Humble hometown hero The ultimate team player, Jennifer Botterill a model in hockey greatness By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 12:00 PM CDT Friday, Apr. 11, 2025

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/04/2025 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s another Hockey Night in Canada broadcast and Ron MacLean can feel the tension in the studio.

Former players Jennifer Botterill and Kevin Bieksa are once again butting heads over the topic of fighting, drawing their respective lines in the sand while a nation looks on.

This time, their on-air clash revolves around a heated NHL game between Pittsburgh and Montreal a few days earlier and the subject of retribution. Penguins forward Noel Acciari had injured young Canadiens skater Juraj Slafkovsky with a questionable hit, sparking a melee near the end of the game that began with Habs tough guy Arber Xhekaj taking a dangerous run at Acciari.

Bieksa, a veteran of 808 NHL games with 1,124 penalty minutes on his resumé, loved it.

“That for me is the right time to go at a guy. It’s an eye for an eye. I don’t think he’s too apologetic about that, I wouldn’t care. I wouldn’t care if it’s clean or not, you get my guy I’m getting you back at some point,” the retired defenceman told the audience.

Botterill, one of the most decorated players in Canadian hockey history, did not agree.

“Guess what? The game is changing and there (are) other solutions,” she said. “It doesn’t always have to be an eye for an eye.”

MacLean has seen this before, with Botterill also going toe-to-toe with another regular Sportsnet panelist in Luke Gazdic, an ex-NHL enforcer. He’s not surprised that Botterill, the only woman in the studio, has the courage of her convictions.

“You are looking across the table at these two guys who made their livelihoods as enforcers and she (is) just great,” said MacLean.

“It’s not easy, you know, because there’s always going to be social media blowback and all that. But she just never backs down.”

This particular argument between Botterill and Bieksa, which occurred last November, quickly went viral on social media. But what people didn’t see was a respectful conversation the pair had as soon as the cameras stopped rolling.

“There’s no question I have different opinions than some of our panelists, and I think we feel very strongly about our different opinions,” Botterill recently told the Free Press.

“At the end of each show, have I been true to my beliefs? Have I been authentic and sincere? And hopefully I can do so in a manner that’s respectful but still confident. I know I’m never going to please 100 per cent of viewers that tune in to our shows, but there also is not 100 per cent of viewers that are going to agree with the other panelists.”

Thing is, Botterill can absolutely put her money where her mouth is. Three-time Olympic hockey gold medallist. Five-time Canadian world champion. Accomplished NHL broadcaster. Mother of three. Mentor. Role model. Harvard-educated. Winnipeg-raised.

Her resumé is as impressive as they come, and her latest chapter is seeing her become a rising star on an ever-growing stage. Her family, friends and colleagues say she has remained humble, gracious and true to herself.

“She’s absolutely the genuine article,” said MacLean, who is a walking, talking hockey encyclopedia and begins rattling off her accomplishments, including how she once posted 91 points in 26 regular-season games at Harvard to become the school’s all-time leading scorer.

“Her records are crazy,” he said.

And that’s where MacLean, a 10-time Gemini Award-winning broadcaster, gets downright apoplectic as the subject of Botterill’s resumé comes up and one glaring omission is noted — the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“She’s such a gracious person that you’ll never get her to say that, but it should be an absolute automatic that she gets in,” he said. “It’s an oversight at this point. But when it happens, it will be long overdue. Everything about her career is Hall of Fame-worthy.”

---

Ask a hockey player about their favourite career moment and they’re likely going to speak about a meaningful goal they scored.

For Botterill, however, it was an assist. In her final international appearance at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, Botterill fed the great Marie-Philip Poulin for what would be the gold-medal-clinching goal.

“A very vivid, vivid memory for me, and one that certainly makes me smile,” said Botterill.

As a child growing up in Winnipeg, Botterill was a multi-sport athlete in quite the talented household.

Her mother, Doreen McCannell-Botterill, is a two-time Canadian Olympic speedskater (1964, 1968). Her father, Dr. Cal Botterill, is a former national team hockey player who is now one of the country’s most renowned sports psychologists and a professor at the University of Winnipeg. Her brother, Jason, is a first-round NHL draft pick turned league executive.

“My parents tried to raise us in terms of having a balanced approach and making sure academics were a big priority for us, but also having a great overall experience in terms of athletics,” Botterill said.

“They were the ultimate inspiration and support network. From a young age, there was never any pressure for Jason and I, but it was about being the best person we could be, the best family member, the best friend, the best student, the best athlete.”

She hasn’t forgotten her roots and rattles off a list of people who have shaped the person she’s become, particularly while attending St. John’s-Ravenscourt School — math teacher Sherri Burroughs, English teacher Nancy Gillies, hockey instructor Fred Stevenson, volleyball coach Henry Verbeek and soccer coach Angela Wilson.

“I’m still very grateful to this day for their influence and support,” she said. “I call them little moments of appreciation.”

Botterill was a talented ringette player, even representing Manitoba at the Canada Winter Games in 1995, but switched to hockey in her mid-teens. Her brother recalls seeing his sister’s eyes light up when the International Olympic Committee voted to approve the introduction of women’s hockey starting with the 1998 games in Nagano.

“That became her priority and her main focus — finding a way to try to get to the Olympics,” Jason said. “I think you’ve seen in her career, both athletic and in the media, when she puts her mind to it and is focused on something, she usually has a lot of success.”

“They were the ultimate inspiration and support network. From a young age, there was never any pressure for Jason and I.”–Jennifer Botterill

You won’t find any mention of it on her HockeyDB page, but there’s no doubt who Botterill scored her first batch of goals against.

“We would be playing as kids in our basement and I’d be in net and she’d be whacking slapshots at me,” her big brother recalls with a chuckle. “Obviously with three years (between us) things were a bit different from that standpoint, but she never backed down from anything.”

Sure, the athletic apple didn’t fall far from the impressive family tree. But genetics only take you so far.

“She has always had a great work ethic. She was a great athlete, but no matter where she went, she worked hard and became pretty special. I think she’s just carried over that same philosophy now into her career in media,” Jason said.

Botterill is regarded as the NCAA’s career scoring leader (319 points over four seasons with the Harvard Crimson Tide) and was the first player to win the Patty Kazmaier award as the top player in women’s college hockey twice.

She then lit it up with Toronto and Mississauga of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League for six years (155 points in 78 games) while also capturing an Olympic silver medal in 1998 and three straight golds in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

She also played in eight world championships, with five golds (including the 2007 event in Winnipeg) and three silvers.

Jason was no slouch himself. He spent four years playing at the University of Michigan and won three gold medals with the Canadian World Junior Team before being drafted 20th-overall by the Dallas Stars in 1994. He played 88 NHL games and 383 minor-league contests over eight seasons before concussions forced an early retirement.

He has since made a smooth transition into management, receiving his MBA in 2007 and joining the Pittsburgh Penguins as the director of hockey administration in charge of the salary cap. He was promoted to assistant general manager in 2009 then hired by the Buffalo Sabres as their general manager in 2017, spending three years at the helm.

He’s now an assistant general manager with the Seattle Kraken, who currently employ the NHL’s first female assistant coach in Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell. Alexandra Mandrycky is also an AGM with the organization.

Could little sister eventually follow suit?

“It truly has to be your passion, and right now she has a strong passion being in the media, and she has a great workplace and colleagues,” he said.

“But she absolutely could have success if that became her passion.”

---

It’s a few hours before another Wednesday night NHL on TNT production and play-by-play announcer Brendan Burke knows exactly where his broadcast partner is.

“Running,” he said.

“She gets an outdoor run in every day, no matter the city we are in or the weather outside. I think that just speaks to how hard she works. She’s just made that way. Or maybe it’s just her Winnipeg blood. There are days I will complain about going outside for 30 seconds to get into the rink and she’s already finished her run.”

The 40-year-old Burke, who is widely regarded as one of the rising stars in his industry, doesn’t just marvel at Botterill’s dedication to athleticism. Her attention to detail shines through every time the red light on the camera goes on.

“Jen is always incredibly prepared for the broadcast. Normally the play-by-play guy is the one with all the notes, but there is no question when she walks in the door that she has done her homework,” he said.

“She is excellent at taking an idea that she gets from her research, talking to coaches and players about it for more insight, then introducing that to the viewer and then paying it off with video evidence throughout the game.”

MacLean sees it up close, too, as they work together every Saturday on the flagship broadcast.

“There’s great collaboration, great respect when she’s on the panel with us,” MacLean said. “Just a great, great colleague. She’s so good on the technical (side of things) and you see a lot of time she puts into showing clips of players talking on the bench, all the things that lead to building a champion.”

As for taking her hockey career from the studio to either behind the bench or into an NHL team’s boardroom, Burke has no doubt she’d hit the ground running.

“Her playing career speaks for itself. And she certainly knows the game well enough that I think she would find success wherever she applies that knowledge,” he said.

---

There’s no greater example of barriers being broken than in Botterill’s Toronto home, where her three young daughters all have photos of various PWHL Toronto Sceptres players hanging in their rooms.

“You see it through our kids eyes. They’ve been to several games, the facility where my kids practise is where (the women’s team) practises. They’ve met them. It’s not about gender or anything. To them, it’s about seeing a professional hockey player,” said Botterill.

Her daughters, aged five, seven and nine, have also started to learn a few things about mom, realizing she’s more than just the person they can watch on TV these days.

“Not every girl has to play hockey, but I love that it’s a choice now. And that the choice should be there for any role in the industry.”–Jennifer Botterill

.

“My oldest, who is in Grade 4, did a speech at school she had memorized about hockey and had a little mention of me, which was very sweet,” said Botterill.

“Not every girl has to play hockey, but I love that it’s a choice now. And that the choice should be there for any role in the industry.”

Although she’d never say never and close any potential doors, Botterill isn’t looking to make a career change at this point.

She and her husband, hockey skills coach Adrian Lomonaco, are busy enough these days juggling the variety that life has to offer.

“I’m always open to exploring options, but I would say right now I feel extremely grateful for the opportunity that I have. I’m focused on trying to continue to improve and evolve and become the best analyst that I possibly can,” she said.

“It’s also been a huge honour to be a parent. So for me to have the opportunity to balance both has been a real joy in my life. Family has been the biggest part of my life, and my husband and I now strive to have the relationship like my parents did in terms of their presence for each other and their dedication to their kids.”

As for potential enshrinement in hockey’s hallowed halls? She isn’t losing any sleep over it while being appreciative of those advocating on her behalf.

“It’s nice to be mentioned in the conversation,” said Botterill, who was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame last year and the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

“But I think, for me, whether as a player or in my career now, it’s never been about individual recognition or awards. I know it’s the ultimate honour in hockey, and just to be included in some of the mentions and conversations is amazing. But I don’t spend much time concerning myself.”

That’s Botterill — the ultimate team player in every aspect.

 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg