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Sunday, April 9, 2000
Sami Jo Small not getting the chance to play pro
Sami Jo Small, 24, of Winnipeg and Kim St-Pierre, 21, of Chateauguay, Que., were standouts for Canada at the world women's hockey championships.
"They played to a level where they both deserved to start in the gold medal game," coach Mel Davidson said after deciding to start Small against the United States in the title game Sunday night.
It would have been impossible to leave Small on the end of the bench. In the rotation system Davidson was using, it was Small's turn. Also, Small was selected top goaltender in the tournament when she helped Canada win it all last year in Espoo, Finland, and her career goals-against average in international play stood at a remarkable 0.60 entering medal-round play here.
Quebecer Manon Rheaume and American Erin Whitten, neither of whom made their national teams for the 2000 worlds, signed with U.S. pro teams in the mid-1990s. Rheaume even got into an NHL exhibition game with the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning.
Small and St-Pierre, judged better than all before them by most observers of the 2000 tournament, would love similar opportunities. But they are not getting them.
"I've always dreamed of playing in men's semi-pro leagues or something like that," Small says. "If there was an offer out there I would definitely give it a try, but they're not knocking on the doors to get women to play."
She rationalizes.
"Why would they take a chance on a five-foot-seven goalie, whether it's male or female? I'm only 5-7 and, realistically, in a men's league when they're 6-7, I wouldn't stand much of a chance unless I was super quick.
"But, who knows? I wouldn't count it out, definitely, and it would be a dream to be able to do that. But also with women's hockey getting so big now, we have a place to play of our own and that's good, too.
"I think the National Women's Hockey League is where the future of women's hockey is. Hopefully, at some point, the NWHL will become professional."
She has signed with agent Jane Roos of Toronto.
"I find that in women's hockey something like that is really needed," Small explains. "We're so excited just to get a free stick, you know, so this makes sure I won't be taken advantage of."
The Stanford University mechanical engineering grad will spend her summer in Winnipeg working out, and painting. She's into portraits.
"Most of my teammates have commissioned me to do paintings of them," she says. "I get on kicks and this has been my latest kick. I really enjoy it."
St-Pierre, a McGill University phys-ed student, says she'll take a month off then play hockey twice a week in the Montreal region, where her father operates a summer league.
"The Olympics are coming soon so I really want to work hard this summer so I can be in great shape for the Team Canada camp in September," she explains. "I have a lot of friends who play hockey and I always tell them, 'If you need a goalie, call me.' During the summer, there is no pressure. You just go on the ice and have fun. I will also play softball with Team Quebec."
Their partnership is one of the most amiable in the sport.
"I've learned so much from Kim St-Pierre," says Small. "I'm all over the place when I'm out there.
"I'd like to be more like Kim in my positional play. She's amazing at her positional play. She's so technically sound that if I could be more like her that would be great."
St-Pierre sees something in the way Small tends goal that she'd like to have, too.
"She's really a calm goalie," says St-Pierre. "Mentally, she's really strong, she's really relaxed.
"She knows what she has to do. She plays deep in her net but she has good reflexes. She's always in a good mood, and that helps me have confidence in myself. We're always talking together: what we're doing good and what we should improve. We have a really good relationship."
Notes: More than 50,000 spectators watched the 20 games, and tournament organizer Fran Rider was elated with the response. "Everyone could see that women's hockey has advanced to a new level," Rider said. "The sport can only get bigger and better.
"The challenge for us now is to ensure that growth takes place in the right way. We got women's hockey into the Olympics for the first time two years ago and now there is talk of a pro league. If a pro league emerges, we have to do it so the women participating get the greatest benefit possible. In the old six-team NHL, you saw young men giving up their education. We don't want that to happen in women's hockey.
"As for the calibre around the world, Canada, the United States and Finland are still the powers, but we can see other countries improving."
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