Small shoots for pro league

Small, a former goaltender with the national women's team and one of the founders of the Canadian Women's Hockey League, is taking the women's game to the professional level.

The 33-year-old Small had a meeting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Jan. 12 in Bettman's New York office where Small asked the NHL to assist the CWHL in becoming a professional league. Small made a presentation which included a full business plan. The league plans to begin play this fall.

"It was absolutely amazing to think that we were holding the future of women's hockey in this meeting," said Small, a goalie for the Mississauga Chiefs and the vice-chair of CWHL. She was accompanied by CWHL executive director Brenda Andress.

"We asked for money, in a nutshell. But also for the ability to use their knowledge and share their sponsors and their marketing ability. The NHL is the epitome of hockey."

Her business plan is for a six-team league, with each player to be paid $35,000.

Teams would be within driving distance of each other in the areas of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, New York and Boston. Small said the CWHL hopes to hear from the NHL this spring.

"We'd like to ensure a future for women's hockey but also to gain a rightful place for women in hockey where they can be treated like the superstars that they are," said Small. "In our league, we could offer Canada-U.S.-type games all the time because that's who will be playing for these teams."

Small will run her 12th annual female-only hockey school in Winnipeg July 19-23, She holds three others in Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Earlier this week, Small was in Vancouver at the Olympic Games where she watched the Canadian women's semifinal victory Feb. 22. The next day, she received a Coca-Cola Live Positively Award for her work to advance women's hockey.

In these Olympics, Small was involved indirectly with a change to women's hockey. A third goalie was added to 2010 women's rosters, which were expanded to 21 players, still short of the 23 on men's teams.

The new rule meant all three Team Canada goaltenders received gold medals after Canada's win over the USA in Thursday's final. Small is a three-time Olympian but has only one medal, a gold from 2002 in Salt Lake City, when she and Kim St. Pierre shared the netminding duties. She did not receive medals in 1998 in Nagano and in 2006 in Turin when she was the alternate goalie.

She went to those Olympics, practised and prepared with the team but did not dress or play. Under the former rules, she could only have seen action if one of the other goalies could not continue. In 2010, all three goaltenders were active members of the roster.

"I'm definitely very excited for them," Small said. "Hockey Canada should be thanked. They always brought me to the Olympics. It was really the International Ice Hockey Federation that had to be swayed and there a number of amazing individuals who stepped up and wrote letters to help make that happen, including Peter MacKay and Michaëlle Jean."

The issue was brought sharply into public light the day after the 2006 gold-medal victory when Small and the other Team Canada players met Jean, Canada's Governor General. Jean asked Small why her medal wasn't around her neck.

"I had to tell her I didn't have one. After I explained the story, I think she just felt awful," Small said.

"You can't always choose your role but you can choose how you play it," she said. "It took some time but I learned that it wasn't really about the medal at all. It was about your role with the team and how you played that role. You do still contribute to the team."

Small will head to the 2010 Paralympic Games next month to cheer on her fiancé Billy Bridges of Canada's national men's sledge hockey team. She and Bridges plan to be married on June 5 with Team Canada's Jennifer Botterill as Small's maid of honour.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca

Thanks for the ride

Sami Jo Small was a member of Canada's national women's hockey team for 10 years and is a three-time Olympian.

She was in Winnipeg recently to help Goodyear promote its "Get There" awards to honour those who assist future athletes achieve their sports goals by driving them to games and practices.

Goodyear is looking for nominees from across Canada and, with Small as a member of the judging panel, will select three recipients. The prize includes a set of premium tires valued at $1,500.

"My parents (Pat and Rod) were basically a taxi service to get me and my brother Luke to all the places we needed to be to pursue our sports dreams. They put their dreams on hold and I really think we need to honour those kinds of contributions to our young athletes," said Small.

Applicants must be "18 years old who currently and actively are driving a young Canadian athlete (under 16 years of age) to and from games, practices, training sessions, tournaments and competitions throughout the year."

Apply by March 5 at www.goodyear.ca.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 2, 2010 C6