Who, What, When, Where, and Why?
Why would a seventeen-year-old be writing an article on the rise of female presence in professional men’s hockey? Why is a seventeen-year-old even covering professional hockey? My name is Gabrielle Klempner, and I am that seventeen years old girl. I am and always have been a southern-born and Christian-raised girl who is also half-Jewish and very proud of her heritage, as complex as it may be. Last year, I got the opportunity to cover the inaugural season of the Savannah Ghost Pirates – a new professional team that is very close to where I live in South Carolina. Like many other Savannah locals testing the waters of a sport more commonly admired in the North, I was not expecting to fall in love with the icy sport. Now, the sport has completely captured my heart and my life, as I now plan to pursue it as a career, starting with a major in Sports Communications in college. In my research and deciding if this career is the right one for me, I found a lot of females in the hockey universe who have not only made considerable impacts in sports but have also become huge influences on young girls like me. These great hockey heroines have made a lasting impression on the hockey world.
Coaching Chick
Jessica Campbell is one of the many women involved in professional men’s hockey that I am inspired by. She mainly helps coach the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL. She sat behind the bench for one of the Seattle Kraken’s preseason games this fall. Campbell is believed to be the first female to coach in an NHL game. There is more information on her first NHL game in my article I wrote the week of the game, linked below.
Saving Señorita
In January of this year, there was a massive incident at a college hockey game that could have cost a young player to lose his life. At a West Point University hockey game, young forward Eric Huss was involved in a huge hit, resulting in another player’s skate blade cutting his throat. Luckily for Huss, athletic trainer Rachel Leahy was present. She saw what was happening, and leaped into action without a moment to lose, keeping perfect pressure on the laceration while the skater received emergency medical treatment. The league didn’t let the heroine’s actions go unnoticed, as they even made her the Player of the Week. The league’s social media post showed that she had scored no goals and got no assists but had saved one life. She is definitely a woman that will be a huge influence as her heroic acts will be remembered for a very long time.
Media Mademoiselles
Kim Pegula is one female in not only the hockey universe but also the football galaxy who is arguably one of the most inspiring. She, along with her husband, Terry Pegula, are the presidents of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL. She is the only woman to have ever had this position in both of these leagues, according to sportsnet.ca. She and her husband are also the CEOs of Pegula Sports and Entertainment.
Another media mademoiselle who is well-known for her presence she has had in the NHL is Leah Hextall. She was the first woman to call play-by-play for nationally televised NHL games frequently throughout a season. Although she admittedly loves her job in media and has been in the field for many years, she had to go through some very tough and scary times just for covering hockey. Like many media personalities, she has had more than a fair share of being trolled online. Leah had been hit with rumors and a target of sexist and misogynistic attacks. In addition to that, she also received a death threat in an e-mail after a game she covered. The attacker threatened her life all because they didn’t like the way she covered the sport. In expressing her thoughts on the whole incident, Hextall mentioned the shock that she felt as her life was threatened over a professional hockey game. Although she had to face a lot of painful, hurtful comments and words from hateful people, she got through the season with her head held high.
Damsel Debriefing
The main focuses in the world of professional men’s hockey are not just the players or all the other men involved but also the women. There is a growing involvement of women in the professional sport, and it will continue strong as the years go on. I couldn’t be more excited to have a future in this wonderful universe of hockey.
Fantastic! All of it.
It has been an interesting road for me with sports, and most definitely with hockey. As an adult, I often get questions around proving what I know. I keep my head down most of the time (literally). It’s hard but I hope someday we can all just be fans and enthusiasts without having to pass a test to be sitting at the table. Especially for those women, like you, who so deserve a seat.