Yonge Street statue cheers the ever-expanding place of women in hockey - Toronto Star

Hockey is for everyone. That’s the motto. But sometimes it doesn’t always feel that way.

That’s the point of a statue that features a female hockey player cheering on her team from behind a 10-foot-long board. It’s entitled “This Game is For Us All” and was erected Monday, at 33 Yonge St., across the street from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“The whole idea is to spark conversation around visibility and women’s hockey, calling for greater female representation in hockey,” said Jayna Hefford, chair of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association. “I liken it a little bit to the fearless girl that it is on Wall Street and something that people want to go and check out.

“It creates conversation for people. So we’re hoping it will do that: How we can provide greater visibility for women in our game.”

The statue shines a light on the inequities between the men’s and women’s game. The members of the PWHPA — 34 Olympians and about 100 other women — don’t have a league and can’t earn a living wage playing the game they love. For now, the PWHPA has declined the entreaties of the Premier Hockey Federation, home of the Toronto Six, working instead toward something closer to a major league.

“The mission of the PWHPA is to get to a point where we have a professional women’s league that treats the women in the way we would all be accustomed to with a professional league,” Hefford said. “Part two is that greater visibility allows women and girls to see a place for them in the sport. We’re starting to see women here and there in executive roles and different things. But we obviously would love to see more of that.”

Women in hockey have come a great distance in the past few years. Some of Hefford’s former Team Canada teammates are in integral roles: Hayley Wickenheiser and Danielle Goyette run the player development department for the Maple Leafs, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Jennifer Botterill are mainstays on “Hockey Night In Canada.”

Goalie Kim St-Pierre will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this week, the 10th anniversary of the first female players being inducted: Canada’s Angela James, now an assistant coach with the Six, and American Cammi Granato, now a scout with the Seattle Kraken.

“I love the game, the sport so much and I love watching the NHL. Obviously, I played myself,” Hefford said. “I want the game to be healthy for years to come. I want it to continue to grow. I want it to continue to be a part of us as Canadians.

“I think we have to have these conversations around inclusivity and it doesn’t only relate to gender. It relates to the BIPOC communities and in other areas as well. So that’s part of the conversation.”

Budweiser Canada helped build the statue and is promoting it, as it promotes women’s hockey through its support of the PWHPA.

“Our ultimate mission has really been to work with the PWHPA on their mission, which is a viable league for female hockey players,” said Mike D’Agostini, the senior marketing director of Budweiser Canada. “We felt like this was an important time to continue to bring that partnership to life when the hockey world is going to be tuning into the induction of Kim St-Pierre on the 10th anniversary of the first females inducted.”

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Yonge Street statue cheers the ever-expanding place of women in hockey - Toronto Star
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