A few years back there were a couple of bloggers by the screen name of Nafio and Annie who ran a weekly feature on Pension Plan Puppets called Women's Hockey Wednesday. They'd opine about something for a few paragraphs, then share links to all things women's hockey from the past week. It was integral to me becoming a practicing women's hockey fan. I mean I was raised on hockey, but like so many women's players, when the playing days were done, that was the end, or so I thought. Today I love being a women's hockey fan. Just like the sport needs players, coaches, refs, media, sponsors and more....it also needs fans, just like me. And fans need coverage to consume.
After many years, Nafio and Annie stepped away from WHW, and nothing has ever really replaced it. I miss it. I remember when I discovered it, there was already more than a year of WHW archives, and I just worked my way through months of links. It's where I learned about Fran Rider and got introduced to the history of women's hockey in Ontario. And so much more.
What I loved more than anything about WHW was the message it sent about Women's Hockey: You Matter. Women's hockey stories matter. People are writing them, if not on a dedicated women's hockey site, scattered all over the internet, but writing them none the less. Women's hockey was worthy of having those stories rounded up and linked to, and celebrated. I went back to Pension Plan Puppets yesterday to see if WHW had ever been reincarnated. Not yet.
I'm sure you can tell where this is going. I want to share some links with you!
But first, on the topic of people mattering. You know who matters? The US Women's National Team. Last week on the first day of camp before 2021 Worlds their head coach resigned. The tl;dr version is that it appears he didn't want to deal with stringent Covid protocols required with coaching at Worlds this year, and so he resigned. Resigning in and of itself is fine, it's a thing that happens. People despise Covid protocols and are so over this global pandemic. Also a thing. But resigning 3 weeks before the tourney? I mean really.
How would you feel as a player if your coach walked away from you like that? What is the message that is being sent?
The World Championships is Women's Hockey's Stanley Cup. NHL coaches aren't walking away from Stanley Cup contenders 3 weeks before playoffs. Why? Because they get it, and they are all in, and will do anything to help the team win. USA Hockey needs to find the USWNT a coach who values them. The team matters, they are special for what they represent in women's hockey, and they deserve better.
Some links:
Read:
Shattuck St. Mary's is adding a 2nd U19 Girls Prep team, the only school in the country to have two U19 teams. They won their first National Championship in 2005, same year as USA won its first World Championship. Neither SSM or the USWNT has slowed down since. To learn about women's hockey, is to learn about this little hockey school.
https://www.s-sm.org/live/news/1357-shattuck-st-marys-school-continues-advancing-girls
Listen:
Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson on "On the Bus with Cammi and AJ." Lamoureux, Granato, and Mleckzo have a great chat about many topics, including the Lamoureux twins' new book, "Dare to Make History: Chasing a Dream and Fighting for Equity."
Watch:
Marie-Philip Poulin on Top of Her Game, with Tara Slone. Poulin talks about making her way in hockey as a child, and who she plays for now. (about 15 mins)
Natalie Spooner on Top of Her Game, with Tara Slone. Spooner is so comfortable in front of the camera. Great energy. (about 15 mins)
https://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/video/natalie-spooner-team-canada-inspiring-next-generation/
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