Power Player
Reader's Digest Canada|October 2023
Straight-shooting Hayley Wickenheiser-four-time Olympic gold medal winner, assistant GM of the Leafs and a medical doctor has a few things to say about working under pressure
Stéphanie Verge
Power Player

Hayley Wickenheiser has been skating for almost as long as she's been walking. She honed her skills on a backyard rink flooded by her H dad in the tiny hockey-obsessed town of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. Latenight games of shinny at home led to lacing up with the boys (and changing separately, in the boiler room) and then to joining the women's national team in 1994, where, at 15, she was a good decade younger than most of her teammates. Despite the sacrifices hockey required, Wickenheiser knew it was for her-a certainty on clear display in her 2021 memoir, Over the Boards, and in a new documentary called Wick.

Wickenheiser's 23 years as a pro are unparalleled in hockey: She is the first woman to score a goal in a men's professional league (in Finland) and she has taken part in six Olympics (five for hockey, one for softball), winning four gold medals (twice as MVP).

After such a storied career, the speaking circuit and coaching are the usual go-tos for a sports star. But not for Wickenheiser. Since hanging up her skates in 2017, she has graduated from medical school. She'd always wanted to be a doctor, ever since a delivery van hit her neighbour when she was a little girl. Wickenheiser visited her friend in the hospital and was inspired by the medical team that saved her.

These days, the 45-year-old is pulling double duty as a resident in family medicine at a Toronto hospital and an assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs (the fourth woman in NHL history to hold that title). Throughout it all, she advocates passionately for girls' and women's hockey with WickFest, a festival that hosts 7,000 players each year.

In 2020, when the lockdown hit, instead of making bread you wrote a memoir, Over the Boards.

I had already committed to the book, and then I suddenly had more time on my hands. I started working on it verbally-I would talk into my phone as I drove to and from rinks and hospitals.

This story is from the October 2023 edition of Reader's Digest Canada.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 2023 edition of Reader's Digest Canada.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

FEATURED STORIESView All
NEW YEAR, NEW RIG
Tread

NEW YEAR, NEW RIG

Ring in 2024 with Rugged Products for your Toyota

time-read
1 min  |
Yota 2024
THE TOYOTAS OF KING OF THE HAMMERS
Tread

THE TOYOTAS OF KING OF THE HAMMERS

Two Weeks of Racing and Playing

time-read
5 mins  |
Yota 2024
THE BAY AREA SEQUOIA
Tread

THE BAY AREA SEQUOIA

An Inside Look at This Family Friendly Off-Road Rig

time-read
8 mins  |
Yota 2024
MAMBA MENTALITY
Tread

MAMBA MENTALITY

Cecil Sebastian 2020 Toyota 4Runner

time-read
10 mins  |
Yota 2024
HAWK
Tread

HAWK

A One-of-a-Kind Tundra Prerunner Built for Multiple Needs

time-read
4 mins  |
Yota 2024
MULTI-TERRAIN MASTER
Tread

MULTI-TERRAIN MASTER

David Heining's '07 Tacoma Built for All Conditions

time-read
4 mins  |
Yota 2024
DIY CAMP CREATIONS
Tread

DIY CAMP CREATIONS

5 EASY PROJECTS TO KEEP THE WHOLE FAMILY BUSY ON ANY CAMPING TRIP

time-read
6 mins  |
Yota 2024
THE PERFECT BLEND
Tread

THE PERFECT BLEND

Austin Sharpe's On/Off-Road Ready Tacoma

time-read
4 mins  |
Yota 2024
DEATH IN VENICE
The New Yorker

DEATH IN VENICE

At the Biennale, the past dignifies the weird, desperate present.

time-read
8 mins  |
May 13, 2024
MOTHERS OF US ALL
The New Yorker

MOTHERS OF US ALL

Paula Vogel's \"Mother Play,\" Shaina Taub's \"Suffs,\" and Amy Herzog's \"Mary Jane.\"

time-read
5 mins  |
May 13, 2024
NEW TRICKS
The New Yorker

NEW TRICKS

An animal trainer to the stars prepares a Great Dane for his film début.

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 13, 2024
ARROW RETRIEVER
The New Yorker

ARROW RETRIEVER

I am an arrow retriever. After a batrows are costly and time-consuming to make. It seems like a terrible waste-and maybe even a sin―for an arrow to fall to the ground without hitting someone. Even if the arrow kills somebody, it can be reused to kill someone else. As Randolf the Scot famously said, \"Arrows don't grow on trees.\"

time-read
3 mins  |
May 13, 2024
READ THE LABEL
The New Yorker

READ THE LABEL

How psychiatric diagnoses create identities.

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 13, 2024
ORIGIN STORY
The New Yorker

ORIGIN STORY

What do we hope to learn from our prehistory?

time-read
10 mins  |
May 13, 2024
PARADISE LOST
The New Yorker

PARADISE LOST

The search for a home that never was in Claire Messud's new novel.

time-read
10 mins  |
May 13, 2024
PURE PLEASURE
The New Yorker

PURE PLEASURE

The \"Radical Optimism\" of Dua Lipa.

time-read
5 mins  |
May 13, 2024
WE'RE NOT SO DIFFERENT, YOU AND I
The New Yorker

WE'RE NOT SO DIFFERENT, YOU AND I

\"You'll never get away with this!\" Ultra Man vowed as he wriggled in his chains. \"You may destroy me, but you'll never destroy what I stand for!\"

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 13, 2024
STONES OF CONTENTION
The New Yorker

STONES OF CONTENTION

The British Museum faces accusations of cultural theft-and actual theft.

time-read
10+ mins  |
May 13, 2024
A CAMPUS IN CRISIS
The New Yorker

A CAMPUS IN CRISIS

Dissent and defiance at Columbia's pro-Palestine protests.

time-read
2 mins  |
May 13, 2024
STUNTED
The New Yorker

STUNTED

\"The Fall Guy.\"

time-read
6 mins  |
May 13, 2024
There Goes the Neighborhood: How to List High When Neighbors are a Nuisance
Top Agent Magazine

There Goes the Neighborhood: How to List High When Neighbors are a Nuisance

Troublesome neighbors are a relatively common issue that agents come across. You can control the image of your client's property and you can control your listing presentation, but you can't always control what's happening on your client's street. How do you diffuse difficult neighbors that could lower your bottom line or embarrass you in front of prospective buyers?

time-read
3 mins  |
Hawaii May 2024
Incorporating Charitable Giving in Your Real Estate Practice
Top Agent Magazine

Incorporating Charitable Giving in Your Real Estate Practice

Contributing to a worthy cause is a noble and meaningful endeavor, but it also presents positive byproducts for the giver: tax write-offs, name recognition in the community, and the ability to expand your network.

time-read
3 mins  |
Georgia May 2024
24-Hour Touch-ups to Maximize Your List Price
Top Agent Magazine

24-Hour Touch-ups to Maximize Your List Price

Sometimes it takes a full-scale overhaul to prepare a house for market. Other times, only a series of small adjustments are required to make a listing’s true potential shine.

time-read
3 mins  |
Georgia May 2024
VERONICA BANGSBOLL & MELISSA POU
Top Agent Magazine

VERONICA BANGSBOLL & MELISSA POU

The Ház Group duo of Top Agents Veronica Bangsboll and Melissa Pou provide luxury concierge real estate services to clients in Coweta and Fayette counties, and throughout greater Atlanta.

time-read
2 mins  |
Georgia May 2024
6 Things All Successful Negotiators Do
Top Agent Magazine

6 Things All Successful Negotiators Do

If you think about it, you've been negotiating your whole life. As a kid you negotiated constantly with your family, your teachers, and your classmates.

time-read
3 mins  |
Minnesota May 2024
RAUL SANCHEZ
Top Agent Magazine

RAUL SANCHEZ

Top Agent Raul Sanchez with RES Realty in Minneapolis, Minnesota, specializes in the Hispanic community.

time-read
2 mins  |
Minnesota May 2024
Adding Value to Listings & the Advantage of Identifying Neighborhood Amenities
Top Agent Magazine

Adding Value to Listings & the Advantage of Identifying Neighborhood Amenities

Walking a fifteen-minute radius of the area or performing a deep-dive into customer review sites or food blogs can help you identify hidden gems or local favorites.

time-read
2 mins  |
Florida May 2024
Small Yard? Big Statement: How to Make the Most Out of Micro Outdoor Spaces
Top Agent Magazine

Small Yard? Big Statement: How to Make the Most Out of Micro Outdoor Spaces

When house-hunters compile their lists of musthave home items, a dreamy backyard space is often near the top. After all, who doesn’t want an outdoor oasis of their very own?

time-read
2 mins  |
Florida May 2024
Reconsider Referral-Only When Planning for the Future
Top Agent Magazine

Reconsider Referral-Only When Planning for the Future

Many agents plan for the idea that working only on referral may not be sufficient during slower times of the year, in a down market, or when an agent needs to expanding into a new sector.

time-read
3 mins  |
Florida May 2024
Modern Email Etiquette for Today's Agents
Top Agent Magazine

Modern Email Etiquette for Today's Agents

Though email is no longer a new-fangled invention, there are certainly ways you can modernize its use and take advantage of its ubiquity.

time-read
2 mins  |
Florida May 2024