A league in the spirit of Hefford as she takes over at the helm of the CWHL

CALGARY – As a hockey player, Jayna Hefford has strived to make her league viable and respected. She is now able to do it as a leader

Hefford, who will be entering the Hockey Hall of Fame this year, is in her first week as interim Commissioner of the Canadian Women's Hockey League [19659002]who retired after 12 years at the helm. Hefford has made his name known as a candidate for the position while the CWHL is conducting a search.

The 41-year-old athlete from Kingston, Ontario, says finding a way to unite the CWHL and the US NWHL in one of the first female North American women's hockey leagues is a priority for her.

"It's the goal: to reach a point where all the players of a same professional league are present," Hefford told the Canadian Press. "Without much detail, I think the NHL is the best possible scenario.

"How long is it going … I do not know if it's a year, two years.

"I just want to see the sport in a place where I think the athletes deserve it: the players have the power, if they want to be in the same league, then we have to find a way to" [19659002Heffordhasplayed14seasonswiththeBramptonThunderbothintheCWHLandintheleaguethatprecededitTheCWHLtrophygiventothemostvaluableplayerisnamedafterher

] She ranks second behind Hayley Wickenheiser in the Canadian women's team with 157 goals and 134 badists in 267 games.

11 gold medals appearing at five Olympics and 12 championships the world before retiring in 2015.

When she is inducted into the Hall of Fame in November, Hefford will be the sixth player to come in.

Outgoing CWHL Commissioner He has always wanted a league and predicted that it will happen, but how to do it depends on his successor. "[1 9659006] "I think it will be Jayna's task to go forward as a new commissioner," said Andress

. I firmly believe that there will be a league, there has been a lot of discussion behind the scenes, it is the talks that will continue.

The 60-year-old Toronto player has been a curator since the creation of the CWHL in 2007. Currently six teams, the CWHL functions as the MLS in that the league owns the teams.

Andress shares for She Shes initiative that she started with leaders of other women's sports leagues to increase resources, viewership and attendance. During her tenure, the CWHL established the Clarkson Cup Championship, a All-Star Game, television games, signed sponsorship agreements and established a business relationship with three NHL teams: the Maple Leafs Toronto, Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames.

When they are not centralized in Calgary to prepare for the Winter Olympics, national team players like Marie-Philip Poulin (Montreal Canadiens), Natalie Spooner (Toronto Furies), Meaghan Mikkelson (Calgary Inferno) and Laura Fortino (Markham Thunder) are CWHL players.

The league extended to China and started paying players last season. The 2017-2018 CWHL budget was $ 3.7 million, an increase of $ 1.5 million from the previous season.

"I was fortunate to have the privilege of flying the ship and yes, we had big storms. the lifejackets were several times, "said Andress." The sun rose, the waves went down and we kept moving forward. "

But the NWHL founded in 2015 by Dani Rylan created a schism in the female professional leagues in North America

The pressure to unite the leagues has intensified This year, important current and former players have called on the social networks under the hashtag #OneLeague

"The public must understand that Dani and I have always had conversations," said Andress. "You can not blame an entrepreneur for owning his own league and going out and working day and night, just as we did to try to make it survive.

"She's For Profit and We're Not"

Hefford and Her Partner Kathleen Kauth Have Three Children Under Five Hefford Attends Business Clbades at Queen's University and felt ready to return to the game in one direction.

"Brenda took 12 years to grow this league and that's something that is really appreciated," said Hefford, "I hope I can bring a new vision and new relationships. "Support for a number of players."

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press