I'm thrilled that Cindy Curley is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. She's the player who I always thought deserved to be in. When she played and was dominating her sport, there wasn't a lot of emphasis on women's hockey in the U.S.
And there was little visibility.
I learned about her by happenstance. I played hockey with the boys in Chicago until I was 17 and thought it may be the end of the road for me in hockey because the boys were turning into men. My mom was trying to get me into other sports, knowing that there wasn’t much room for me in men's hockey, and because we didn't know there was women's hockey out east.
A father on one of the boys' teams that we were playing gave my mom a pamphlet from Providence College where Cindy was playing. It had their scoring statistics, and she was at the top of the list and dominating the score sheet. When I got that pamphlet, Cindy instantly became my first female hockey idol.
I wanted to go to Providence College and do the same thing she was doing.
There was an unofficial women's world championship in 1987, in Canada, which featured the top players in that era, many of whom played in 1990, when there was an official IIHF Women's World Championship.
That was the tournament that Cindy dominated with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in five games. A record that still stands today. I had the opportunity to play with her on her line in that 1990 tournament and it was amazing to see her greatness firsthand. She was on another level than the rest of us.
Watching her when I was on her line and seeing what she could do was great. She had a really good shot. That was one of her strengths, and she was just really strong and fit. She knew how to train. I think she had something going on. It's kind of fuzzy thinking about it but I remember her either having a gym after or maybe at that time, but she was in incredible shape. At that time, it was different. The emphasis on fitness in any sport wasn't as global or normal of a routine as it is now. She was ahead of the curve, so through her strength alone, she could beat players on the ice, and her shot was one of her weapons.
She was definitely the perfect role model because she's grounded, a good person, competitive, and a team player. She was a great captain, and she taught me a lot. We roomed together at some point at the Olympic training center in Lake Placid. She was there for four or five years while I was there and she mentored me. She mentored everybody.
Off the ice, she's funny and really down to earth. There is a calm energy that she possesses and she's a person everybody gravitates to. She's not overly loud, not in that way. Just more like when you're in her presence, you just want to be around her. She's calm and she's always thinking of others and wants them to succeed. She's true leader.
She taught us younger players a lot and I like the way she commanded her leadership because it wasn't in your face. She led more by example, or by pumping up other players' confidence. She just was amazing.
