Image credit : @ Wes Wong on Facebook
The Preston Rivulettes dominated North American hockey in the 1930s. The Rivulettes won more than 300 games, suffering only two losses!
In September 1992, Canadian woman goaltender Manon Rhéaume became the first female to play in a National Hockey League game (in an exhibition game) when she suited up for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a game against the St. Louis Blues. She was the first female athlete to play for any team in one of North America’s four major professional sports leagues.
International Dominance and Inclusion
Canada’s Angela James is often considered to be the first superstar in modern-day women’s hockey. James was a forward on four world championship gold medal-winning Canadian teams in the 1990s. In 2010 James became one of the first two women (alongside U.S. hockey great Cammi Granato) inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In 2005, Angela Ruggiero of the U.S. women’s national team made hockey history by becoming the first non-goaltender woman to play in a men’s professional hockey game in the United States (she played alongside her brother for Tulsa Oilers team).
Olympic Legacy and Executive Leadership
Hayley Wickenheiser, widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game of ice hockey (regardless of gender), represented Canada in five Winter Olympic Games, winning four gold medals and one silver. Wickenheiser went on to earn a medical degree after her playing career. She is currently a hockey executive as the Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant General Manager.
Establishment of Sustainable Professional Leagues
The formation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League in 2023 brought dependable jobs (with paychecks), medical benefits, and professional workplace standards to women’s professional hockey. PWHL gave the sport and future generations of female hockey players a professional league they could call their own, and a professional hockey career could finally be more than a phase for young female hockey players!
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