Furies GM thinking outside the box
Toronto Furies general manager Sami Jo Small is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, fourtime world hockey champion and Clarkson Cup winner. With the Canadian Women’s Hockey League playoffs underway, the Star had a chat with the former goaltender about her first season as GM: People have an idea of what the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs might do, but what’s involved with being the GM of a CWHL team? I manage everything that has to do with the Toronto Furies. I’m doing finances, sponsorship, media, brand, hiring and firing coaches, hiring and firing players. I help the players once they get to Toronto, get housing, negotiating the players’ stipend, negotiating the coaches’ fees, booking the ice, meeting with potential sponsors — anything and everything. Booking travel. What about in-game strategy? In hiring a coaching staff that has been excellent, they really have taken care of hockey operations, in running practice. I don’t really have to worry about any of that. I do have input when it comes to player personnel and the way lines are constructed. What in your background prepared you for this role? I’m an engineer by trade (mechanical engineering at Stanford). What that helps you do is think outside the box. What have you learned? The biggest thing I learned from all of that was to ask questions and to be willing to take advice from people, to take their input — to realize I don’t know everything. I try to be inclusive when it comes to making decisions. Could you have imagined yourself as a GM of a professional hockey team 20 years ago? I don’t know if I could have imagined women’s hockey being professional. I had some great managers in the past, people who did a great job of creating a team and creating cohesion within the team. I really enjoy organizing and getting the best out of people. I guess I envisioned myself more in the business world, and I guess this is a business. What do you think of the growth of the women’s game? It seems to be on more people’s lips, perhaps because the NHL invited female players to its all-star game. That is definitely the case. Kendall Coyne Schofield’s amazing skate at the NHL all-star game, or Renata Fast — one of my players — being there participating. The biggest difference I see is that social media elevated that to a certain level. Hayley Wickenheiser participating in a Flyers rookie camp was unnoticed (in 1988). It didn’t have the social media push. Now when something happens, people notice. What’s your biggest battle? People knowing where our people play. That’s always been to our detriment. People are supportive of women’s hockey. They love watching it, but they don’t know how to watch it. What were your crowds like this year? Opening weekend, we played against China. We had about 150 people, but every one of my staff, like game-day managers, was new … Last weekend, we had 741 people. It doesn’t seem like much to the outside, but to us that’s a huge step.