Hayley Wickenheiser speaks during the World Hockey Summit in Toronto in 2010.
Women’s hockey was at an all-time high at the same time that it was at an all-time low.
The U.S.-Canada gold medal game at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver was watched by more than 10 million Canadians, and pretty much anyone who watched the game would have said it was the best women’s game ever played at that time.
Canada won, 2-0, thanks to sensational goaltending from 23-year-old Shannon Szabados and two goals from 18-year-old Marie-Philip Poulin. But both teams played with a speed and skill that even for them was off the charts.
Many of the other games at those Olympics, however, were not competitive, including Canada’s 18-0 slaughter of Slovakia and a 13-0 U.S. rout of Russia.
Soon after, IOC president Jacques Rogge issued a thinly-veiled threat when he said that if the women’s game didn’t get more competitive – and fast – it might not be around much longer on the Olympic schedule of events.
That summer, a World Hockey Summit was hosted in Toronto with the IIHF, Hockey Canada, the NHL and other stakeholders, and the keynote speaker for women’s hockey was Hayley Wickenheiser, on 26 August 2010. She spoke of Rogge’s words as “a positive,” and then made a brilliant video presentation, showing highlights of games from the inaugural Women’s Worlds in 1990 to the 2010 gold medal game.
The 1990 game showed a North American final which looked like the players could barely skate. Not many could shoot, and fewer still had much in the way of passing skills. But every tournament looked a little faster, a little more skilled. Wickenheiser’s video ended with game action from the recently-completed Olympics which featured incredible speed, physical play, and skill from every player on the ice.
If Jacques Rogge thought the women’s game had stagnated, this video proved overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But, of course, there was still plenty of work to do, no question about it.
Wickenheiser had strong words in her conclusion, words that ring true today. “It’s clear Canada and the U.S. and the IIHF should lead the way, but it’s up to federations to help,” she started. “We need leadership. We need to change societal values. We need to grow the game at both the grass-roots level and improve the quality of play at the elite level as well. We have to keep players in the game. So many women, after they graduate and have nowhere to play, simply leave the game. We need more money and more exposure. I think we can use the World Juniors as a model. Look at the U20. When it first started, it was small, but in Canada it has become one of the biggest hockey events every year.”
In summary, Wickenheiser stated: “We need to increase the opportunities in North America. By that I mean, we need a professional league in North America that stands as the best in the world where players from all over North America and Europe can play.”
Moments later, IIHF Council Member and Hall of Fame inductee Murray Costello stood up in the crowd and made a stunning announcement: “I’m here to tell you that our president, René Fasel, is here, as is the general secretary, Horst Lichtner, and Sport Director Dave Fitzpatrick, and we are listening. We have committed $2 million to women’s hockey. It still has to be passed through Congress, but we are listening. However, we can’t do this alone. The work has to start at home. We need the national federations to come to us and tell us they are ready to move forward. But we have listened to you today. We have heard, and we are impressed. And we are here to give our support.”
More attention was put to women’s hockey since then, many national ice hockey associations improved their programs and the IIHF initiated global programs for both grassroots girls’ hockey to high-performance camp to educate upcoming athletes.
Ten years on, the IIHF support has continued, but the struggle for a women’s pro league in North America continues. Then, like now, skills have developed and the game has improved, but more needs to be done. That league Wickenheiser spoke of is still trying to take root, but Costello’s words a decade ago resonated at a time when women’s hockey was in desperate need of a boost.
Click here for the overview of stories.
The U.S.-Canada gold medal game at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver was watched by more than 10 million Canadians, and pretty much anyone who watched the game would have said it was the best women’s game ever played at that time.
Canada won, 2-0, thanks to sensational goaltending from 23-year-old Shannon Szabados and two goals from 18-year-old Marie-Philip Poulin. But both teams played with a speed and skill that even for them was off the charts.
Many of the other games at those Olympics, however, were not competitive, including Canada’s 18-0 slaughter of Slovakia and a 13-0 U.S. rout of Russia.
Soon after, IOC president Jacques Rogge issued a thinly-veiled threat when he said that if the women’s game didn’t get more competitive – and fast – it might not be around much longer on the Olympic schedule of events.
That summer, a World Hockey Summit was hosted in Toronto with the IIHF, Hockey Canada, the NHL and other stakeholders, and the keynote speaker for women’s hockey was Hayley Wickenheiser, on 26 August 2010. She spoke of Rogge’s words as “a positive,” and then made a brilliant video presentation, showing highlights of games from the inaugural Women’s Worlds in 1990 to the 2010 gold medal game.
The 1990 game showed a North American final which looked like the players could barely skate. Not many could shoot, and fewer still had much in the way of passing skills. But every tournament looked a little faster, a little more skilled. Wickenheiser’s video ended with game action from the recently-completed Olympics which featured incredible speed, physical play, and skill from every player on the ice.
If Jacques Rogge thought the women’s game had stagnated, this video proved overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But, of course, there was still plenty of work to do, no question about it.
Wickenheiser had strong words in her conclusion, words that ring true today. “It’s clear Canada and the U.S. and the IIHF should lead the way, but it’s up to federations to help,” she started. “We need leadership. We need to change societal values. We need to grow the game at both the grass-roots level and improve the quality of play at the elite level as well. We have to keep players in the game. So many women, after they graduate and have nowhere to play, simply leave the game. We need more money and more exposure. I think we can use the World Juniors as a model. Look at the U20. When it first started, it was small, but in Canada it has become one of the biggest hockey events every year.”
In summary, Wickenheiser stated: “We need to increase the opportunities in North America. By that I mean, we need a professional league in North America that stands as the best in the world where players from all over North America and Europe can play.”
Moments later, IIHF Council Member and Hall of Fame inductee Murray Costello stood up in the crowd and made a stunning announcement: “I’m here to tell you that our president, René Fasel, is here, as is the general secretary, Horst Lichtner, and Sport Director Dave Fitzpatrick, and we are listening. We have committed $2 million to women’s hockey. It still has to be passed through Congress, but we are listening. However, we can’t do this alone. The work has to start at home. We need the national federations to come to us and tell us they are ready to move forward. But we have listened to you today. We have heard, and we are impressed. And we are here to give our support.”
More attention was put to women’s hockey since then, many national ice hockey associations improved their programs and the IIHF initiated global programs for both grassroots girls’ hockey to high-performance camp to educate upcoming athletes.
Ten years on, the IIHF support has continued, but the struggle for a women’s pro league in North America continues. Then, like now, skills have developed and the game has improved, but more needs to be done. That league Wickenheiser spoke of is still trying to take root, but Costello’s words a decade ago resonated at a time when women’s hockey was in desperate need of a boost.
Click here for the overview of stories.