When she came to work at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday, October 14th, 2006, little did Cassie Campbell know that – again – she’d be making history. In her new role as a rinkside reporter for Hockey Night in Canada, she arrived early to watch the teams practice, and in walked the producers. She remembers being escorted to the other side of the rink to learn that veteran colour commentator Harry Neale was stuck in New York due to a snow storm.

“I was sort of looking for the pie,” she says, “thinking, okay yeah great, that’s a good joke. But then I realized that they were serious.” They had asked her to call that night’s game between the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs beside legendary broadcaster Bob Cole – a break she knew may not come again. They were supportive, but needed a decision fast.

Good thing Cassie’s no stranger to pressure. Since leading the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team to six world championships and two memorable Gold medal wins at both the 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics, she’s been lauded a pioneer and heroine of Canadian sport. To this day, she’s the only Canadian hockey player, male or female, to captain two Olympic Gold medal teams. Although she would be the first to say she had help, she’s become one of the most successful and recognizable players in women’s ice hockey history.

In August, 2006, Cassie retired from professional hockey, but at 32, this Brampton, Ontario native is just into her second period. Carrying on as one of hockey’s most articulate ambassadors, Cassie is now a popular speaker about teamwork, determination and leadership. She is also in demand as a Hockey Night in Canada reporter, more than ever since filling in for Harry Neale.

“I was scared,” she says, “but that’s what it’s about. To me, life is about getting nervous and excited and looking for new challenges. That’s what should be pushing everybody’s buttons.” After a brief phone consult with Brad Pascall, Hockey Canada’s senior director of men’s national teams, to check if he’d still be her husband should there be any repercussions… she went for it.

In the following days, headlines in the Globe and Mail and CBC Sports read, “Cassie Campbell makes history as HNIC analyst” and “Campbell shines as TV analyst; Former national star impressive in historic debut”. Cassie had once again broken new ground, becoming the first woman to ever do colour commentary on a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast.

The next day, everyone wanted to talk to her. Instead, she went to a pumpkin patch with her nieces. She remembers reporters saying, “do you not realize the importance of what you’ve just done?” “Yeah,” she responded, “but do you not realize the importance of my nieces who are going to kill me if I don’t take them to the pumpkin patch? I’d promised them for a week!”

To Cassie, that’s what is really important. She has never focused on the accolades. “If you do,” she says, “one day they will be gone and you’ll be in trouble.” Still tight with friends she’s had since childhood, and her family, she trusts them to tell her if she gets too big for her britches. No doubt, they all know that she has her priorities straight. As a leader she was always more concerned about how everyone else got ready for the game. As a player, she strived for excellence, all the while promoting the game behind the scenes.

Still, Cassie’s had her share of challenges. At one point, while studying Sociology at the University of Guelph, she contemplated quitting. She credits her coach, Sue Scherer (first captain of the World Championship team in 1990), for helping her to see value in continuing.

Later, when her team was in a scoring slump, Cassie turned to sports psychologist, Peter Jensen. He said her problem then was not seeing herself as a contribution; skating and moving the puck well, setting up her team mates, playing on every line. “I was focused on the goal,” she says. “I wasn’t focused on all the good things I was doing.” Now laughing, she remembers him saying, “You’re not believing that you’re a contribution today are you?” “I just looked at him and said, no, I guess I’m not,” she says. “I’ll never forget that.”

Also etched in memory are the struggles she faced as the first female player to be sponsored. For her, it wasn’t about endorsing products. It was about having a relationship with a corporation that wanted to be involved in women’s hockey. Standing her ground and not losing sight of who she was proved to be a real challenge. “There would be times where an equipment sponsor would want me to wear their aerobic wear and do a photo shoot,” she says. “I just said no… I’m not a model, I’m a hockey player so this is what I wear to the gym and this is who I am.”

All of Cassie’s experiences and accomplishments could have given her a swelled head. Instead, they’ve given her a grounded wisdom and a sense of humour. Never comfortable with all of the attention, she’s quick to deflect the spotlight and credit others. “I learned how to be a captain through my parents,” she says, “Through them I learned to do what’s best for the team”. She also commends the girls she’s played with since 1994, calling them an “inspirational group of people”.

Other influences? Early on, it was all about Paul Coffey and Guy Lafleur, so she looked up to them. At seven, she took figure skating lessons to humour her parents, but knew from watching her brother… she just wanted to play hockey. So they put her with the boys. “I’d show up ready to play and I had a short little hair cut,” Cassie says. “A lot of them didn’t know that I was a girl until I showed up at the swimming party at the end of the year with a different bathing suit on.”

The boys didn’t care, but by her teens the naysayers were rampant. “Oh yeah,” she says, “I can’t even count how many times I was told that girls shouldn’t play hockey.” Nevertheless, while her friends became too cool for school, Cassie perfected her slap shot. Many asked why she put so much into playing. She’d say, “hey, if you’re not on my train, see ya later ‘cause it’s leaving.”

From the start, Cassie had clear determination. Seeking the spotlight or taking the easy road were never options. For her, it was more about making a contribution and sharing wins. With selfless passion she brought women’s hockey onto the world’s stage and broke the ice for corporate sponsorship and broadcasting. Now, with a full agenda and two new books out in September 2007, she’s still working for the team, but instead of a puck she’s passing on wisdom.

According to Cassie, women should just accept that they have to come out of their comfort zone more than men. “Don’t complain about it,” she says. “Be yourself. Live life with that no fear attitude. If doing something feels right, go out, work harder at it and just do it!”

Esteem Magazine, Winter 2006