Jessica Platt: Life-Saver On Skates

Platt Played In Seattle Pride Tournament At Kraken Community Iceplex

As a hockey-playing youngster, Jessica Platt never imagined she'd grow up to be a human rights activist.

Heck, people were happy when she spoke up at all. "Growing up, I was always really quiet and kept to myself," Platt recalled. "I had one coach that was surprised when he heard me talk, because I actually said something. I usually try and keep fairly private."

That all changed in 2018, when the then-pro women's hockey player came out publicly as transgender. "I saw an opportunity to make a positive difference in the world. It wasn't even a choice in my mind. I have this opportunity and have to take it."

(Editor's note: we detailed that story here.)

Platt traveled from her native Ontario earlier this month, to play in the Seattle Pride Classic at Kraken Community Iceplex. And to serve as a role model. "I've had a lot of people tell me they're so happy to see someone who is openly trans playing hockey. They didn't think that they could play and be their authentic self," Platt said.

"People have sent me messages, saying they're around because they saw that they could play hockey."

Like many of the people she's heard from, Platt actually quit the game for many years as she struggled with her identity.

"I got a job teaching kids how to play hockey later on in my transition, and it reignited the love for the game. I decided to just go for it and see what I could do, now that I had the motivation to take care of myself, be the best player I could be, and really just perform to my highest capabilities."

Those capabilities were sufficiently impressive to land a spot playing for the Toronto Furies of the Canadian Women's Hockey League.

Since then, she's written a book chapter on her journey, been the subject of a documentary, and earned a display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, lauding her as, "The first transgender woman to play elite level women's hockey."

The successor to the Furies, the Toronto Six of the National Women's Hockey League, even invited Platt to drop the ceremonial puck at their Pride game.

About the future of women's pro hockey, she says, "I've seen such a monumental increase in the skill level."

To achieve peak performance, Platt says women pros will need, "Dental and health benefits, equipment, training. A good salary, so they don't have to have a full-time or part-time job, or work in the off-season; they can focus on training."

Platt believes that day is coming. "I think in five years, there's going to be at least double the amount of teams. They're well on their way to having a sustainable league that little girls can dream of playing in as a full-time job."

Having surmounted one tradition-bound institution, pro hockey, Platt is now taking on another - as a certified volunteer firefighter. She'd like to eventually turn pro in that field, too.

"I've loved every second of it," she says. "I've actually got in with a group that does training for FireFit competitions. We drag the 200-pound dummy, we run up six flights of stairs holding a bundle of fire hoses."

The ultimate for a firefighter is knowing they've saved lives. That's a joy Jessica Platt has already experienced.

"There's some people who have sent me messages, saying that they're around because they saw that they could play hockey. They could get involved in the sport that they love and find happiness doing it. That's what kept them from doing something they might regret.

"To be able to have had that impact was truly special and, you know, melts my heart."