Before Hayley Wickenheiser and Cammi Granato were fierce opponents, they were penpals. Game recognized game and the duo bonded over their love for the game.
Here's the story, as written by Mike Gibb for The Hockey News on February 11, 2000.
Cammi Granato recognized the enemy eight years ago, then became pen pals with her.
Granato was an instructor at a 1992 hockey camp in Penticton, B.C., when she noticed a dazzling 13-year-old named Hayley Wickenheiser. Granato went as far as to tell her, “I’ll see you at the 1998 Olympics.”
The two exchanged infrequent letters over the next couple of years until they met again. It was not yet the Olympics, but it was the 1995 Women’s World Championship. Granato played for the U.S.; Wickenheiser was a 15-year-old rookie on Canada’s national team.
Wickenheiser’s ability has progressed with her age. She’s a three-time world champion, has attended the Philadelphia Flyers’ rookie camp the past two years, was a silver medal winner at the 1998 Winter Olympics-the U.S. won the gold-and at 21, Wickenheiser is just skating into her prime.
Her youth and array of skills make her the consensus pick as the top female player in the world, heading into a home-and-home exhibition series between Canada and the U.S. The teams play Feb. 2 in Buffalo and Feb. 4 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto as part of the NHL’s All-Star Game festivities.
“What’s really scary is she’s still getting better,” said Canadian teammate Cassie Campbell. “She enjoys pressure. It’s what makes her tick. Even when she’s standing in line for a drill, she’s working on shooting or puckhandling.”
It’s that focus that has propelled Wickenheiser from a young girl playing shinny on an outdoor rink in Shaunavon, Sask., to the world stage. It’s also what has allowed her to try to become a two-sport athlete.
Wickenheiser is one of 10 players vying for the five final spots on the Canadian national softball team destined for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. A utility player, Wickenheiser feels that to make the team, she needs to use her offensive skills and capitalize on her power. If her power on the baseball field is anywhere close to her power on the ice, she’s a lock.
Hayley Wickenheiser is the top player in women’s hockey today.
“You can’t give her any space on the ice,” Granato said. “You give her an inch and she’s gone.”
Wickenheiser has played every position but goalie with the Canadian team. Normally a center-where she’s most comfortable-she’s also used as a quarterback on the point during power plays and on the wing in given situations.
She’s the top women’s player due to her versatility, not because of any one particular asset. An adept puckhandler and smooth skater, Wickenheiser can be an artist or a carpenter on the ice, depending on the situation.
“She plays laterally very well,” Granato said. “And she’s good at dragging a defenseman and hitting someone with a pass against the grain.”
Wickenheiser put on one of the most impressive displays ever by a female at the Three Nations Cup in Montreal in December when she scored four goals and set up the fifth in a 5-4 OT win over the U.S.
That was one of the best performances I had ever seen,” said Canadian national team coach Melody Davidson. Granato called it one of the best games by an individual against the U.S.
A teammate of Granato’s, forward Karen Bye, deserves an honorable mention. “I haven’t seen a woman with a harder shot than Karen,” Granato said. “Anytime we have the puck in the offensive zone, she’s a threat to score.”
Wickenheiser won’t come out and say she’s the best at what she does, but she will acknowledge she’s a special player who has the ability to control a game.
“I’m a very intense person,” she said. “It’s one of my best qualities. I like to think I can change the momentum of a game on my own. I want to raise the intensity of the game through the way I play.” ■