57-740: Jayna Hefford (born May 14, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current chairperson of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association . Hefford got her start in the sport of ringette but soon moved into ice hockey. During her hockey career, she won multiple medals at the Winter Olympics and IIHF World Women's Championships as well as titles in the National Women's Hockey League and Canadian Women's Hockey League . She helped Canada win four-straight Olympic gold medals from 2002 to 2014 and famously scored
114-559: A charity golf tournament, the Jayna Hefford Links 4 Life Golf Classic, in July 2009. The tournament raised $ 15,000 for the cancer and palliative care undertaken at Kingston's university hospitals. Professional Women%27s Hockey Players Association The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association ( PWHPA ) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey . It
171-474: A collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the new league. The eight-year agreement was finalized in June and ratified by 3 July, making it effective from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2031. The CBA establishes an average salary target of $ 55,000 for teams in the new league, with each team required to sign at least six players to a minimum salary of $ 80,000 and no more than nine players to a league minimum $ 35,000, with
228-598: A desire to play in a league. Notably, in 2023 Noora Räty resigned from the PWHPA board to sign a six-figure contract with the Metropolitan Riveters of the then-rebranded Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). However, the PWHPA consistently criticized the PHF and its business model, and rejected overtures to merge. PWHPA players raised concerns over a perceived lack of professionalism and sub-standard conditions within
285-591: A gold medal with Canada's Olympic team. Hefford also retired as the CWHL's all-time leader in goals (130) and points (234), although both records have since been broken. In 2017, she was named to the All-Time CWHL Team from the league's first decade. In 2016, the CWHL introduced the Jayna Hefford Trophy in her honour. Awarded to the most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by
342-641: A post-Olympics "Rivalry Rematch" between the Canadian and American teams in Pittsburgh. For what proved to be the final season, four teams competed and for the first time accumulated points throughout the season in a bid for the championship, the Secret Cup. Teams were no longer based in regional hubs, with rosters constructed based on a new player-ranking system. 2012 IIHF Women%27s World Championship The 2012 IIHF World Women's Championships
399-456: A roster by the first IIHF directorate meeting on 6 April 2012. All times are local ( Eastern Time Zone – UTC−4 ). Best of three. All times are local ( Eastern Time Zone – UTC−4 ). All times are local ( Eastern Time Zone – UTC−4 ). List shows the top 10 skaters sorted by points, then goals. GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus/minus ; PIM = Penalties In Minutes Source: IIHF.COM Only
456-552: A single season, the Dream Gap tour became an annual "season" of exhibition tournaments. The final Dream Gap season saw four teams competing for the Secret Cup, with Team Harvey's prevailing over Team Scotiabank in the final. The PWHPA formed an early advisory partnership with American tennis legend Billie Jean King , an early advocate for women's equality in sports and the founder of the Women's Tennis Association . In December 2019,
513-859: A win over the Montreal Stars . In 2009–10, she was absent from the Brampton Thunder for most of the season due to the centralization of Canada's women's hockey Olympic team. After Canada's win in Vancouver, she returned to participate in the Clarkson Cup and had a goal and an assist in Brampton's semi-final win over the Montreal Stars. Brampton lost to the Minnesota Whitecaps in the final. On January 18, 2011,
570-609: The Mississauga Chiefs in 1996–97, scoring 32 goals in 30 games and winning Rookie of the Year honours in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League . After spending the 1997–98 season with Canada, she joined the newly formed Brampton Thunder for the 1998–99 season and finished second in the league with 34 goals scored in just 27 games (with the league renamed the National Women's Hockey League midway through
627-599: The Toronto Maple Leafs with the team hosting a game and providing marketing assistance and sponsorship consultation services. In 2022, the PWHPA entered a formal partnership with Mark Walter , owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers , and Billie Jean King with the intent to launch their new professional league. In February 2023, the PWHPA organized a formal labour union—the Professional Women's Hockey League Players Association (PWHLPA)—to negotiate
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#1732790193622684-659: The Toronto Varsity Blues women's ice hockey program, which represented the University of Toronto . In the 1997 OWIAA semifinal, Hefford was part of the Varsity Blues squad which defeated the Guelph Gryphons by a 4–1 tally. In that game, Hefford accumulated three helpers. In the 1997 OWIAA gold medal game, scored 23 seconds into overtime and she believed that the goal clinched the gold medal for
741-534: The Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) launched in 2004 and lasted until 2011. The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) was founded to replace the NWHL in 2007, and it strove to become a professional league while placing a greater emphasis on player involvement. However, the league could typically pay only for travel, ice time, uniforms, and some equipment, and did not pay players a salary. From 2011 to 2015,
798-553: The 20 players were active PWHPA members and the event was supported by the PWHPA, but it was not directly in partnership with the association. In March 2020, the PWHPA partnered with the Arizona Coyotes for their sixth Dream Gap tour stop in Tempe, Arizona . The New York Rangers became the first NHL team to host a PWHPA game on 28 February 2021, at Madison Square Garden . The PWHPA announced it would also be partnering with
855-509: The 2019–20 season, citing their dissatisfaction in the operations of both leagues in that neither provided health insurance or a livable salary. They stated their intent to work towards the establishment of a unified, financially sustainable professional league. On 20 May, the players formed a non-profit called the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) to advance their mission. Initially, PWHPA members hoped that
912-555: The 40-goal plateau for the second time in her NWHL career, also leading the league with a career-best 70 points. In the playoffs, she helped the Thunder win the NWHL playoff championship. In 2007–08, she led the new Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) with 26 goals in 27 games for the Brampton Canadettes Thunder . She was named the CWHL's Most Valuable Player of the 2007–08 CWHL season , an award voted on by
969-486: The Blues. A little-known rule denied Hefford and her teammates the Blues second consecutive title. OWIAA league rules indicated that the first five-minute overtime session in a playoff game must be played in its entirety (as a regular period). It was advised that the game would continue after Hefford's goal and York won the game in the second overtime. Hefford joined former University of Toronto student-athlete Heather Moyse as
1026-451: The COWHL, NWHL, and CWHL. She was the NWHL's all-time leading goalscorer with 252 goals from 1998–99 to 2006–07. In a seven-year stretch from 2000–01 to 2006–07, she won or co-won five NWHL scoring titles and won five NWHL goal-scoring titles. The only years in which she did not win were 2001–02 and 2005–06, the two years in which she missed most of the club campaign because she was away winning
1083-585: The CWHL and NWHL, a lack of viewership, and reduced revenue from a partnership in China as eroding the league's financial stability. This left the NWHL—which had earlier in 2019 approached the CWHL to propose a merger—as the only top-level option for women's players. On 2 May 2019, over 200 players from both the CWHL and NWHL released a joint statement, underlined by the hashtag #ForTheGame, announcing their intent to boycott any North American professional league for
1140-559: The CWHL announced that it was no longer viable, and would be closing down on May 1, 2019. The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) was formed from the fall out, and the player members asked Hefford to be the Operations Consultant of the Association. Hefford was raised by her parents Larry and Sandra along with her brother Mike; she calls Kingston, Ontario her home town. She began playing hockey around
1197-564: The CWHL was the only organized top-level women's hockey league in North America. In 2015, a second National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) was launched in the United States, and was the first women's hockey league to pay its players. In 2017, the CWHL followed suit and began paying its players a stipend. Following the 2018–19 season , the CWHL abruptly ceased operations , citing the fragmentation of corporate sponsors between
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#17327901936221254-533: The NHL was credited with helping to expedite the launch of the PWHL. As the PWHPA worked towards its goal of establishing a new professional league, it organized Dream Gap tour "seasons" featuring exhibition matches between select PWHPA players competing for sponsorship and prize money. Seasons also frequently featured exhibition matches between PWHPA members and other teams, including games against NHL alumni. In 2019,
1311-449: The NWHL, more than half of the signed players on opening rosters for the 2019–20 NWHL season were new to the league. Over the next four years, the relationship between the PWHPA and the NWHL was strained. While a significant number of players defected from the NWHL in 2019 to help form the PWHPA, dozens would return to the league in the following years, citing improving conditions—the league markedly increased its salary cap after 2019—and
1368-409: The NWHL. American Olympian Hilary Knight stated that the NWHL was "a glorified beer league" offering the "illusion of professionalism", while retired Canadian legend Hayley Wickenheiser called it a "so-called pro league". PWHPA players stated that they disagreed with the NWHL's approach to growing women's hockey, calling for a less incremental approach. NWHL founder and commissioner Dani Rylan
1425-504: The PWHPA organized a series of exhibition seasons, known as the Dream Gap tours, to generate support towards its goal. After partnering with Mark Walter and Billie Jean King in 2022, the PWHPA organized a formal players union in 2023 and negotiated a collective bargaining agreement . Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises then purchased the Premier Hockey Federation and wound down its operations before announcing
1482-492: The PWHPA partnered with the ECHL and chose four members to participate in the 2020 ECHL All-Star Game , with Dani Cameranesi , Kali Flanagan , Gigi Marvin , and Annie Pankowski each assigned to one of the four teams. The 2020 NHL All-Star Game also expanded its inclusion of female skaters from previous seasons to a full three-on-three exhibition game between teams composed of American and Canadian women's players. Eighteen of
1539-720: The PWHPA set up regional training hubs in Montreal, Mississauga, Markham, Calgary, Boston, Buffalo, Minnesota, and the Northeast United States, where players could practice multiple times a week. The PWHPA's first season, which lasted from September 2019 to March 2020, comprised a tour of showcase exhibition games; at each tour stop, teams were formed and named after team captains—e.g. the first showcase in Toronto featured teams captained by Rebecca Johnston , Brianne Jenner, Liz Knox, and Marie-Philip Poulin . The season
1596-753: The Thunder competed against the Montreal Stars at the Invista Centre in Kingston, Ontario. This is team captain Jayna Hefford's hometown and she scored a goal in front of her closest friends, family and fans. In addition, her number 15 was raised to the rafters of the Invista Centre on behalf of the Kingston Area Minor Hockey Association. As of 2012, no sweaters bearing Hefford's number will be used in Kingston minor hockey . Hefford scored 439 goals in 418 games in
1653-507: The United States on August 29, 2011, Hefford scored a power play goal, and then scored twice in the shootout as Canada defeated the United States by a 4–3 tally. In a game versus Russia at the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship , Hefford registered a four-point performance (two goals, two assists) in a 14–1 victory. Hefford again played for Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, earning her fourth gold medal. After 17 years, four Olympic gold medals and multiple world championships, she retired from
1710-688: The United States—were established, a PWHL draft was held in September 2023, and training and evaluation camps were held in November and December. League play began on 1 January 2024. Ballard Spahr, LLP provided pro bono support to help create the PWHPA. Nine players made up the founding board: Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson , Alyssa Gagliardi , Brianne Jenner, Hilary Knight, Liz Knox, Noora Räty, Kimberly Sass , Kendall Coyne-Schofield, and Shannon Szabados . On 2 September 2020, Knox resigned from
1767-603: The age of six. Hefford is mother to two daughters, Isla and Arwen, and a son, Lachlan, with her partner, former Team USA Olympian and Canadian Women's Hockey League co-founder Kathleen Kauth . Both have also served on the coaching staff for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's ice hockey program under head coach Vicky Sunohara . Hefford is a national spokesperson for the Canadian Hockey Association's Initiation Programme. In 2009, she set up
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1824-506: The board to allow Sarah Nurse, one of only a few black players in the PWHPA, to take her place. Former CWHL interim commissioner Jayna Hefford was hired as the PWHPA operations consultant in August 2019. In May 2023, Räty resigned from the board to sign a PHF contract. By then, the PWHPA board had eight members, seven of whom were founders: Lamoureux-Davidson, Gagliardi, Jenner, Knight, Knox, Nurse, Sass, and Coyne-Schofield. Support from
1881-422: The boycott would last for only one year. The NWHL responded to the boycott announcement by stating that they were pursuing increased sponsorships with a view to increasing player salaries—which had reportedly decreased to as low as $ 2,000 in some cases—and an offer to give players a 50 percent split of revenue on league sponsorship and media deals. However, with a large number of North American players boycotting
1938-520: The gold in six World Championships – 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2007. In 1999 and 2000, Hefford was Team Canada's leading scorer. Her two third period goals in the 2000 championship game pushed the contest into overtime, allowing Canada the opportunity to win. At the 2005 Esso National Women's Championships, she was named the Best Forward for Group A. On January 1, 2010, in Ottawa, Ontario, she
1995-613: The gold medal-winning goal at the 2002 Winter Olympics . At the club level across three leagues, she scored 439 goals in 418 competitive games including a CWHL record 44 goals in 2008–09. She was selected to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame on June 26, 2018. On July 19, 2018, Hefford was named interim commissioner of the Canadian Women's Hockey League . She was named a 2019 Order of Hockey in Canada recipient. Hefford
2052-623: The launch of the new Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The PWHL began play in 2024 with six teams in Canada and the United States, marking a major victory for the PWHPA. Beginning in the late 1990s, several high-level amateur and semi-professional women's ice hockey leagues appeared in Canada and the United States. The National Women's Hockey League was founded in 1999, mainly comprising teams in Eastern Canada in Ontario and Quebec, before folding in 2007. A western counterpart,
2109-557: The league's six team captains. In addition, she was also a CWHL Central All-Star. Despite winning CWHL Top Scorer of the Month honours on four separate occasions (September, November, December, January), she lost the Angela James Bowl scoring race by three points to Jennifer Botterill 's 61 points. It marked the first time since 1999–2000 that in a year when Hefford played a full season, she did not win her league scoring race. In
2166-414: The minimum and average salaries slated to increase 3% per year of the agreement. The agreement, which included health and other employment benefits, marked a major victory for the PWHPA. On 29 August 2023, the union hired Brian Burke to serve as its executive director. Its executive committee comprises Brianne Jenner , Sarah Nurse , Hilary Knight , Liz Knox , and Kendall Coyne Schofield . During
2223-626: The national women's team at age 38, after sitting out the 2014–2015 season. She stands second only to Hayley Wickenheiser in all-time games played (267), goals (157) and points (291) for Canada. The pair are the only two Canadian women to have played in all five Olympic women's hockey tournaments starting in 1998, winning four gold and one silver medal. They are among only five athletes (with teammate Caroline Ouellette ) to win gold in four consecutive Winter Games. Hefford also appeared in 12 of 16 women's world hockey championships earning seven gold medals. Jayna Hefford made her senior competitive debut with
2280-551: The ongoing pandemic, with three Canadian-based teams playing games in Calgary and two American-based teams making stops in three US cities. The third season occurred at the same time as national team players were centralized ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics , meaning that many of the top PWHPA players were not available on tour; however, a team of PHWPA all-stars played a series of games against national teams, including Team Canada , Team USA , and Team Japan. The PWHPA also hosted
2337-417: The only University of Toronto graduates to claim a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games. She is currently an assistant coach with her former team. At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Hefford ranked second on Team Canada with 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 5 games on the way to her fourth medal (third gold). In the 2006 tournament, Hefford scored three goals and added four assists to finish third on
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2394-417: The other, encouraging the sides to merge. After its formation, the PWHPA focused its efforts on courting corporate and media sponsorships, while also managing to form a number of partnerships directly with NHL teams. The PWHPA launched a "Dream Gap" tour, meant to highlight the disparity in support between men's and women's hockey and to increase support for the latter. As the PWHPA boycott stretched beyond
2451-471: The others for the final round, while the bottom two team played a best-of-three series, with the loser being relegated next year. Group A Group B Each team's roster for the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship consisted of at least 15 skaters ( forwards , and defencemen ) and 2 goaltenders , and at most 20 skaters and 3 goaltenders. All eight participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, had to submit
2508-479: The players of the CWHL, the first winner of the Trophy was Marie-Philip Poulin , a former teammate of Hefford at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games. Heading into the 2018–19 CWHL season , Hefford was appointed to the position of interim commissioner of the CWHL. Announced on July 19, 2018, replacing inaugural commissioner Brenda Andress, Hefford took on the role on August 1, 2018. A week after the 2019 Clarkson Cup Final,
2565-498: The playoffs, Hefford helped Brampton win the first CWHL championship. In 2008–09, she won the Angela James Bowl after scoring 69 points in 28 games. She set new league records with 69 points, 44 goals, 11 power-play goals, six shorthanded goals and seven hat tricks. She is the first player in the Canadian Women's Hockey League to record 100 career points. She recorded the record-setting point milestone on January 17, 2009, in
2622-495: The ratification vote for the new CBA, it was announced on 30 June 2023, that Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises had purchased the PHF, opening the way for the establishment of a new, unified league. The PHF was ultimately wound down and in late August, the partners announced the foundation of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), with the intent of beginning play in January 2024. Six teams—three each based in Canada and
2679-508: The season). After scoring 25 goals in 1999–2000, she won her first goal-scoring title in 2000–01 with 36 goals. She also led the league in scoring with 69 points. After spending the 2001–02 season with Canada, she returned to the Thunder and scored 37 goals in 2002–03, an NWHL record 41 goals in 2003–04, and 39 goals in 2004–05. She was the NWHL's Player of the Year in 2004–05. She then spent the 2005–06 season with Canada, winning her third-straight Olympic gold medal. In 2006–07, Hefford eclipsed
2736-521: The team in scoring and Canada again won the gold medal. It was her second gold medal while participating in her third Olympics. She also won a silver medal with the Canadian team at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano . In the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Hefford scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game against Team USA with four seconds remaining in the second period. Hefford won
2793-477: The top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played 40% of their team's minutes are included in this list. TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com The Division I A tournament was played in Ventspils , Latvia, from March 25 to 31, 2012. The Division I B tournament
2850-558: Was born in Trenton, Ontario . She previously played for the Mississauga Chiefs and Brampton Thunder . At the 1994 national under-18 championship, Hefford was part of the gold medal-winning Ontario team. In 1995, Hefford participated with the Ottawa Regional Select Team in a series against the U.S. National Under-18 Team. Hefford was the captain of Team Ontario at the 1995 Canada Winter Games. Hefford played for
2907-549: Was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian Women's Hockey League . PWHPA members expressed dissatisfaction with the operations of the existing professional National Women's Hockey League (renamed the Premier Hockey Federation in 2021) and vowed to boycott existing women's leagues and to work towards the establishment of a unified, financially sustainable professional league. From 2019 to 2023,
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#17327901936222964-434: Was honoured before a game versus Team USA for reaching the 200-game plateau in her Team Canada career in November. She would go on to score the lone shootout goal later that night. In the first game of the 2011 IIHF Eight Nations Tournament , Hefford registered a hat trick in a 16–0 victory over Switzerland. In the third game of the tournament, she scored two goals in an 11–0 shutout over Slovakia. In an exhibition game versus
3021-548: Was hosted by USA Hockey in Burlington, Vermont . A new format was used where the top four ranked teams were placed in Group A and were automatically qualified for the final round, and played in the preliminary round was only used to determine seeding for the next round. The top two teams received a bye into the semifinals. Meanwhile, the next four teams played the preliminary round in Group B. The top two teams from Group B joined
3078-561: Was hosted by USA Hockey . Canada won their tenth title by defeating the United States 5–4 in overtime . Caroline Ouellette scored the decisive goal. The Americans defeated the Canadians 9–2 in the group stage earlier in the tournament. The Swiss team, by finishing third, captured their first ever Women's World Championship medal. The Top Division was contested between eight teams from April 7 to April 14, 2012. The event
3135-572: Was meant to include a stop in Japan with PWHPA players facing the Japanese national team ; however, the tour was cancelled due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic . Subsequent seasons featured more stable rosters based out of five training hubs and on teams named after sponsors. The second season was buoyed by a $ 1 million sponsorship agreement with Secret . It was played in regional hubs due to
3192-483: Was sometimes cited as a point of contention; Rylan ultimately resigned in 2020. Another significant issue was the role of the National Hockey League (NHL). While the PWHPA hoped to receive support from the NHL in establishing a new professional league, a number of NHL teams had previously established ties with PHF teams, and the NHL stated that it would not put its support fully behind one effort or
3249-814: Was the 14th such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation and took place in Vermont, United States , at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington , and the Cairns Arena in South Burlington . The competition also served as qualifications for the 2013 competition , and the 2014 Olympics . The Top Division was contested between eight teams from April 7 to April 14, 2012, in Burlington and
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