s e o HerFor Her [ By Shannon Cleary // Photos Provided by Dave Holland ]
H
ockey is a game of greats. But for girls playing hockey in Calgary, there are names beyond Gretzky, Crosby and Lemieux. Organizations in the city are turning the spotlight towards Canada’s female hockey heroes in an effort to mentor an emerging generation of girls who love the game. “It’s something we’ve identified as a goal for girls’ hockey,” said Jody Forbes, president of minor hockey association Girls Hockey Calgary (GHC). “Having our girls coached and mentored by other females.” Forbes believes that Calgary’s world-class hockey programs provide the perfect opportunity for pairing minor hockey players with champions of the game. The city is home to the Hockey Canada Training Centre, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League’s Calgary Inferno, and three post-secondary teams. It’s also home to some of the greatest female players to ever play the game. “People like Hayley Wickenheiser and Cassie Campbell-Pascall, they’re the pinnacles, they’re the legends,” said Forbes. Sisters Lily and Kylie Smith spent their minor hockey season sharing the ice with those very legends. The girls played on GHC novice and Timbits teams and participated in the Canadian Tire Wickenheiser World Female Hockey Festival (WickFest) with Haley Wickenheiser and the Scotiabank Girls HockeyFest with Cassie Campbell-Pascall. Their father, Shaun Smith, now coaches with GHC after 10 years of coaching in minor and major junior leagues. Smith sees the affects these elite female athletes have on his young team. “They’ll actually be more focused during our game after meeting some of these players,” he said. “They get the idea that this is something they could do.” That idea is precisely what Forbes wants to nurture within the girls’ hockey organization. As the league continues to grow – GHC registered 100 new players this season – Forbes sees an opportunity to leverage the city’s immense hockey talent to craft a cohesive identity. “We want to create that feeling of being part of something bigger,” she said. GHC partnered with the CWHL Calgary Inferno, adopting a Jr. Inferno logo and pairing each minor hockey team with an Inferno mentor. While the partnership is only in its first year, Forbes has already seen how strongly the girls identify with professional women players. “They don’t connect with the same male role models that our sons might have,” she said. “These girls connect with the Meaghan Mikkelsons and Natalie Spooners.”
26 | Calgary Hockey Magazine
The list of female role models is long, and it often swells during Olympic years when Team Canada competes on the international stage. GHC enjoys a bump in registrations every four years, as national female players become household names during that time. But at any time, in any household, people know the name Hayley Wickenheiser. With a career than spans decades and accolades of every measure, Wickenheiser has secured her status as legend and honoured her role as trailblazer in women’s hockey. “I think [it’s important] for young girls to know there’s a path for them,” said Wickenheiser. “That there are women doing exactly what they want to do.” Each year in Calgary, Wickenheiser hosts WickFest, a tournament-style event that celebrates hockey and facilitates personal development. The festival, which has over 1,500 female participants, provides ice time and off-ice sessions with professional players and Olympic athletes. Wickenheiser said this type of access is key to supporting future generations. “You need to expose them to the very best possible,” she said. “Give them the tools to develop, if that’s what they want to do.” For young female athletes with elite aspirations, Wickenheiser stresses the value of hard work. From the earliest stage of the game to the highest level of play, she believes in putting your name on your performance. Which is why Wickenheiser spends almost every waking minute of her WickFest weekends interacting with players from Timbits to midget AAA. “For me it’s about the performance you put in,” she said. “That’s ultimately how you elevate something,”