CALGARY - When Hayley Wickenheiser sees girls dragging hockey bags into arenas, she feels a sense of accomplishment.
The normalcy of girls playing hockey is what she sweated for, fought for, and shed tears for.
When Wickenheiser started playing 33 years ago, there were no girls’ teams. She played with boys and wasn’t always welcomed by players or their parents.
“The greatest stride’s been made in the acceptance of girls playing the game,” says Wickenheiser. “Any little girl in this country can walk into a hockey rink and no one is going to think twice or look twice.