Hayley Wickenheiser Becomes Seventh Woman Inducted Into Hockey Hall of Fame

Hayley Wickenheiser was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday in Toronto, Ontario. She was part of the six-person 2019 class that also included retired center Guy Carbonneau, defenseman Sergei Zubov, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, Boston College coach Jerry York, and Vaclav Nedomansky, the first player to defect to North America.

Regarded as the greatest player in the history of women’s hockey, Wickenheiser played 23 years with the Canadian women’s national team. During her tenure, she helped the team win four Olympic gold medals and seven International Ice Hockey Federation world championships. She retired as the leading scorer in Olympics women’s history, registering 18 goals and 33 assists in 26 games.

Wickenheiser is the seventh woman to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, which is something that she did not think would ever be possible. At least, she explained on Monday that she only considered Olympic medals and winning the Stanley Cup.

Wickenheiser is viewed as a trailblazer in the sport of hockey after she became the first woman to play full-time professionally, in a position other than goaltender. She also became the youngest person to represent Team Canada at the World Championship when she suited up at the age of 15. For comparison, her roommate at the tournament was a 10th-grade math teacher.

“I think we’ve come a long way in hockey,” Wickenheiser said during Monday’s ceremony. She also referenced her two nieces in the audience and how their potential hockey careers have been made better. “If they decide they want to play hockey, they can walk into a hockey rink anywhere in Canada with their hockey bag and their hockey stick, and nobody’s going to look twice.

“They don’t have to cut their hair short and run into the bathroom and try to look like a boy like I had to do to try and blend in. Their road is just a little bit easier, and I want to thank everyone that made the road just a little bit easier for me.”

Wickenheiser was not the first woman to play professional hockey, but she was the first to achieve many other feats. Throughout her career, Wickenheiser made news after becoming the first woman to skate in an NHL development camp with the Philadelphia Flyers. She is also the first and only woman to work in the NHL full-time in an on-ice developmental role.

The future emergency room doctor in Wickenheiser potentially changed the sport of hockey forever, and now she is being recognized for these efforts. She will forever be immortalized in the hallowed halls of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Photo Credit: Mark Blinch/NHLI/Getty