NSB Logo Hayley Wickenheiser Hayley Wickenheiser

Hayley Wickenheiser

Speaker

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Hockey Legend & Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist

A decorated Olympian, Hayley Wickenheiser is regarded as one of the best female hockey players in the world with an uncompromised determination and dedication to her sport. However, it’s not just her lethal slapshot that is respected by her teammates, fans and peers; Hayley is also an award winner, community leader, mentor, history-maker and an accomplished businesswoman.  Today she helps in the fight in healthcare against COVID-19 on her journey to her medical degree.

Keynote Speeches

Virtual Keynotes & Webinars
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Health, Wealth, and Wondering (in Sport and Life)

With a Masters in Kinesiology (with a focus on young adults with autism and engaging their brains through physical activity), currently attending medical school, and years of working with the most advanced medical technologies and medical minds in her on-ice career, Hayley Wickenheiser offers a unique perspective of the ins and outs of the sports and medicine field and how they entwine, for better and for worse. She also addresses mental health, speaking about her own experiences and of those she loves.

In The Trenches: Resiliency and Toughness When It Matters Most

2020-21 is a time like no other in our lifetimes. Everyone’s work-life has been affected by the current pandemic in some way, but perhaps few have faced more challenges than healthcare workers. The unsung heroes of these times, healthcare workers have frequently been left feeling under-supported for the essential role that they have been playing during the fight against Covid-19. Hayley Wickenheiser, four-time Olympic Gold Medalist and a current medical student, shares her approaches and strategies to not just survive, but thrive in these non-ideal times. Drawing on her experiences from the world of high performance sport, the lessons she’s learned as a medical student, and as a champion on the front lines of securing PPE for Canadians, Hayley explores the importance of fostering personal and professional resiliency and strength at a time when these qualities are needed most, and reminds us that, at a time when we’ve been asked to keep apart, we’ve actually never been more together.

Teamwork and Success

What does a successful team need and how did Team Canada succeed on the World Stage?

 

Change as a Path to Greatness

Hayley shares the importance of always look for improvements or opportunities for change within your life.

 

Dealing with Criticism and Pressure – How to Perform When it Matters Most

Hayley offers some inspiration for the next generation of athletes and sports in Canada to perform even better.

 

How to Stay Motivated Despite Being at the Top of What You Do

Complacency kills! Hayley offers advice on how to keep the desire alive.

 

Being a Female in a Male Dominated World

Hayley explains what it was like to grow up playing with the boys and later playing men’s professional hockey overseasHayley can provide customized presentations to fit your event or project theme.

Over the Boards

From motherhood to pro leagues to her new career in medicine, Hayley shares the hard-won lessons she learned on and off the ice that helped her not only have a record-breaking hockey career but craft a life filled with joy, growth, and challenges. In her own words, Hayley shares how she rose from the backyard pond and changing in boiler rooms (because girls” dressing rooms didn’t exist) to Olympic MVP (twice). How becoming a parent made her a better athlete. How she learned to thrive under monumental pressure. But she doesn’t stop at revealing the pillars to her tremendous success—Hayley delves into her immense failures and how she grew from them. Like Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, and Abby Wambach before her, Hayley shares her wisdom through personal stories of triumph, relentlessness, and more than a couple confrontations. Told with humour, compassion, and steadfast optimism, Hayley’s practical advice, coaching, and invaluable perspective inspires audiences to never accept “that’s not the way we do things” or “that hasn’t been done before” as limitations.

Platform Plus Presentations

Unique formats and ways to connect with audiences.
Links Golf Program
Celebrity Golfer

Audience reviews:

  • People in attendance were completely impressed by your stories and also commented about being inspired and motivated from hearing you speak. I even caught glimpses of a few tears in the room at certain points of your talk. We also received high praise for your approachability and people liked the picture op with you and the medals. Once again, thank you!

    - National Senior Marketing Manager, KPMG

Speaker Biography

“This is a call to action like nothing else I’ve ever experienced…with emergency medicine…it’s never the same thing twice, just like a hockey game. You never know what’s going to come through the door; you’ve got a team.”

After four Gold medals and 23 years on the Canadian National Hockey Team, Hayley Wickenheiser had made the decision to retire.  She has done so with the knowledge that her impact on the game has reached every corner of Canada, and every country with enough winter ice, and a desire to learn how to play hockey.

Off the ice, Hayley’s achievements are almost immeasurable.

Sports Illustrated ranked her number 20 of 25 Toughest Athletes in the World, she’s a two-time finalist for the Women’s Sports Foundation Team Athlete of The Year, was named among the Globe and Mail’s “Power 50” influencers in sport several times, and was recognized by QMI Agency in the Top 10 “Greatest Female Athletes in the History of Sports.”

She’s earned her Bachelors in Kinesiology from the University of Calgary and completed her Masters, running a study that researched the connection between physical activity and the neurology of autistic youth and she’s currently pursuing a Medical Degree.

In March 2020, as the world devolved into uncertainty during the pandemic, Hayley teamed up with a Toronto-based not-for-profit – CONQUER COVID-19 – to lead an equipment drive for personal protective equipment for front-line healthcare workers.

Her social media request for support was amplified by Canadian-born Hollywood heavyweight Ryan Reynolds and quickly transformed from a local story into national movement.
And in the process, Hayley has tranformed from a hockey legend to a Canadian hero.

In 2011, Hayley was appointed to the Order of Canada “for her achievements as an athlete and for her contributions to the growth of women’s hockey” and was voted to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission in 2015.

Wickenheiser’s passion for hockey is matched only by a desire to give back to the community through her work with JumpStart, KidSport, Project North and Right to Play.

She’s travelled the world to support those efforts, including trips to the furthest northern communities of Canada and as far away as Rwanda and Ghana.

Her most profound and personal project has been the creation of the Canadian Tire Wickenheiser Female World Hockey Festival, or WickFest.  Now in its tenth year, the event hosts over 1,500 female hockey players from around the world in Calgary and in Surrey, giving girls access to hockey skill development and educational sessions on and off the ice.

In the summer of 2018, Hayley received a call from newly-minted Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas with an opportunity to join the team as the club’s Assistant Director of Player Development.
What excited Hayley most was that it wasn’t a decision based on gender. “The biggest reason why I was intrigued about this role is that Kyle was interested in me — not to hire a woman, but to hire someone who could do the job,” said Wickenheiser.

As for the gender-barrier-breaking potential for women’s sport and coaching, Hayley recognizes the impact that her trailblazing career continues to have both on and off the ice.  “I understand that there will be a lot of young girls who see this as knocking down barriers for them to dream and maybe do the same thing,” added Wickenheiser.

Now, as part of the growth and development of the most storied franchise in the NHL, Hayley will take to the ice with a young core of talent and the same passion, ambition and simple goal that’s she’s maintained throughout her career:  Work together to win.

In 2019, she was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, following the minimum waiting period of three years. It’s an honour that Hayley tried to put into perspective.  

“Outside of winning an Olympic gold medal, for a personal accomplishment, this is probably the holy grail,” she said.

“You’re the female Gordie Howe:” In an emotional pre-game tribute at centre ice with the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames looking on, Wayne Gretzky solidified Hayley Wickenheiser’s place among the greatest hockey players in history.

During her Hockey Hall of Fame induction speech, she reflected on the adversity that shaped her, the moments that made her a household name, the competitive spirit that drove her to be the best, and the trailblazers that led the way.

Quite simply, a legend.