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Sugar & Spice…Not Always Nice
Female star Hayley Wickenheiser may tryout for ECHL team.

Jonathan Roybal
MinorLeagueNews.com

There is no doubt that professional hockey is a rough sport to play, traditionally not a place many women have ventured…until now.

Rumors have been flying in the minor league hockey world that a girl may soon be joining the game.

According to various reports made last week, former NHL star and current Cincinnati Cyclones [ECHL] minority owner Phil Esposito has offered Canadian Olympic star Hayley Wickenheiser a 15-game tryout.

This would give Wickenheiser the chance to become the first female positional player in minor-league hockey.

"We're interested in her because she can play," Esposito told the Toronto newspaper Globe and Mail last week. "My feeling is, that I've seen her play, and I think she can handle it. And if she can, then why not bring her here."

The Cincinnati Cyclones are officially denying the rumors, stating “there has been nothing discussed in Cincinnati about Hayley Wickenheiser,” and “the organization is not in a position to comment further.”

Still, bringing in women to play pro hockey is not a totally new concept for Esposito.

When he was general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Esposito signed female player Manon Rhéaume in 1992, and she became the first woman to play goal in a National Hockey League exhibition game.

His newest project, 23-year-old Wickenheiser, is regarded by many as the world's best female hockey player. You may remember her from Canada's gold-medal team in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

With little on the international women's schedule this winter following last February’s Olympic Games, Wickenheiser has been looking at other ways to further develop her skills.

The five-foot-seven, 170-pound forward has long expressed a desire to play professionally in Europe.

The reason being, the men’s hockey leagues in Europe more resemble the women's international game than the North American minor leagues.

"Europe is still the No. 1 option," Wickenheiser was quoted by the Canadian Press.

"I'm not looking to make the NHL or anything like that," Wickenheiser said. "I'm just looking to just play kind of a European style that we play in the women's game.”

"You have the bigger ice surface to your advantage," she said of the European leagues. "It's what we play on the national team, no red-line, more of a finesse kind of a game."

Wickenheiser’s agent almost had a deal worked out with an Italian men’s league, but the Italian Hockey Federation would not allow a woman to play on a men's team.

Hayley would not encounter those problems here in the states, if she does decide to play professionally.

When contacted by MLN for this story, ECHL President Richard McKenna, was very open to the possibility of a female playing in the league.

“We have nothing in our league bylaws, no rules or policy that would restrict a female from playing in this league, “ McKenna stated.

"As a matter of fact, I think she is widely regarded as the best female player in the world right now and led her team to the Olympic gold medal last year," he said. "I think the hockey world would probably be very interested in how she would stack up against the competition."

The ECHL is not the only league considering her services.

Reportedly, the Port Huron Beacons of the United Hockey League [UHL]are also interested in having Wickenheiser lace up the skates.

She would be welcome in that league as well, UHL head honchos assured us.

“If she’s eligible to play in our league, gender is not an concern,” UHL Director of Communication, Lisa Peppin tells MLN.

Hayley is no stranger to playing with the boys. From when she first started playing hockey at age 5, through age 12, she played strictly on male teams.

Though she hasn’t played full-contact competitive hockey against males since she was 17 years old, she did attend two rookie camps with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The biggest problem Hayley’s detractors foresee is her size, coupled with the physicality of the ECHL.

Some coaches believe that physically, a 5 foot 9 inch, 170 player, man or woman, might be too small to play in the league, where the talent is considered to be only two notches below the NHL.

Also, the fact body checking is illegal in women’s hockey, could become a big adjustment to overcome.

We all know of some goons who like to hit especially hard, and they don’t care if you’re a man or a woman.

In fact, some unscrupulous hockey players might actually enjoy hitting a woman…but that’s fodder for another story.

One thing that seems to be universally acknowledged about Hayley, is that she possesses the skills to play at this level.

Her skating, shooting, puck handling skills, and hockey sense have never been an issue.

Her gender shouldn’t become one either.