Hayley Wickenheiser facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hayley Wickenheiser OC
Hockey Hall of Fame, 2019
Wickenheiser in 2014
Born	(1978-08-12) August 12, 1978 (age 46) Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Calgary Oval X-Treme Edmonton Chimos HC Salamat Linden HC University of Calgary Calgary Inferno
National team	Canada
Playing career	1993–2017
Website	Official site: http://www.hayleywickenheiser.com
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 2002 Salt Lake City Team Gold 2006 Torino Team Gold 2010 Vancouver Team Gold 2014 Sochi Team Silver 1998 Nagano Team World Championships Gold 1994 United States Gold 1997 Canada Gold 1999 Finland Gold 2000 Canada Gold 2004 Canada Gold 2007 Canada Gold 2012 United States Silver 2005 Sweden Silver 2008 China Silver 2009 Finland Silver 2011 Switzerland Silver 2013 Canada Silver 2016 Canada

Hayley Wickenheiser (born August 12, 1978) is a Canadian former ice hockey player. She is also a doctor and works as an assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hayley made history as the first woman to play professional men's hockey in a position other than goalie.

She was a key player for the Canada women's national ice hockey team for 23 years, from 1994 until she retired in 2017. She holds the record for the most points scored for the team. Hayley played in five Winter Olympics, winning four gold medals and one silver. She was even named the best player (MVP) twice! She also played softball in one Summer Olympics. Many people think she is the greatest female ice hockey player ever. In 2019, she was added to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Hayley Wickenheiser's Amazing Hockey Journey

Starting Young in Ice Hockey

Hayley Wickenheiser started playing minor ice hockey at age five. She played on outdoor rinks in her hometown of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. Until she was 13, she only played on boys' teams. When her family moved to Calgary, Alberta, she kept playing minor hockey. In 1991, she played for Alberta at the 18-and-under Canada Winter Games. Her team won the gold medal, and Hayley scored the winning goal. She was also named the Most Valuable Player of that final game.

Playing for Team Canada

Wickenheiser captained Canada to a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

At just 15 years old in 1994, Hayley joined Canada's National Women's Team. She stayed on the team until she retired in 2017. Her first big international event was the 1994 World Championship. Canada won gold, and she got her first international point. She won more gold medals at the World Championships in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007, and 2012. She also earned silver medals in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2016. She was named to the tournament All-Star team four times.

Olympic Games Success

Hayley was part of Team Canada when women's hockey became an Olympic sport in 1998. Canada won a silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Her great performance even led to an invitation to try out for the Philadelphia Flyers men's team rookie camps!

In 2002, Hayley helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player and was the top scorer. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Canada defended their gold medal against Sweden. Hayley was again named tournament MVP and was the top scorer with 17 points.

She captained Canada to another gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. On February 17, 2010, she became the all-time leading Olympic goal scorer for women. She scored her 16th career Olympic goal in a game against Sweden. Hayley also led Canada to a fourth straight Olympic gold medal in 2014 in Sochi. She is one of only five athletes to win gold in four Winter Games in a row. When she retired, she was the all-time leading Olympic scorer with 51 points. Hayley took the athlete's oath at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. She was also Canada's flag bearer at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

World Championships and Other Wins

Hayley also helped Canada win many gold medals at the 4 Nations Cup tournaments. She was team captain at the 2006 Four Nations Cup. In 2010, she attended the World Hockey Summit. She spoke about how to make women's hockey more competitive globally. She explained that North American teams had more support and professional leagues.

Playing with Professional Teams

Women's Professional Hockey

In 1996, Hayley was named MVP of the Esso women's hockey nationals. She helped Alberta finish fourth. She won Nationals with the Edmonton Chimos in 1997 and the Calgary Oval X-Treme in 1998. She was MVP both years. From 1999 to 2001, she continued to play for her club teams. In 2004–05, she played for the Calgary Oval X-Treme in the first season of the Western Women's Hockey League. Her team won the league championship. Hayley was the top scorer and made the league's all-star team.

Breaking Barriers in Men's Hockey

Hayley Wickenheiser playing for Kirkkonummen Salamat in 2003

In 2003, Hayley made history. She became the first woman to score a goal in a men's semi-professional league. She played for HC Salamat in Finland. Over two seasons, she played 22 games, scoring one goal and three assists. Playing in Europe was different because the game was less physical than in North America. She had to overcome some challenges to play. The Italian Winter Sports Federation first said women couldn't play in a men's league. But Finland's Hockey Federation allowed her to play. She also played briefly for Salamat in 2004. In 2008, she signed a one-year contract with Eskilstuna Linden in Sweden's third men's league.

Hayley was named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in Hockey" by The Hockey News. Sports Illustrated called her one of the "25 Toughest Athletes."

University Hockey Career

Hayley Wickenheiser celebrates her first CIS goal with her University of Calgary teammates

In 2010, Hayley joined the Calgary Dinos women's ice hockey team. This team plays in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). She was expected to be a leader for the team. She also studied kinesiology at the University of Calgary. In her first CIS game, she scored two goals and an assist. She was named the Canada West female athlete of the week. Even though she only played in 15 games, she tied for the conference lead in scoring with 40 points. She was named the Canada West Most Valuable Player. In 2011, she became the first Dino to win the Brodrick Trophy as CIS MVP.

Life After Playing Hockey

On January 13, 2017, Hayley announced she was retiring from playing hockey. She decided to go to medical school. In 2018, she was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs as the assistant director of player development. In 2021, she was promoted to senior director of player development. In July 2022, she became the assistant general manager for the Maple Leafs.

In 2021, she helped create the "Wick Stick" with Verbero Hockey. This was the first hockey stick designed with her specific ideas. It's part of a plan to make equipment for women players. In 2022, a documentary film about her life called WICK was released.

Beyond the Ice: Softball and More

Hayley's Softball Adventures

Hayley is also a talented softball player. In 2000, she was chosen for the Canadian softball team for the 2000 Summer Olympics. She had played softball for many years. In 1994, she was named All-Canadian Shortstop and Top Batter at the Canadian Midget Nationals. In 1995, she played for Team Canada at the World Junior Fastball Championships. In 2000, she played for Simon Fraser University. She helped her team finish third at the NAIA National Championships. Later that summer, she played in the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She had the highest batting average for Canada.

Personal Life and Community Work

Hayley's parents, Tom and Marilyn, were physical education teachers. She has a brother and a sister. Hayley lives in Calgary with her son, Noah. Her cousin, Doug Wickenheiser, was also a professional hockey player.

A children's book about Hayley's life, Born to Play, was written in 2005. In 2011, her hometown of Shaunavon named a new recreation center after her. On June 30, 2011, she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Hayley earned a degree in kinesiology in 2013. After retiring from hockey, she went to medical school at the University of Calgary. She finished medical school in 2021. She completed her family medicine training in 2023 and is now studying emergency medicine.

Hayley wrote a book called Gold Medal Diary. It's about her training with Team Canada for the 2010 Olympic Games. She also started WickFest. This is an annual event that celebrates girls' and women's hockey. It brings female players from all over the world together for workshops, clinics, and games.

Featured in a Video Game

In September 2012, EA Sports announced that Hayley Wickenheiser would be one of the first two female hockey players in the NHL video game series. She appeared in NHL 13.

Awards and Special Recognitions

• 2004 Honorary Degree Recipient, Nipissing University
• 2007 Most Valuable Player, Pool A, Esso Canadian Women's Nationals
• 2007 Bobbie Rosenfeld Award
• 2010 Gave the athlete's Olympic Oath at the 2010 Olympic Games
• 2011 Canada West Player of the Year
• 2011 Brodrick Trophy Winner (Most Outstanding Player in USports women's ice hockey)
• 2011 Officer of the Order of Canada
• 2011 Media All-Star team, IIHF Women's World Championship
• 2014 Canada's Walk of Fame
• 2014 Athletes in Excellence Award from The Foundation for Global Sports Development
• 2017 CAAWS Wall of Influence Award
• 2019 Hockey Hall of Fame
• 2019 IIHF Hall of Fame
• 2021 Canada West Hall of Fame
• 2022 Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

See also

• List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games