Hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser to get honorary university degree

That includes four straight gold medals from 2002 to 2014.

Wickenheiser is the all-time scoring leader with 168 goals and 379 points in 276 career games for Canada.

“It is really special, especially coming from the U of S,” Wickenheiser said in a news release Monday. “My heart is, and always will be, in Saskatchewan. That is where my life was really shaped.”

“Hayley Wickenheiser has been the face of women’s hockey for decades and a remarkable role model for young players from coast to coast,” U of S president Peter Stoicheff said in a news release Monday.

“Hayley has been a passionate advocate for youth in all sports, working with a wide variety of charities and community programs as well as fundraising for girls who couldn’t otherwise afford to play hockey.”

Wickenheiser was a member of Team Canada when women’s hockey was introduced as a medal sport at her first Winter Olympics in 1998 and served as the country’s flag bearer at her final Olympic Games in 2014.

Her work as a mentor for female hockey players helped develop the game dramatically across the country. Since her first year on the national team, the number of female hockey players in Canada has grown from 16,000 in 1994 to 87,000 in 2017.

“She leaves a legacy unmatched in the game and has inspired a generation of future Olympians,” Stoicheff said.

(CKOM)

CKOM, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser to get honorary university degree

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