslie, Ann Sophie Bettez....none of them Olympians yet, but absolutely wonderful players worth watching, some of who we may not have seen if the college kids are there. I would 100% make an annual event of going to a rivalry series game if it's nearby, again. All three games were broadcast on tv live, in the United States and Canada. That wasn't something that was happening before the 2018 Olympics.

And it goes on from there. Yesterday I enjoyed the half hour Patty Kaz ceremony where Kitchener native Loren Gabel (Clarkson University) won the Patty Kazmaier trophy. I never would have expected it to be broadcast on the NHL Network, and yet there it was, complete with a cool intro and highlight reels of the top 10. When Gabel was delivering her speech, a countdown to the upcoming NHL game appeared. I thought oh dear, this will be awkward, but thankfully the countdown was removed when it appeared things might be a minute or so behind schedule. Gabel's speech was completed, no terrible cutaway at the last moment.

There is always something that happens at these events - Cornell was congratulated on making their first Frozen Four (it's their fourth) but by and large it was just amazing to watch the event, see Patty Kazmaier's daughter Serena and granddaughter Emma present the award. Serena made comments to the players, congratulating them on their accomplishments and thanking them for pushing the limits of what women do. I relate to her comments. I simply enjoy watching these young women pursue their goals, their dreams, perform their talents on a big stage, entertaining us all the while.

I enjoyed hearing Serena talk about her mother, and the spirit of her mother's adventures and humanitarian work. Patty Kazmaier was an Ivy League graduate, a hockey player, and she eventually adventured west to Alaska and then California. She was a teacher, and did humanitarian work with immigrants, helping them apply for US citizenship. I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear stories like this about women who impact the world they live in. I hope we will see this event again on the NHL Network next year.

But perhaps the most incredible development happened just last week, when it was announced the Clarkson Cup Final will be broadcast on the NHL Network (it was already announced it would be on Sportsnet in Canada). I've already told my daughter Hilary Knight will be on tv today.  The game is staggered before the NCAA Championship. Who needs the basketball tournament? Not us! Women's hockey advocates have long argued that more support is needed at the pro level in terms of visibility and infrastructure support. We are getting it today.  The rosters are packed with stars, including 2012 Patty Kaz winner, Brianna Decker. With all this great hockey on tv today, as Badger fans would say, today is a great day for hockey.

As time goes on we'll see whether this increased visibility, a handful of games on television, is a lasting legacy of the 2018 Olympics. I sure hope it is. I'm sure I'll never know exactly how this happened, who picked up the phone and said let's make this happen, although I'll always be curious. While I acknowledge and am grateful for the support of the NHL, I know this progress always starts years, decades in advance. There are more people than could ever be recognized, ever be known. The people that do the work, that push that boulder up the mountain, so often go unseen and unrecognized.

I have no clever conclusion, can only say again that today is a great today for hockey, and all who watch and play today stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, like Patty Kazmaier, like those original Wisconsin and Minnesota players, and fans who have supported women's hockey for years. At the same time it's gratifying, undeniable, exciting and welcomed to see men's hockey embracing women's hockey more than ever, and making the women's game more visible than ever.