By Rachel Brady, CTVOlympics.ca

When Angela Ruggiero retires at the end of the 2010 Olympics, the rivalry that has burned so intensely between the Canadian and American women’s hockey teams will lose just a little of its bite.

The youngest player on the U.S. women’s hockey team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, a beaming 18-year-old Ruggiero flew around the ice waving her American flag to celebrate grabbing gold from the Canadian women, who stood by watching on the ice, stunned and sobbing.

By the time Ruggiero competes in her fourth – and she says final — Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, the all-time leader in games played for Team USA will be 30, and the second oldest member of the team. Most of her 1998 teammates have retired, but this assistant captain remains a pillar of the program and one of the rivalry’s most vibrant personalities.

The physical defenceman is one of the most imposing women on the ice at 5-foot-9 and 192 pounds. She also has a silver medal from the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake, and a bronze from the 2006 Turin Games. For another shot at gold in 2010, Ruggiero has gone all in, putting a blooming career on hold to train.

“Getting back to the top of the podium would be priceless,” said Ruggiero. “You get to the age where you can step back and appreciate what’s going on. I almost retired after 2006 but I thought, I can still play, why not, let’s go for it.”

Ruggiero, who studied and played hockey at Harvard University, appeared on season six of The Apprentice, and although she did not become the official apprentice, Donald Trump still offered her a job. After pondering for a while, charismatic Ruggiero declined the job, deciding to instead spend her time training full-time for one last Olympics.

“Trump really respected me because I have a good education,” said Ruggiero, who says she once gave Trump a framed jersey and still emails him, trying to persuade him to come watch her play in Vancouver. “I [was fired on the show] because I’m a team player. All these years of that being pounded into my head as a hockey player – I wasn’t willing to compromise ME and throw a member of my team under the bus.”

Ruggiero has been training full-time in Blaine, Minnesota with other American Olympic hockey hopefuls who have also already graduated from their college hockey teams – a program new to USA Hockey. From September 2008 to March 2009, they trained daily on and off the ice and played games against men’s, boy’s and top women’s college teams, something that paid major dividends for the cohesive U.S. team that beat Canada for its second straight world championship gold medal in Hameenlinna, Finland in April.

“It has enabled our team to train two years out,” said Ruggiero, who will resume full-time training with other hopefuls in Blaine in September. “Sometimes we’re doing yoga, sometimes we’re shooting pucks.”

The gregarious player is also using her time in Minnesota to get a jump on her awaiting career by working on a Master’s degree in Sports Management. Immersing herself in the Sports Business Journal, running her own hockey camp, commentating on women’s college hockey on television, interacting through her own website, catering to her enormous list of sponsors, putting out books and DVDs, she’s the very portrait of an athlete who will slide naturally into the business of sports and entertainment.

“I’m really trying to focus on the present, which is trying to win a gold medal with Team USA, but as athletes, it’s easy for us not to plan for the future,” said Ruggiero, who wants to leave the national team on her own terms after being deeply impacted by the surprising release of long-time captain Cammi Granato before the 2006 Olympics. “It’s the natural life cycle of a team. It hurts when a player gets cut. We’re close to our teammates – we’re like sisters. It’s nice when players chose to end it rather than getting cut.”

Ruggiero admits to being rejuvenated by the young players on the current American team.

“Angela is an obvious world class player and she can dominate games,” said U.S. coach Mark Johnson. “It’s fun to see her excited to play hockey again. She’ll log a lot of ice time for us.”

Ruggiero has tallied 56 goals and 122 assists in her 213 games for the U.S. and while she’s a smiling presence around the rink, she’s not so friendly on the ice.

“She’s a very skilled, talented player and she plays a very physical game and I think she’s exactly what this game needs,” said Canadian defenceman Tessa Bonhomme. “A strong player for a great rivalry, she makes us as upset on the ice as we make her. I think it’s really healthy.”

Ruggiero says she is friends with several past and present Canadian players. She recently played on the Minnesota Whitecaps club team with 1998 Canadian Olympic goalie Manon Rheaume and has even trained in Canada on Canadian club teams in the past.

“She’s a competitive girl,” said Canadian forward Jennifer Botterill, who played and roomed with Ruggiero at Harvard. “She’s been a very huge part of their team and a great leader for them. She’s done a lot for that team.”

Ruggiero says although she plans to retire from the national team after 2010, she’ll never quit playing hockey. She hopes to devote more time to yoga, biking, surfing and helping develop a women’s professional hockey league for post-graduate elite players from all over the world, something she thinks can grow out of the two premier North American leagues, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League and the Western Women’s Hockey League.

“I really think these two leagues together have the potential to advance women’s hockey, said Ruggiero. “I believe the owness should be on these leagues to open up their rules and get international players over here to grow these leagues.”

“If our game is going to succeed, we’re going to have to help everyone else. We need to work together to establish these two leagues as THE place to go for everyone. And who knows, if we can get this pro league rolling, maybe I can give Trump a call!”

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