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Hayley Wickenheiser alongside the guys

Broadcast Date: Dec. 21, 2003

Hayley Wickenheiser has never felt she shouldn't be playing hockey with the boys. But others have. "I think I was nine or ten years old and I was dressing in a makeshift dressing room. One of the mothers from the other team came in and told me to stay away from her son on the ice," says Wickenheiser. After a sparkling career in women's hockey, she went to Finland and proved she did belong on the ice with men. Wickenheiser played 22 games over two seasons with HC Salamat, and became the first woman to score a goal in a men's professional hockey league. In this 2003 TV interview from CBC News: Sunday, Wickenheiser takes to the ice with host Evan Solomon.

Hayley Wickenheiser alongside the guys

• To see and hear Hayley Wickenhesier as a 15-year-old future star in 1994, see the CBC Digital Archives item Playing with the big boys. Also see the ‘Did You Know?' section for her career highlights.

• Wickenheiser discusses becoming the first woman to register a point in a men's professional hockey game in this 2003 report.

• HC Salamat is a team from the municipality of Kirkkonummi, Finland, just outside of Helsinki. The club played in the Suomi-sarja league in 2002-03 and in the Mestis league in 2003-04. Wickenheiser scored a goal and added three assists during the regular season in 2002-03. She caught fire in the playoffs, notching a goal and six assists in 11 games. In 10 games during the 2003-04 campaign, Wickenheiser was held pointless. In 2008-09, she played a longer stint of 21 games in Sweden for Division 1 club Linden HC. Wickenheiser tallied three points on a goal and two assists.

• In addition to playing hockey, Wickenheiser also plays softball and earned a spot on Canada's 2000 Olympic women's team. They won only a single game. She has also played in several national tournaments and has twice been named all-Canadian shortstop and top batter. She worked as a colour commentator for softball during the 2008 Beijing Games.

• As of 2010, Wickenheiser is a public speaker focusing on the topic of leadership, motivation and Olympic spirit.  She and her boyfriend Tomas Pacina live in Calgary with their son Noah.  Wickenheiser made her fourth Olympic appearance for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where the team won the gold medal.

Hayley Wickenheiser alongside the guys

Medium: Television

Program: CBC News: Sunday

Broadcast Date: Dec. 21, 2003

Guest(s): Hayley Wickenheiser

Host: Evan Solomon

Duration: 10:03

This clip was edited for copyright reasons.

Last updated:
March 3, 2010