Hayley Wickenheiser - Hockey | Canada

A native of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, her talent is unsurpassed. Having recently been named Team Captain, she was the Assistant Captain of Canada's gold medal-winning teams at the 2002 Salt Lake City and 2006 Torino Winter Olympics and named the MVP in both games. Wickenheiser is strong and skilled; a natural with a lethal slap shot, and rightfully described as the greatest female hockey player in the world. At age 15, Wickenheiser was chosen for the Canadian women's National Team. She has since led the Canadian Women's National squad to six gold and two silver medals at the Women's World Hockey Championships, a silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and two Olympic Gold medals at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2006. On January 11, 2003 Wickenheiser took an enormous step forward in her on-ice career when she skated into history as the first female hockey player to notch a point in a men's professional game, the Kirkkonummen Salamat of the Finnish second division. Sports Illustrated recently named her Number 20 of the "Top 25 Toughest Athletes In the World" and she is a 2 time finalist for the Women's Sports Foundation Team Athlete of The Year. Aside from a phenomenal on-ice career, Wickenheiser has mastered a number of sports. An elite softball player, she participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of Team Canada and most recently worked as a Softball Analyst with CBC's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics." Hayley works with many local charities and schools focusing on children and environmental issues. Dreams Take Flight, KidSport, Clean Air Champions and Spread The Net are some to name a few. In May 2007, Hayley traveled to Rwanda with a Canadian Team of Olympic Athletes for RIGHT TO PLAY, an athlete driven humanitarian organization. She is currently working to launch a professional development program called "Go For Gold", which will raise funds for Right To Play and KidSport. Hayley currently lives in Calgary, Alberta, with her partner Tomas and young son Noah. She plans to play in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and most recently signed to return to men's pro hockey for the 08-09 season with Div. 1 Linden Hockey in Eskilstuna Sweden. In October 2006, a children's book on her career titled "Born To Play" hit bookshelves across Canada. To learn more about Hayley, go to www.hayleywickenheiser.com.