California is Well Represented at Hockey Hall of Fame

Born in Simi Valley, California in 1980 (the year of “The Miracle on Ice,”) Angela Ruggiero fell in love with hockey at a very young age while playing in Pasadena. She would eventually go on to play prep hockey at Chaote Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT before becoming the youngest member of the 1998 Gold Medal winning U.S. Olympic team at 18 years old (as well as a Silver medalist at the 2002 Salt Lake and 2010 Vancouver Olympics and a Bronze medal at the 2006 Turino games).  She would also go on to win 4 World Championship Gold Medals with the women’s National Team plus win 6 silver medals as well.

While attending and playing for Harvard University, Ruggiero helped win the National Championship in 1999. She was a 3 time Harvard Player of the Year and won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top college women’s player in 2004.

As a high level skilled defenseman, fiercely competitive and with a passion unrivaled for the sport of hockey, Ruggiero broke new ground by joining the Central Hockey League’s Tulsa Oilers as the first female player to play for the all male team that wasn’t a goalie.

An inspiration to many, and not just to females of all ages around the United States and the World, but to both sexes in general, Ruggiero was named 3 times to the top 100 most influential people in hockey by The Hockey News.

Now retired from playing and already a member of the US Hockey Hall of Fame, Ruggiero now keeps busy as a member of the International Olympic Committee’s Athlete’s commission and Evaluation Committee for the site of the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics.  She also finds time to be a member of the World Anti-Dope Agency’s Board of Directors.

Officially the fourth female ever inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Ruggiero talks with great pride about joining the elite legends of the game,

“I’ve visited the Hall of Fame many times, and never get tired of learning about the rich tradition of the inductees.  The Fact that I’m now joining them is very special, and the greatest accomplishment I can think of as a hockey player.”  She also told an amusing but bad ass story to Gino Reda about when she was growing up.

“I didn’t know what I was gonna be when I grew up but I knew I wanted to be a hockey player.  So I wore my [hockey] gear, showed up to class while everyone else was [dressed up] as astronauts and such.”

At the official Hall of Fame induction ceremony, her Hall of Fame plaque was awarded to her by her former US National Team teammate, fellow Hall of Famer Cammi Granato (who is also connected with California as well as her brother Tony played many years with the Los Angeles Kings and her husband is former King Ray Ferraro).  Which was fitting as in her induction speech, besides thanking her family and rival Canadian opponents, Ruggiero also thanked all her teammates,

“Especially the ’98 team. Again, I was 18. I didn’t know what was going on, but we were all rookies. And I learned what it meant to be a team athlete back when I was just a young age. Thank you. This is for you guys.”

She also thanked Scott Plumer, who was one of her original coaches as a youngster playing in California.  Plumer who was instrumental in creating the first ever all girl hockey team to come out of California, believed in Ruggiero and helped her get on the team, but this time it was an all boys team.  If anyone had doubts that she belonged, those doubts quickly evaporated when she scored many goals for the team in a tournament ironically in Toronto.

No one has had doubts about Ruggiero’s level of skill in many years (if at all), and no one will ever again but just to hammer in the point that woman can play hockey just as well as the men, Ruggiero scored a beauty of a goal at the Legends alumni game on former NHL goalie Marty Turco.  Alumni games aren’t taken seriously and like all-star games, they are just for fun and entertainment, but still a goal is still goal,  just like a winner is always a winner.  A word and an accomplishment Hall of Famer Angela Ruggiero will always be associated with.