On Ice And In The Judge’s Chair, Sarah Nurse Keeps Increasing The Visibility Of Women’s Hockey

With a break at last in her jam-packed schedule, Sarah Nurse is eager to finally enjoy some downtime.

“I’m looking forward to actually just being home, getting to hang out with my family and my friends and being able to spend some time with my dog,” said the 28-year-old native of Hamilton, Ontario about her pomeranian, Romeo. “He’s been neglected during the World Championship.”

The just-completed 2023 showdown was the last marquee event on Nurse’s calendar for awhile. In seven games, she posted four goals and four assists, including the overtime winner that advanced Team Canada past Sweden in the quarterfinal.

In the championship game last Sunday, the Canadians settled for silver. A hat-trick performance by captain Hilary Knight delivered a 6-3 win for Team USA.

It’s the first win for the Americans since the women’s hockey schedule resumed after the pandemic pause. Canada won gold in Beijing at the 2022 Winter Olympics, fuelled by an MVP performance from Nurse, as well as at the 2022 World Championship in Denmark last August and, most recently, in the seven-game Rivalry Series between Canada and the United States which served as a tune-up for the World Championship.

And while the recent loss still stings, last week’s outcome will stoke the flames of one of the best rivalries in sports and help the profile of women’s hockey continue to grow.

“I don’t love that idea,” said Nurse, whose fierce competitiveness has helped her evolve into one of the best players in the women’s game. “I will definitely say that for the growth of the sport, especially in the U.S., it is pretty important for them to win every once in a while.

“It wasn’t our day the other day. We’ll give them that one. But we’re definitely looking to come back and take it back next year when it’s in Utica (N.Y.).”

While she’s embracing her time off the ice, Nurse is serving as a judge for Great Clips’ ‘Show Your Flow’ contest, which is running through May 7 as the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.

Beard-growing is a playoff tradition, and hockey hair is a topic of conversation all the way down to the sport’s grassroots, most notoriously at the annual Minnesota state high school hockey tournament.

Now, fans are invited to participate.

“Submit your hockey hair photos online through social media or Great Clips.com/HockeyHair,” Nurse explained. “I personally will be a judge, so I get to help select the six inductees into the Hockey Hair Hall of Fame.

“I’m super-excited because I get to see some of the best hockey hair.”

The judge’s role is a great fit for Nurse, who has a passion for fashion.

“I love to change up my hair, do different things with my hair,” she said. “I love the fashion and the beauty space, so it was definitely a natural fit.

“Hockey hair should be celebrated and I think that everybody has the opportunity to really embrace hockey hair. There’s no one definition, I think; there’s so many different fun and creative ways you get to express yourself and show a little bit of individuality.”

The judging panel also includes two-time NHL all-star Jack Hughes, who has a solid flow himself and is currently taking part in his first-ever playoffs with the New Jersey Devils.

Nurse said the two haven’t met, but they do share a mutual acquaintance in Trevor Zegras. A teammate of Hughes’ as an NHL prospect with the U.S. National Team Development Program, Zegras also shared the cover of EA Sports’ NHL23 game with Nurse.

Nurse’s participation in ‘Show Your Flow’ helps open up the promotion to female hockey fans. It’s also her latest integration into the NHL space.

In February, she went viral when she successfully executed the shootout move known as ‘the Forsberg’ on reigning Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers at the 2023 NHL All-Star Skills Competition.

Despite the big stage, Nurse described the play as “casual.”

“There are obviously a ton of people there,” she said. “Thousands of people in the stands. You’re on the ice with some of the best hockey players in the world. But at the end of the day, hockey is something that I’ve done my entire life. I’ve taken thousands of breakaways and that event was all about fun.

“We just wanted to put on a fun show for the fans and for everybody watching. I wanted to do something a little more creative, a little bit more fun. And it ended up going in the back of the net.”

As Kendall Coyne Scofield demonstrated with her electrifying ‘fastest lap’ performance at the 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend, that type of visibility can have an exponential impact on the evolution of the women’s game.

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“When you talk about the sport of hockey and the growth globally, women’s hockey is a huge part of that,” Nurse said. “The fact that we’re being respected and recognized and being made visible for everybody to see is huge. That’s how you’re going to help the sport grow — understanding that hockey isn’t just for one type of person, it can be for all people.

“I think that’s been something that’s pretty amazing that has come out of these campaigns and partnerships, and then obviously events like NHL All-Star.”