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Canadian women91Ƶs star Hayley Wickenheiser inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame

Wickenheiser 91Ƶ a quadruple Olympic gold medallist, seven-time world champion 91Ƶ retired in January 2017

Hayley Wickenheiser hasn91Ƶt had a lot of time to reflect.

The Canadian women91Ƶs hockey star 91Ƶ a quadruple Olympic gold medallist and seven-time world champion 91Ƶ retired in January 2017 and quickly transitioned to medical school.

As if there wasn91Ƶt enough on her plate already, she then took on the role as assistant director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs in August 2018.

Wickenheiser finally got a chance to look back at her standout playing career, and its impact, on Monday night.

The 41-year-old was among six inductees enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, joining three-time Stanley Cup winner Guy Carbonneau, offensive blue-line dynamo Sergei Zubov and Czech great Vaclav Nedomansky in the players category.

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford and legendary Boston College head coach Jerry York went into the hall as builders.

91ƵIt was not a common thing as a little girl to want to play hockey in the small town where I came from,91Ƶ Wickenheiser, a native of Shaunavon, Sask., said during her speech. 91ƵBut my mom and dad believed that a girl could do anything that a boy could.91Ƶ

The road, however, wasn91Ƶt easy.

Wickenheiser recounted sleeping in a closet for a week just so she could attend an all-boys hockey camp in Regina.

91ƵI wanted to play the game so bad, I didn91Ƶt care what I had to endure.91Ƶ

She went on to play for boys teams in Calgary 91Ƶ there weren91Ƶt any for girls, and she91Ƶd tuck her hair under her helmet to avoid standing out 91Ƶ but still had to fight.

91ƵI was taking the spot of a boy, and people didn91Ƶt really like that too much,91Ƶ Wickenheiser told the audience at the Hockey Hall of Fame. 91ƵI actually developed an ulcer. I wasn91Ƶt nervous to get hit or to go on the ice. That91Ƶs actually where I felt good. It was when I had to come to the rink and change in the bathroom and then walk through the lobby of all the parents 91Ƶ the comments and the harassment I would often hear.

91ƵThose things gave me thick skin and resilience.91Ƶ

She went onto have a stellar 23-year career with Canada and played professionally in Europe, blazing a trail at a time when the women91Ƶs game was desperately looking for traction.

Wickenheiser, who has medical school exams Wednesday, put up 379 points in 276 games to help secure four straight Olympic golds (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) as well as those seven world titles.

Named the MVP of both the 2002 and 2006 Olympic tournaments, the former centre is the seventh woman to be inducted into the hall.

91ƵThe first Olympics that we lost (in 1998) was not a fun one, but the four after that were some of the best experiences of my life,91Ƶ said Wickenheiser, who was Canada91Ƶs flag-bearer for the opening ceremonies of the 2014 Games. 91ƵOne of the greatest honours I91Ƶve ever had was to put on that Canadian jersey.91Ƶ

Carbonneau, 59, won the Stanley Cup in 1986 and 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens, and again in 1999 with the Dallas Stars.

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The native of Sept Iles, Que., was an attacking force in junior, but transitioned to the other side of the puck in the NHL, becoming one of the game91Ƶs premiere shutdown centres on the way to winning the Selke Trophy as the league91Ƶs top defensive forward in 1988, 1989 and 1992.

Carbonneau, who retired in 2000 and waited 16 years before getting inducted in the hall, finished with 663 points in 1,318 regular-season games.

91ƵI was dreaming about playing in the NHL, dreaming of winning the Stanley Cup, dreaming of scoring a goal in the playoffs,91Ƶ said Carbonneau, who added 93 playoff points. 91ƵBut being inducted in the Hall of Fame? Never in my wildest dreams.91Ƶ

A smooth-skating defenceman with terrific vision, Zubov played 12 of his 16 NHL seasons with Dallas, registering 771 points in 1,068 regular-season games. The 49-year-old Moscow product added 117 points in the post-season, helping the New York Rangers hoist the Stanley Cup in 1994 before doing it again with the Stars in 1999.

Zubov, who also won Olympic gold in 1992 with the Unified Team after the collapse of the Soviet Union, said he didn91Ƶt want to go to Dallas after getting dealt in 1996.

91ƵGet me traded,91Ƶ he recounted telling his agent. 91ƵBut (Stars GM) Bob Gainey did his homework and sent the most beautiful bouquet of flowers to my wife.

91ƵShe said, 91ƵMaybe we should give it a try.91Ƶ91Ƶ

An NHL goalie from 1970 to 1983, Rutherford was named GM of the Hartford Whalers in 1994. He stuck with the franchise when it moved to Carolina to become the Hurricanes, and built the roster that won the organization91Ƶs only Cup in 2006.

The 70-year-old from Beeton, Ont., took on the same role with the Penguins in 2014 and helped guide Pittsburgh to titles in 2016 and 2017, making him the only GM to win Cups with two different teams since the league expanded in 1967.

91ƵDon91Ƶt let anyone tell you (that) you can91Ƶt do something, because that was the story of my career,91Ƶ Rutherford said. 91ƵAnd the more they told me I couldn91Ƶt do things, the more it turned out that I did.91Ƶ

Nedomansky, 75, starred for 12 years in his native Czechoslovakia before becoming the first athlete from an Eastern European communist country to defect to North America to pursue a professional hockey career in 1974.

He played parts of three seasons in the World Hockey Association before jumping to the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings as a 33-year-old rookie.

91ƵIt was difficult, complicated, stressful,91Ƶ Nedomansky said of his decision to defect. 91ƵI91Ƶm so happy that I91Ƶm here.91Ƶ

The 74-year-old York, who91Ƶs in his 48th season behind the bench, owns five NCAA titles, including four with the Eagles, and has the most wins in U.S. college history.

91ƵI just love coaching,91Ƶ said the native of Watertown, Mass. 91ƵI love the people we coach.91Ƶ

But the night really was about Wickenheiser, who concluded by addressing her five- and six-year-old nieces in the audience.

91ƵIf they decide to play hockey, they can walk into a hockey rink anywhere in Canada with a hockey bag and a hockey stick over their shoulder, and nobody91Ƶs going to look twice,91Ƶ she said. 91ƵThey don91Ƶt have to cut their hair short and run into the bathroom and try to look like a boy like I had to do to blend in. The road is just a little bit easier. I want to thank everyone that made that road easier for me and is continuing to pave the way.

91ƵThe game is truly for everyone.91Ƶ

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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