Cassie Campbell-Pascall
Girls’ and Women’s hockey associations have sprung up across the country in droves since the 1990s. This rush to the ice from Canadian women is due in no small part to an incredibly skilled and engaged generation of female hockey players who skated, scored, and won their way into the global heart. Cassie Campbell-Pascall, a Guelph alumna, is one such player.
Her accomplishments at the international level are unmatched by any other player—male or female.
Hailing from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Cassie Campbell-Pascall was born on Nov. 22, 1973. Growing up in Brampton, Ontario, Campbell-Pascall spent much of her childhood playing with and against her two brothers.
When she attended the University of Guelph, she was made captain of the women’s hockey team. It was during her time at Guelph that her excellent leadership skills and her many talents on the ice really began to manifest. Campbell-Pascall lead her team to victory during the OWIAA (Ontario Women’s Interuniversity Athletic Association) championship in 1995. Campbell-Pascall won the University of Guelph’s sportswoman of the year award in 1996.
Campbell-Pascall lead the Canadian Olympic Women’s hockey team to back-to-back Olympic gold medal victories at the 2002 Salt Lake City, Utah games and again at the 2006 games in Turin, Italy. She remains the only hockey captain—male or female—to lead the Olympic team to back-to-back gold medals. She is also the longest serving Canadian captain of a national team, occupying the position from 2001 to 2005. Campbell-Pascall has also won six gold medals at the IIHF Women’s World Championship. She received the Order of Hockey in Canada in June 2012.
Following her retirement from hockey in 2016, she became the first woman in history to provide colour commentary on Hockey Night in Canada. She does promotional and humanitarian work, motivational speaking, and does regular work with Hockey Night in Canada. Campbell-Pascall has been working with the Ronald McDonald House charity for 15 years, she supports and advocates for CARE Canada, which provides support for women and children living in poverty.
Campbell’s pursuit of excellence, humanitarian involvement, and love of sport mark her as a true Gryphon and an impressive woman. She has been an unparalleled source of inspiration for young girls interested in athletics, and has helped usher in a new era of hockey for Canadians.
–Written by Sierra Paquette-Struger