At the age of 38, Hayley Wickenheiser – arguably the greatest female hockey player of all-time – has decided to hang up her skates. She sent out a tweet Friday night that (fittingly) showed her on a public rink bench with the caption: 
Dear Canada. It has been the greatest honour of my life to play for you. Time to hang em up!! Thank you! #grateful #graduationday #canada
If you haven’t followed women’s hockey over the past couple of decades, Wickenheiser is a name you need to learn. She is a four-time Olympic gold medalist in consecutive winter games (and add a silver from 1998 for good luck), and the first woman to play full-time professional hockey at a position other than goal.
In 2003, Wickenheiser signed on with a Finnish men’s team and played 23 games with the club that season, breaking a barrier for women around the world. She scored 12 points for the team in those 23 games (including 7 in 11 playoff matches), but left the league after just 10 scoreless games the next season. Years later she would play for a Swedish men’s team, scoring three points in 21 games. In 26 Olympic matches, she scored 51 points.
An incredible athlete, Wickenheiser also represented Canada in softball at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Once offered a contract to play in the ECHL by Phil Esposito (though she would never play for the team), her journey in hockey simply outgrew where the women’s level was at that time. She will be a no-brainer inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame, with discussion already beginning on whether the waiting period will be waived for her.
If it weren’t for Wickenheiser, there is no guarantee women’s hockey would be as developed as it is today. She, and other legends like her, inspired a generation of young women to pick up a hockey stick, get on the ice, and challenge the notion that hockey was only for men.
Dear Hayley. It has been a great hono(u)r to watch you play. Thank you.
If it weren’t for Wickenheiser, there is no guarantee women’s hockey would be as developed as it is today. She, and other legends like her, inspired a generation of young women to pick up a hockey stick, get on the ice, and challenge the notion that hockey was only for men.