Do you think that women should play in the National Hockey League (NHL)? I think that women should have the same opportunity to play hockey as men. Women have been playing hockey since the 1800’s and the numbers have grown in great amounts in the last 20 years. There are more then 60,000 people registered in women’s hockey today. As we can see, that there are women all over the world who start to play hockey when they are young. They improve in to amazing stars on ice. We have made a huge appearance on the ice since these two women Manon Rheaume and Hayley Wickenheiser played on the ice many years ago.

It all started in 1992 with the very first woman to ever play in the NHL. Manon Rheaume who was the starting goal tender for the Tampa bay Lightning’s. She played in the 1992 exhibition game letting only 2 goals in against the ST. Louis Blues. The last timed she played in the NHL was in 1993 in an exhibition game against the Boston Bruins (Wakiji). Hayley Wickenheiser had also played on a professional team in Finland. In 1993, she is the first woman to score on a men’s professional team in 2003. After the season was done for her, she had 1 goal and 3 assists in 12 games (Fitzpatrick).

Many women have increased in their ability and speed in over the years. As Kris Draper form the red wings says "But I still think you're going to get someone that is a very determined individual, and she'll want to be the first player to lace them up and play in the NHL. So we'll have to see what happens,” (Wakiji). Lots girls have wanted to play hockey in collage and even maybe play in a more difficult league but there are no teams for them. My self, Izzie, wants to play hockey in collage but there are not many collages that have a hockey program. If a school does have hockey, it is very difficult to be accepted. There are only so many sport that women can’t play in collage or on a pro team.

In conclusion, women’s hockey has been in our society for many years and the women have achieved so much over the years. So why cant they play at the same level as the NHL? Some people may say that they are not strong, tough or skilled enough to play. My hockey couch played at a division 1 collage in Minnesota and I think she has every thing to play in the NHL. Even if the team is not strong enough to play a higher level of hockey, maybe 1 or 2 girls have the skill to play up with other people from other schools. Over all I think women should be able to play at the same level as the NHL.