ZURICH Dec. 20, 2007 - The gender barrier has finally been broken. Hockey players Cammi Granato, Angela James and Geraldine Heaney have become the three first women to be inducted to the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) Hall of Fame’s player’s category.
Canadian Angela James, considered to be the first superstar of modern women’s hockey will be joined by former teammate Geraldine Heaney and American Cammi Granato for the induction ceremony which will take place in Quebec City in May. Granato is the all-time leading scorer in major international competition and was the player who defined U.S. women’s program during her 15-year career.
The three will be the first women inducted into the international hockey shrine, the IIHF announced.
“I am immensely happy that we have reached the phase in hockey history when we rightfully can induct women to the player’s category,” said IIHF President René Fasel. Almost two decades have passed since we started with the IIHF World Women Championship and the first pioneers have retired which means that the selection committee could, with perspective, evaluate their contributions to the game.
James played for Canada in the first four officially-sanctioned IIHF women’s world championships, starting with the inaugural tournament in 1990 in Ottawa, when she scored 11 goals in five games. Canada won all four tournaments. She also played for Canada in the 1994 and 1997. In all, she scored 22 goals in 20 world championship games.
James earned eight MVP awards in Canadian women’s championship play. She was an inspiration for the next generation of Canadian players. She celebrates her 43rd birthday Saturday. She is the owner of Breakaway Adult Hockey School and director of the women’s hockey school at Toronto’s Seneca College.
Heaney, 40, was born in Northern Ireland and began playing hockey at age 13 after her family moved to Toronto. She became a defence star and was the first woman in the world to win seven consecutive IIHF world championships, capping her playing career with a gold medal at the 2002 Olympics. She also won Winter Games silver in 1998.
Heaney played a record 125 games for Canada, and her 27 goals and 66 assists made her the all-time leader in scoring by a Canadian defenceman.
Granato, 36, began playing hockey with her siblings, including big brother Tony who went on to an NHL career, in Illinois and evolved into the most well-known female hockey player in the United States. She played in every IIHF world women’s championships and Olympics from the start in 1990 until 2005, which was the year she led the U.S. to its first world title and denied Canada a ninth in a row.
As captain, she led the U.S. to gold in 1998 when women’s hockey was an official Olympic sport for the first time. She was honoured with the NHL’s Lester Patrick Award in 2007 for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.
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