Sami Jo Small

Sami Jo Small (born March 25, 1976 in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a women's ice hockey player.

Sami Jo Small
Born (1976-03-25) March 25, 1976
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
CWHL team Toronto Furies
National team  Canada
Playing career 1997–present
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Women's ice hockey
Olympic games
2002 Salt Lake City Tournament
2006 Turin Tournament
1998 Nagano Tournament
IIHF World Women's Championships
1999 Finland Tournament
2000 Canada Tournament
2001 United States Tournament
2004 Canada Tournament
Sami Jo Small

Playing career

Small competed for Team Manitoba at the 1991 Canada Winter Games.[1]

Hockey Canada

Small is a three time Olympian, acting as a third goaltender on the Canadian women's hockey team at Turin and Nagano.

CWHL

Small was a goaltender for the Mississauga Chiefs of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. After the CWHL contracted in 2010, she was claimed by the Toronto Furies. 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.[2] On February 9, 2014, a victory against the defending Clarkson Cup champion Boston Blades provided Furies goaltender Sami Jo Small with the 60 victory of her career. Of note, she becomes the first CWHL goaltender to reach the 60 wins plateau.[3] 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.

Management

During the inaugural CWHL season, Sami Jo Small served in the role of vice-chair for the league. On June 11, 2018, Small was named General Manager of the Toronto Furies.[4] One of her first moves in this capacity was signing Courtney Birchard as their new head coach, while naming long-time coach Ken Dufton as an advisor to the organization.[5] Among the free agents signed by Small included goaltender Elaine Chuli[6] and forward Shiann Darkangelo to contracts in August 2018.

Personal

Sami Jo Small is the current Vice-Chairman and one of the founders of the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Small is a graduate of Collège Jeanne-Sauvé and attended Stanford University on a track and field scholarship to throw the discus and javelin where she also played on the men's club hockey team.[7] At the 1997 Pacific-10 Track and Field championships,(held May 24–25, 1997), Small finished in fifth place in the Hammer Throw with a distance of 161.5 feet. In the discus throw, Small was seventh with a distance of 158.8 feet. [8] She graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering - Product Design.

She is involved with Right to Play and has been an Athlete Ambassador since 2006[9] Small is married to Billy Bridges, who played forward on the Canadian sledge hockey team for the 2010 Paralympic Games. [10]

Awards and honours
  • Stanford University Men's Hockey, Pac-8 Conference (ACHA) MVP[11]
  • CWHL Second All-Star Team, 2008–09 and 2009–10
  • Brampton Sports Hall of Fame[12]
  • Directorate Award, Best Goalie, 1999 Women's World Hockey Championships[13]
  • Directorate Award, Best Goalie, 2000 Women's World Hockey Championships[14]
  • Namesake, "Sami Jo Small Hockey Facility", Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba[15]

References
  1. Who's Who in Canadian Sport, Volume 5, p.409, Bob Ferguson, Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd., Markham, ON and Allston, MA, ISBN 1-55041-855-6
  2. http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2011/03/28/17779016.html
  3. http://www.cwhl.ca/view/cwhl/news-644/news_133141
  4. Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press (11 June 2018). "Sami Jo Small named GM of CWHL's Toronto Furies". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  5. Press Release (31 July 2018). "Kessel New Head Coach, Dufton New Advisor". Toronto Furies. Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  6. Press Release (1 August 2018). "Toronto Adds Free Agent Goaltender Elaine Chuli". Toronto Furies. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  7. Sami Jo Small at Sports Reference
  8. http://www.gostanford.com/sports/w-track/archive/stan-w-track-97bests.html%5B%5D
  9. http://righttoplay.akaraisin.com/pledge/Participant/Home.aspx?seid=2971&mid=9&Lang=en-CA&pid=247614
  10. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/small-stands-tall-with-her-protege/article1668569/%5B%5D
  11. http://righttoplay.akaraisin.com/pledge/Participant/Home.aspx?seid=2971&mid=9&Lang=en-CA&pid=247614
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-05-31. Retrieved 2010-02-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.542, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
  14. Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009-10, p.542, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
  15. http://www.norberry-glenlee.ca/
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