By Brian Kalisher –
The U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team lost one of the best players to ever wear their jersey on Dec. 28, as Angela Ruggerio decided to hang up her skates.
Ruggiero played for the U.S. program for 16 years and competed in 256 games – more than any other hockey player in United States history. She was a member of four Olympic medal-winning teams throughout her tenure, beginning with a gold medal in 1998 when she was only 18 years old.
“It’s been, obviously, an extremely difficult decision, I didn’t come to it very lightly,” Ruggiero said. “It was a very thought out process, but through my whole career I always said I never wanted to have any regrets. This is a time, I think, in my life where I’m really trying to listen to what’s the best thing for me right now and I know I’m at a place where I’m ready for that next phase – that second career, as I call it.”
Many fans and professionals throughout the game of hockey consider her to be one of the greatest women’s players ever to don the USA sweater. The Hockey News rated Ruggiero the top female hockey player in the world in 2003.
Along with her Olympic success, Ruggiero also represented the USA in 10 IIHF Women’s World Championships, helping to bring home four gold medals for that squad, as well.
“I feel honored and privileged to have represented the USA program over the past 16 years,” Ruggiero said in a statement released from USA Hockey. “USA Hockey will always be a part of me and I will cherish the experiences and memories with this team. Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. I am now looking forward to my next career, as well as continuing my work representing the athletes of the world through my roles on the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee.”
Ruggiero graduated cum laude from Harvard University prior to her Olympic experience. While at the prestigious university, she skated for Katey Stone, who also coached her on the U.S. team. During her four years with the Crimson, she racked up 253 points – first all-time among defensemen and sixth overall at Harvard. She won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in 2004, given to the top female hockey player in the NCAA annually.
“To have an opportunity to coach someone of Angela’s character and passion and competitiveness, it has truly been an absolute honor,” Stone said. “As I mentioned, we will miss her tremendously. I mean, I have so many memories both at Harvard and my opportunities to coach her in a USA hockey jersey.”
Her former bench boss remembers her as much for the things she did off the ice as what she did on it.
“But I also remember the things that everyone doesn’t see – that every little kid that passed her by she stopped and shook their hand or gave them an autograph or just spent some time,” Stone said. “Angela truly is an ambassador for women’s hockey and women’s athletics.”
Ruggiero helped to make history when she and her brother were both members of the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League in 2005, becoming the first brother-sister duo to play in a professional hockey game.
The 31-year-old said that one of her fondest memories will always be taking part in USA’s rivalry with Canada.
“In our sport, the best of the best, its USA and Canada,” Ruggiero said. “I have a little Canadian leaf blazed in the back of my head when I’m trying to do an extra sprint down the ice or an extra squat in the gym, and I’m sure Canada has a little American flag in the back of their heads.”
Another memory that Ruggiero won’t forget is winning an Olympic gold medal.
“I guess the defining moment was 13 years ago when we won the gold medal in ’98,” Ruggiero said. “It’s hard to duplicate that, I mean, that’s the pinnacle of our sport and I was able to reach it as an 18 year old.
“To have that memory etched in my head is one of the reasons I think I am able to walk away from my sport now.”
Ruggiero has been just as successful off the ice, as well, earning her master’s degree in sports management, being elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee Athlete’s Commission, founding a girl’s hockey school and even writing an autobiography. She is also the former director of the New York Islanders’ Project Hope. The program’s purpose is to help young Chinese athletes with access to educational opportunities.
Part of Ruggiero’s decision to retire came from her excitement to spend more time with her off-ice activities – especially the opportunity to serve the International Olympic Committee.
“The biggest thing for me is the responsibility I have to the International Olympic Committee and to the U.S. Olympic Committee, and I’m really passionate about that,” Ruggiero said.
Another part of her decision stemmed from injury issues.
“After [the Vancouver Olympics] I had shoulder surgery to fix a decade-old injury, I tore my labrum,” Ruggiero said.
Dave Ogrean, Execute Director of USA Hockey, said that Ruggiero’s decision to retire – and the way she went about it – fit perfectly with the way she handled her entire career.
“More than anything else, I think it was with a great deal of respect and pride in her and her career,” Ogrean said. “The way she came to this decision, I think, is really the way that she has conducted herself for all of the 15 years that I have known her.”