Well folks, it's finally happened. (note: Actually, apparently it happened two years ago but because the chick was German and played in a terrible league nobody took notice). A woman has reached the pro level of ice hockey.

Er...

Okay, so she's reached the 2nd tier of semi-pro Finnish ice hockey.

Anyway, Hayley Wickenheiser, of Saskatchewan, Canada, has recently become the first woman to play in a (competent) men's "pro" league. Pro, basically, meaning where you get money to play. However, this is kind of misleading. For one, all of the players in the Finnish league she is suiting up for (her team is Kirkkonummi) are Univeristy students or people with full-time jobs who play hockey not to make money, but just to play. And secondly, the only league in Finland which produces NHL, AHL, CHL or ECHL (the major leagues in North America) level players is the Finnish Elite League. The Elite League in Finland is generally seen as one of the better such leagues in Europe and consistently gives the minor-pro leagues and NHL in Canada and the U.S. prospects (though this by no means is to say that every player in the Elite League will one day make a North American league, the rate is much lower than I think I imply). The league below this in Finland is called Division One. Hayley is currently dressing for a team in Division Two (obviously one step lower than the highest semi-pro league and two steps below the pro league).

Anyway, this is now cause for major debate. In her first game (which was today), Hayley registered an assist in her team's 7-3 win over Salamat. The game was aired by WTSN in Canada, and I happened to catch most of it. There has been much concern over Hayley taking an open ice hit, and to be honest after seeing one game I don't really have the same concern I once did. While it's true Hayley has never once taken an open ice hit (it's not allowed in women's hockey), I don't think I saw one at all during the game. Not one worth mentioning, anyway.

She seemed to hold her ground. She looked like a rookie, just getting use to the idea of a bigger player hitting her. Occasionally she got easily over powered (one such incident led to her actually scoring on her own net), but all in all I don't think she's got too much to worry about in this league.

Ignoring the possibility of her first major hit kind of shocking her into the world of men's hockey; the hockey world will be watching for her success or failure, and this could affect the world view of the women's game. If the world's best female player (arguably, best female player ever) can't succeed at all in a third-rate European league, will that affect how (men, primarily) people see the women's game? After the Olympics much of North America was very proud of and impressed by the women's showing, but will our respect for their talents go down if Hayley can't make it in a semi-pro Euro men's league?

Ignoring that; is Hayley doing good for the woman's game? Consider that Wayne Gretzky made hockey a semi-popular item in the States south of Chicago solely by allowing himself to be traded to a struggling team in Los Angeles. With the female game being on the grow, is Hayley actually hurting her comrades? By saying that the woman's game is no longer good enough for her, is she telling us that (a) the woman's game isn't that good and (b) superior female players should simply try to get into the men's leagues? Should she be sticking to the woman's game and trying to create popularity for the sport in order to help the future of female hockey players?

I know this board ain't exactly stocked full of hockey fans, but I thought we might get a few responses.

(for an article on her game today; http://www.tsn.ca/wtsn/news_story.asp?ID=22144&hubName=wtsn)

I've always felt that hockey was one of the few sports that a woman absolutely, positively, could never play anywhere as well as a man can. But if she can handle herself well, well, she has my respect.

WOW - I think females can go along or even surpass males in lot of sports and fill the gap of raw strength/speed with better strategie/timing/technique/enhanced bodycoordination, but I couldn't have figured them playing in male icehockey, cause it is so much about physical domination.....

You'd better be careful what you wish for.

Recently, a woman in Australia won the right to appear in the men's lawn bowls competition. The feminists were dancing in the streets, calling it a blow for equal rights. The men were largely disgusted at their game being slowed down.

Imagine the screams, when a man decided enough was enough and played (and won) in the women's competition. Equal rights, you see.

*edit* - In the interest of fairness, it should be noted that at the time of the woman earning the right to play in the men's competition, many of her female compatriots were not happy with her for taking it to court, saying that the competition should remain divided. Perhaps they had some foresight.