Photo courtesy of chawomenshockey.com
Written by Sally Ann Murphy
While women’s hockey is not a new sport, it is a recent addition to the Winter Olympics, having made its debut in Japan in 1998. Women from eight different nations will be playing in Vancouver this February, competing for the Olympic Gold. While I believe that the US, Canada, Finland and Sweden are the dominant teams, when it comes down to predicting the medals I am going to go with the US for the Gold, Canada for the Silver and Finland for the Bronze. This article will profile for you who I consider to be the five top players headed for the ice in Vancouver this year to play women’s ice hockey.
• Jenny Potter, United States (University of Minnesota), Forward. This will be Jenny’s fourth Olympics. Jenny Potter played in the inaugural game for women’s hockey in the 1998 Olympics in Naganio, Japan. If that isn’t exciting enough, she was the second-youngest member of the team at the time.
• Hayley Wickenheiser, Canada, Forward. She has been called the Wayne Gretzky of women’s hockey. A sixteen year national team veteran, she has three Winter Olympic medals to her name, two gold and a silver. She is also the first woman to score a goal in a men’s pro league. She is a six-time world champion and has three world championship silver medals.
• Angela Ruggiero, United States, Defenseman. This will be Angela’s fourth Olympic appearance. A six-time member of the US Women’s World Championship team, she is considered one of the best defensemen in the history of women’s hockey.
• Natalie Darwitz, United States (University of Minnesota), Forward. This will be Natalie Darwitz’s third Olympic appearance. Natalie has been playing hockey since she was five and made her national team debut at the very young age of fifteen. She is often referred to as a “scoring sensation”. We’ll see!
• Jennifer Botterill, Canada, Forward. Jennifer has been to the Olympics three times already, taking home two gold medals and a sliver, and has played in seven World Championships. She has taken home the Top Forward and the Most Valuable Player honors.
And one more. I know I said the top five players but I can’t leave off Gillian.
• Gillian Apps, Canada, Forward. Gillian’s grandfather was a three-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs. She recorded 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in the 2006 Winter Olympics, bringing home a gold medal. Keep your eye on her!
Source List:
http://www.hhof.com/HTML/wmsplay05.shtml
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=2397966&sponsor=
http://proicehockey.about.com/od/womenshockey/a/women_history.htm
http://www.wcha.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/121809aab.html
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/team-canada/athletes/athlete=3264/index.html
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