Vicky Sunohara Vicky Sunohara is a three - time Olympian and is known as one of Canada ' s all - time most popular female ice hockey players . She was once considered to be the best female ice hockey player in the world and was described as the " Wayne Gretzky of women ' s hockey " . Personal Life . Sunohara was born on May 18 , 1970 , in Scarborough , Ontario . She is of Japanese - Ukrainian ethnicity . She is a graduate of the University of Toronto . Sunohara gave birth to twin boys in 2009 , following her retirement from international hockey in 2008 . Hockey Career . Sunohara started to play hockey as a small child and the love of the game came naturally to her as her late father , David Sunohara , was a hockey enthusiast who played with the Ryerson Rams in Toronto . Sunohara ' s late father built a backyard rink in the winters and introduced his daughter to skating at the age of two and a half . " My mother said that from the minute my father introduced me to hockey , I wouldn ' t do anything else , " Sunohara commented . " I just loved it . " She started playing organized hockey on a boys team at age 5 , but was eventually banned from the boys ' leagues due to her gender . She ended up dominating every level of girls ' competition . Sunohara attended Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute in Scarborough , Ontario , where she was a standout on the women ' s ice hockey , field hockey , soccer , and flag football teams . Following high school , she received a full scholarship to Northeastern University in Boston , which is part of the NCAA Division 1 in ice hockey . While at Northeastern , she guided her team to win the ECAC Hockey championship , was awarded the ECAC Rookie of the Year , and was named to the NCAA All - American All - Star team . Sunohara also played hockey for the University of Toronto , where her team won the Ontario university championships in 1990 - 91 and 1991 - 92 . She was named the Ontario university women ' s ice hockey Rookie of the Year in 1990 - 91 . Sunohara also played in the COWHL with the Scarborough Firefighters ( 1990 to 1994 ) , Toronto Red Wings ( 1994 to 1996 ) , and the Newtonbrook Panthers ( 1996 to 1997 ) . Sunohara won a Bronze Medal with the Beatrice Aeros at the National Women ’ s Hockey Championships in 1999 . During the 2000 – 01 NWHL season , Sunohara played with the Brampton Thunder and finished tied for fifth in league scoring with 42 points . Sunohara won an Olympic silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano , Japan . She continued with an Olympic gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah , U . S . A . , and another gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Italy . Besides the 1998 , 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics , Sunohara represented Canada in numerous international ice hockey competitions . She won 7 gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation ( IIHF ) World Championships , the first one coming in 1990 . In total , she won 15 gold medals and 3 silver medals as a member of Canada ' s national team . Sunohara finished her career with Team Canada with 119 points ( 56 goals and 62 assists ) in 164 games . When she was not involved in international competition , Sunohara was the captain and assistant coach for the Brampton Canadettes Thunder , a team in an elite women ' s league , the Canadian Women ' s Hockey League ( formerly the Brampton Thunder of the National Women ' s Hockey League ) . She continues to play hockey with that organization . Sunohara has participated in several national championships . She was named the top forward in the 2005 national tournament and her team , the Brampton Thunder , won the national title in 2006 .