Captain Canada Hangs THem Up

After a 23-year Canadian national team career, Hayley Wickenheiser (the real Captain Canada) has retired from competitive hockey.

https://youtu.be/KpZQyE6hQCY

She burst onto the scene in 1994 as a 15 year old winning the gold medal at the World Championships, and would go on to win 6 more (along with 6 silver medals). When women’s hockey was introduced as an Olympic sport in Nagano in 1998, Wickenheiser was instrumental on that team as well.

Over her storied career, she earned the title of ‘greatest women’s hockey player’, and it could be argued that she’s the greatest hockey player in modern times, at least in terms of international competition. She’s won 5 Olympic medals (4 gold, 1 silver), and 7 World Championships (along with 6 World silver medals). She’s played men’s pro hockey in Finland and Sweden. She’s led Canada to TEN gold medals at the 4 Nations Cup, and has been an incredible ambassador for Canada, for hockey, and for women throughout her career.

It’s indisputable that Wickenheiser is the greatest player the women’s game has ever seen. She’s been in good company, sure, but she’s always been the best. I had the opportunity to hear her speak in 2014, just days after the Olympics. She’d had little sleep, her luggage was lost (she thought it might be in Toronto), and she’d been back in Canada for less than 24 hours, but she was there to talk to a group of teachers about perseverance (or something of the sort). Instead, she spent the hour+ just telling stories about her time with the national team and how much of an honour it was to put the jersey on day after day. She had us laughing, crying, and everything in between, and I remember walking away from that session thinking that Wick would be the coolest person in the world to have a beer with.

Aside from being a great hockey player, she’s been a great mom to Noah, and she finished both a degree in kinesiology, and a masters’ degree. She somehow found time to write the MCAT, and has been accepted into medical school because why wouldn’t she be?

Over the last 23 years, it’s been rare to see Canada’s women’s national hockey team without Wickenheiser, but she’s left the program in a great place. While it would have been nice to see her on the ice next year in South Korea, she needs to move on, as do we.

At last night’s game between the Oilers and Flames, she was presented with jerseys from both the Oilers and Flames (even though she’s an Oilers fan, through and through). When introduced by Wayne Gretzky, she was called the female Gordie Howe.

I’d submit, instead, that she’s the only Hayley Wickenheiser.