Wickenheiser enters the hall with four Olympic golds, and one Olympic silver medal. I could not find the IIHF point totals but I understand she's number 1. I was able to see that in 87 games played in the WWC/ OG she had 137 points, an average of 1.57 points per game. Not only that she has a long list of diverse non hockey accomplishments, resulting in her being called Canada's renaissance woman. At the end of this post, I have shared links to some of the coverage she received in the last week and after her retirement. If you haven't read any of it yet, dive in. The video from TSN includes hockey highlights, as well.
Although I knew Wickenheiser's name as a teenager in the late nineties, the only memories I have of watching her play are the 2014 Olympics. Going into those Olympics, there was a question of whether Wickenheiser still had it. She definitely did. She played on a top line, had five points in the tournament, and was on the ice in OT in that gold medal game, getting a breakaway and drawing a penalty even. I didn't realize this, but Mike Murphy points out she was on the ice providing a screen for Poulin, for her gold medal winning goal in Sochi.
Her humility was tested, as the captaincy was transferred to Ouellette for those Games, but Wickenheiser's play on the ice showed an athlete devoted towards a common goal: gold for Canada. I don't know what the greatest thing Wickenheiser ever did was, but on ice it may have been that she simply changed our understanding of what women hockey players are capable of. She showed us a level of competition, physicality, shooting skill and devotion to being the best, that the game had not seen before. In the stars we see today - their unabashed compete level, physicality and skill, devotion to the game, - we see Hayley's legacy.
In college, my coach always talked about killer instinct, trying to get us to have it, unearth it in ourselves. The player I most remember having it, of all the players I played against was Julie Chu. I only played two games against her, but she had it. I believe you can see it not just in the way these players play, but in the way they celebrate, the raw emotion that pours out of them. Chu had it, and Wickenheiser did too. I think it's on display in this 2002 gold medal game goal. There is no risk of her not scoring this goal, she leaves nothing to chance, and she is pumped with the result. Whole video is awesome, but Wickeheiser's goal is at 1:02. You'll need to click through to YouTube because of IOC rules.
I look forward to watching the festivities tomorrow.
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The Hockey Hall of Fame museum in Toronto is very much worth a visit if you ever have the chance. I've been there 3 or 4 times, which is pretty good for a person from Western Canada I think! In May, I had the chance to take my kids there. It was a really quick visit due to time constraints, but we made it. Here are some pictures and recollections from our visit.
My poor son was so tired after a long day of travel. He had fun, but I went back and forth on whether it was a good idea to cram this visit in, and the visit wasn't without its peaks and valleys for me as a mom. When you are a mom, life is not compartmentalized. My children are at my side in almost everything I do, and it's an incredible gift, but not without challenges. My children are American, but I want them to know what it is to be Canadian, and the Hockey Hall of Fame is certainly one place to learn.
As hockey fans know, Hayley Wickenheiser is mom to Noah, now a young man in Canada's military. There is a famous picture of her holding him when he is a young boy, after the 2002 gold medal game. Such pictures are now common place, but Wickenheiser's is the first I ever saw, yet another way she changed the mold. More than that, I always just thought it was a touching photo.
The interactive games, the showcases with the women's stuff, the Stanley Cup, the display of goalie masks, the main exhibit du jour.....these are the must see's at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Here my children do as I did in the late nineties, test their shooting accuracy! This exhibit has greatly evolved since the late nineties. A popular exhibit, Carey Price and a handful of other NHL goalies got a non stop work out. My kids also loved the TSN Sports Desk. As a child, I remember sitting in a booth, and trying to call the plays on iconic moments in hockey history.
You know Wick is a badass when she already had a display case long before her induction. Sorry for the fingerprints, HHOF. There is a Wickenheiser quote on display that says something like, "Boys would say, girls don't skate, girls don't play hockey. I would say, 'Just watch me.' " My mom read this to my daughter and a part of me wanted to put my hands on her ears. She's innocent, let her be I thought. But you know, I hear my kids lecturing each other all the time on what boys and girls do. It's just their immature way of bickering, and sorting out the world. They've heard me lecture them enough, that my daughter now says, we know, we know, anyone can do anything.
I think Wick's message is relevant for grownups too. The prospect of organizing a properly funded, viable women's pro hockey league is a daunting one. The haters and naysayers are present. But the women pushing the movement must continue to dream big, work incredibly hard and change the culture around what we believe is possible for pro women's hockey.
This showcase is one of three that I recall dedicated to women's hockey. Manon Rheaume's mask is also featured in the goalie mask exhibit. Must sees for women's hockey fans. Another great exhibit is the Montreal Canadiens dressing room. I think a women's dressing room, representing the gear and stories of 20+ international women's hockey heroes, would also make a poignant display.
My daughter took this picture for me, of the induction book containing the signature of Jayna Hefford, jersey #16 for Team Canada. It means so much to me to see the women enshrined in the Hall.
Every legacy contains its dark days. The Stanley Cup and the Great Hall containing the NHL trophies, the walls covered in bios of inductees is the crown jewel of the Hockey Hall of Fame. That crown jewel is the result of decades of work. In women's hockey, to be blunt as hell - every year has been a lockout, in terms of visibility of the game. Women have put in the work for decades, it is time for brands, governing bodies and women's hockey supporters to lift the game to new heights and unprecedented visibility, with a viable pro women's hockey league.
This pic doesn't do it justice, but here's a sliver of the great hall, with the Stanley Cup. We got our picture with the Cup, and it's displayed on our fridge. My husband dressed the kids that morning....and of course they are both wearing baseball t-shirts. He didn't dress me though, and I proudly repped the Columbus Blue Jackets.
When we were standing in line, my daughter declared she wanted to win the Stanley Cup. It's amazing how dreaming is so natural. I kind of flubbed the answer.....I gave her a lecture on the Clarkson Cup. I did my best, but knowing the right answer for every parenting situation is not easy. I'm trying to let them both just grow up dreaming of winning whatever trophy is in front of them. Besides, although she won't win the Stanley Cup as a player, she could very much still win it. Anyway, she didn't listen to me, and still talks about wanting to win the Stanley Cup. All is well.
The Stanley Cup left an impact on them. As we watched the Stanley Cup playoffs, when they saw the logo on tv, they mentioned the Hall of Fame, and exclaimed "we've seen that." My kids don't understand leagues and levels of play at all. I was flattered when my daughter asked me, during game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals if I had ever played against the Boston Bruins.
Me, in 1997 at the Hockey Hall of Fame, at the same exhibit my kids shot on 22 years later. We watched a number of people shoot at the exhibit as its very popular. There was a young girl, about 12 years old, who gave it a try. Red tshirt, track pants, little braids in her hair. She casually scored goal after goal on the virtual NHL player she shot against. She was the best of anyone I watched that day.
When she was done, she turned around and smiled, revealing a mouthful of braces. She fist bumped her dad, and I watched them walk away. It was like watching a living exhibit, another highlight of our visit. No matter the challenges in visibility for women's hockey.....girls hockey players are out there, they always have been, and they are crushing it.
Enjoy the festivities tomorrow, and if you haven't already, enjoy some reading on Hayley Wickenheiser:
Hockey Hall of Fame website: Hockey Hall of Fame Bio - Wickenheiser
The Ice Garden - A wonderful hockey heavy article. Origins: How Hayley Wickenheiser Changed the Game
Pension Plan Puppets (2017) a ton of links on Hayley Wickenheiser, after her retirement - Thanks For Everything Wick
The Athletic - Q And A With Hayley Wickenheiser
TSN (8 min video) - The Doctor is In
I had a hard time finding all time points. If you are interested in stats, the Ice Garden article by Mike Murphy above, is the best I've seen. Here's a screen shot from Elite Prospects, and the HHOF link includes stats as well. What I can't find is total points scored in a Team Canada uniform. It's also glaring that we need to get more games for our elite women to play. Nonetheless, here's Wickenheiser's stats, per Elite Prospects:
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