Just a Girl

A rare, raw look at the relentless spirit that has driven one of the greatest athletes in Canadian history—in her own words.

Cassie Campbell-Pascall is more than just one of Canada’s all-time hockey players—coming of age in the generation that rejected the old-school administrators who thought it acceptable to dress world-class athletes in pink uniforms, she helped build the very foundation of the modern women’s game. As a player, she became the longest-serving captain in Canadian hockey history, the first of any gender to lead the country to two Olympic gold medals, and was a centrepiece of teams that shattered viewership records while doing so.
    That trail-blazing continued in retirement: she was the first woman to work as a colour analyst for Hockey Night in Canada, the first woman to be named to the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee, and the first woman to receive the Order of Hockey in Canada, in a class with Wayne Gretzky, Jean Beliveau, and Gordie Howe.
    Along the way, she met the Queen and Michelle Obama (unfortunately, not at the same time). She had good times and tough times on the road with her teammates, played endless pranks, and courted no small amount of controversy. A mind and body in constant motion, she broke barriers at every stage of her career and had a lifetime of fun in the process.
    But it came with a cost. Injuries that nag as middle age approaches. The potential ticking time-bomb of multiple concussions. The loss of privacy and control in her personal life. And a heart-wrenching path through infertility when she wanted to start a family. 
    Through it all, though, Cassie’s life has been defined by a singular persistence, whether chasing her own goals, helping others reach theirs, or, sometimes, both at once, such as the pursuit of a sustainable, professional future for women’s hockey. In 2023, those efforts culminated in one of the crowning achievements of a remarkable career: the creation of the PWHL.
    This is more than a hockey story. From Brampton to P.E.I. to Calgary and around the world, it’s the record of a one-of-a-kind Canadian life—inspiring and iconic, humble and heartfelt, and always pushing forward.