Brigette Lacquette making an impact on and off the ice

Brigette Lacquette’s latest stop on her hockey journey has her in Calgary this week, as she joins several other top female players for the final stop of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association Secret Dream Gap Tour.

Three teams, including Lacquette’s Team Scotiabank (Calgary) will play two games against each of Team Sonnet (Toronto) and Team Bauer (Montreal). The top two will then face off in Sunday’s final to become the first-ever Canadian Secret Cup Champion.

And that’s where Lacquette’s focus is. However, off the ice, the 28-year-old Cote First Nation product, who grew up in Mallard, Man., has been making a name for herself with various advocacy and public speaking roles.

“It’s truly an honour to be able to share my story, to be that role model or ambassador,” Lacquette told Global News from her hotel room in the Calgary bubble.

Lacquette first made major headlines in 2018, when she became the first First Nations woman to make Team Canada’s Olympic roster, winning a silver medal. And since then, her off-ice contributions have become greater. She was recently named to the NHL and NHL Players Association Female Hockey Advisory Committee, while also serving on the NHL Player Inclusion Committee, where she’s not only a strong voice, but also an inspiration.

“I didn’t have that person that I could relate to in terms of facing obstacles such as racism or living in an isolated community,” said Lacquette. “So when I go out and I share my story, I’m able to relate to the kids a lot.”

Since 2015, Lacquette has been a mainstay on Team Canada’s blue line. However, she has faced some adversity recently, as she was left off Team Canada’s 2022 Olympic centralization roster for the national women’s team. But being the positive role model that she is, she’s not letting this knock her down.

“It was pretty tough, I’m not going to lie,” she said. “I was pretty bummed out for a couple of days but the work doesn’t stop there. I’m not defined by being at the next Olympic Games. I had a goal to play in the Olympic Games and to play on Team Canada and I’ve achieved those goals.

“It doesn’t stop here. I have a lot of stuff on the go coming up and I’m excited for the future.”