Sami Jo Small (born March 25, 1976) is a Canadian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. As a member of the Canadian national team, she was an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medallist and four-time

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

medallist. One of the founders of the now defunct

Canadian Women's Hockey League The Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL; ) was a women's ice hockey league. Established in 2007 as a Canadian women's Senior ice hockey, senior league in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, and Ottawa, the league expanded into Alberta (2011) and ...

(CWHL), she served in the role of vice-chair during the league's inaugural season and went on to play ten seasons in the league. She was the team president of the

Toronto Six The Toronto Six were a professional women's ice hockey team in Toronto, Ontario, playing out of Canlan Ice Sports – York. They were one of two Canadian teams in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) along with the Montreal Force, and the first ...

before the

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), com ...

ceased operations in 2023.

Playing career

Small competed for Team Manitoba at the 1991

Canada Winter Games Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Stanford University

Small is a graduate of

Collège Jeanne-Sauvé Collège Jeanne-Sauvé'','' also commonly referred to as CJS'','' is a French-immersion high school in Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada, and the first French-immersion high school in western Canada. Situated in the southern St. Vital area of Winnipeg, M ...

and attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

on a

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

scholarship for the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

, and

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

events. While at Stanford, she also played on the

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

men's club hockey team. At the 1997

Pacific-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Track and Field championships, held May 24–25, 1997, Small finished in fifth place in the hammer throw with a distance of and placed seventh in discus throw with a distance of .

CWHL

Small was a goaltender for the

Mississauga Chiefs The Mississauga Chiefs were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in the Canadian National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) and the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL). They played in Mississauga, Ontario at the Hershey Centre and t ...

of the

. After the CWHL contracted in 2010, she was claimed by the

Toronto Furies The Toronto Furies were a professional women's ice hockey team that played in Toronto, Ontario, as members of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. The Toronto Furies played their home games at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto. The team was establish ...

. With Toronto, Small participated in the championship game of the 2011 Clarkson Cup. Despite losing to the Montreal Stars by a 5-0 tally, Small accumulated 46 saves in the championship. On February 9, 2014, in a victory against the defending Clarkson Cup champion

Boston Blades Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

, Small achieved her the 60th victory of her CWHL career, the first CWHL goaltender to reach the 60-win plateau. In that same season, Small would win the 2014 Clarkson Cup, making her the third women's ice hockey goaltender to have won Winter Games gold, IIHF gold and the Clarkson.

International play

Small is an Olympic champion, and four-time world champion goalie for the Canadian national women's ice hockey team. Acting as a third goaltender on the Canadian women's hockey team at

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and Nagano, she served as a backup to Kim St. Pierre at the

Ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament The women's tournament in ice hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics was held in Provo, Utah, Provo and West Valley City, Utah, West Valley City, United States, from 11 to 21 February. Eight teams competed, seeded into two groups. Canada women's nat ...

, which saw Canada win its first-ever Olympic gold medal in women's ice hockey.

Management

On June 11, 2018, Small was named general manager of the Toronto Furies. One of her first moves in the position was signing

Courtney Kessel Courtney Birchard-Kessel (; born July 14, 1989) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player, currently serving as the head coach of the Princeton Tigers women's ice hockey team. During her playing career, she was a member of the Canadian n ...

(

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Birchard) as their new head coach and appointing long-time coach Ken Dufton as an advisor to the organization. Among the free agents signed by Small leading into her first season as GM included goaltender Elaine Chuli and forward

Shiann Darkangelo Shiann Darkangelo (born November 28, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She has played at the international level with United States women's national ic ...

to contracts in August 2018. With the second overall pick at the

2018 CWHL Draft The 2018 CWHL Draft, the ninth and final in league history, took place on August 26. It marked the first and only draft Jayna Hefford served as CWHL commissioner. The CWHL indicated that general managers were authorized to "pre-sign" their first an ...

, her first draft as general manager, Small selected forward

Sarah Nurse Sarah Nurse (born January 4, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for PWHL Vancouver of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and Canada women's national ice hockey team. She made her debut with the national team at the 2 ...

. Four spots later, she would claim goaltender Shea Tiley, who led the

Clarkson Golden Knights women's ice hockey The Clarkson Golden Knights women's hockey team is an NCAA Division I ice hockey team that represents Clarkson University in rural Potsdam, New York. The Golden Knights have been a member of ECAC Hockey since 2004, and play home games in Cheel ...

program to a pair of NCAA Frozen Four championships. In September 2022, Small joined the PHF as team president of the

Other

Small published her autobiography, titled "The Role I Played: Canada’s Greatest Olympic Hockey Team," with

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canada, Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholar ...

in September 2020. Hosting a podcast in conjunction with Sports Illustrated and The Hockey News, Sami Jo's Podcast: Building a Stronger Team, began in February 2021. Speaking to talks to elite players and coaches, deciphering the elements of a successful team, another focus involves discussion on the numerous facets of making one a better player and teammate. In 2022, Small appeared on an episode of Canadian comedy show

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

as herself.

Podcast Episode guide

*Ep 001 (2021-02-14) Cheryl Pounder *Ep 002 (2021-02-28) Roberta Bartolo *Ep 003 (2021-03-15)

Jennifer Botterill Jennifer Botterill (born May 1, 1979) is a Canadian former women's hockey player and current hockey broadcast television analyst who played for Harvard University, the Canadian national team, the Mississauga Chiefs, and the Toronto Aeros. She ...

*Ep 004 (2021-03-28) Susie Yuen *Ep 005 (2021-04-11)

Daniele Sauvageau Daniele is an Italian male given name, the cognate of the English name Daniel. Danièle is also a French female given name, an alternative spelling of Danielle. The name "Daniel" originates from the Hebrew Bible and is associated with the prophe ...

*Ep 006 (2021-04-25)

Natalie Spooner Natalie Marie Spooner (born October 17, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Sceptres of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team, Canadian national wo ...

*Ep 007 (2021-05-09)

Becky Kellar Rebecca "Becky" Kellar (born January 1, 1975) is a women's ice hockey player. She played for Burlington Barracudas in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Kellar played defence for the Canadian women's team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. ...

*Ep 008 (2021-05-24) Wally Kozak *Ep 009 (2021-06-21)

Cassie Campbell Cassie Dawin Campbell-Pascall (born November 22, 1973) is a former Canadian ice hockey player and a broadcaster for ESPN/ ABC, and formerly Sportsnet. Born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Campbell grew up in Brampton, Ontario, playing for the Brampto ...

-Pascall

Personal life

Small graduated from Stanford University in 1999, with a degree in mechanical engineering sub-specializing in product design. She is involved with several advocacy organizations and has been an Athlete Ambassador with

Right To Play Right To Play is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to use play to empower vulnerable children to overcome the effects of war, poverty, and disease. Right To Play's work is connected to the UN's Sustainable Development Goa ...

since 2006.http://righttoplay.akaraisin.com/pledge/Participant/Home.aspx?seid=2971&mid=9&Lang=en-CA&pid=247614 Small is married to

Billy Bridges Billy Bridges (born 22 March 1984) is a Canadian ice sledge hockey and wheelchair basketball player. Born in Summerside, he has spina bifida. On July 1, 2011, Bridges married former Olympic women's ice hockey player Sami Jo Small. He competed a ...

, a fifteen-year veteran

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

on the Canadian men's national ice sledge hockey team and three time

Winter Paralympic Games The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

medalist. They have a daughter named Kensi.

Awards and honours

Montreal Stars 1-3 Toronto 8 janvier 2011 124

* Stanford University Men's Hockey,

Pac-8 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Conference ( ACHA) MVP * CWHL Second All-Star Team, 2008–09 and 2009–10 *Brampton Sports Hall of Fame, 2002 * Directorate Award, Best Goalie,

1999 IIHF Women's World Championship The 1999 IIHF Women's World Championships was held between March 8–14, 1999, in Espoo and Vantaa in Finland. Canadian national women's ice hockey team, Team Canada won their fifth consecutive gold medal at the World Championships defeating the ...

*Directorate Award, Best Goalie,

2000 IIHF Women's World Championship The 2000 IIHF Women's World Championships was held April 3–9, 2000 in the Ontario towns of Mississauga, Barrie, Kitchener, London, Niagara Falls, Oshawa and Peterborough, Canada. Final games were played at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. ...

* Namesake, "Sami Jo Small Hockey Facility" at the Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre in

St. Vital St. Vital () is a ward and neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Located in the south-central part of the city, it is bounded on the north by Carrière Avenue; on the south by the northern limit of the Rural Municipality of Ritchot; on ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Sami Jo 1976 births Canadian women's ice hockey goaltenders Clarkson Cup champions Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Living people Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Mississauga Chiefs players Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Stanford University alumni Toronto Furies players Women ice hockey executives Canadian sports executives and administrators Olympic silver medalists for Canada 21st-century Canadian sportswomen