The unparalleled success Jennifer had on the ice still holds in many a record book – and ripples into teammates’ minds and hearts.
Jennifer won silver in her first Olympics followed by three consecutive golds. In her final Games in Vancouver in 2010, Jennifer provided the primary assist on the eventual game winning goal by Marie-Philip Poulin.
Defender Meaghan Mikkelson was playing in her first Olympics with Team Canada the same year.
“Jenn, or ‘Botts’ as we call her, was the ultimate competitor and teammate,” Mikkelson said. “What I appreciate most about her as a player was not just her talent and skill, but the relentlessness and fierceness with which she trained and competed. She was the type of player you wanted on your side, not to have to play against, because of how intense, determined, and strong she was.
“She always pushed to get the best out of herself, but she also went out of her way to lift others up as well. At one of my very first training camps with Team Canada, I was nervous and had no clue where I fit in. After one of our intersquad games, Botts, a 3-time Olympian at that time, came up to me and told me how impressive she thought my play was on the ice, and told me to keep doing what I was doing. (That) tells you right there the type of leader and teammate she was.”
In parallel with her national team action, Jennifer played her collegiate hockey at Harvard. She scored at least one point in all but one of 113 games. She twice won the Patty Kazmaier Award (given to the top US women’s college hockey player.
“She was one of the best,” Kraken assistant coach and former NCAA (Cornell) and CWHL hockey player Jessica Campbell said. “She sees the game. She was a playmaker. She was very smart and crafty with the puck.
“I looked up to Jennifer myself. I saw her as a small-town Canadian kid from the prairies who chased a dream to Boston and went through Harvard. I ended up going to an Ivy League school. I actually almost followed her to Harvard, just because of the recruiting video that they put together – it was a highlight video of Jennifer and her career. That speaks for itself.”
Taking it to the Air.
And when her playing days came to a close in 2011 after time in both the NWHL and CWHL, Jennifer’s connection to the game she loved did not. The relentless commitment to be her best transitioned over to building a career in broadcasting. She can be seen regularly as an analyst both on Sportsnet, including Hockey Night in Canada, and on TNT. She’s continued to be an inspiration to other women in sports broadcast like Mikkelson, now an analyst with Sportsnet radio covering the Calgary Flames.
KHN’s own John Forslund and Eddie Olczyk have worked with Jennifer on TNT crews since 2021. Both have been impressed by her knowledge of the game, preparedness, effective communication, and willingness to take a stance as strengths.
“I just think she understands the journey, probably more than most do,” Forslund said. “She’s taken a path that, when she was younger, was probably very hard for her, and the payoff was reaching the highest level that she could and the international success she’s had. She’s a pioneer and a trailblazer for what we see today.
“The women coming to broadcasting from both the US and Canadian national teams are important. I think every time she’s on the air, it’s inspirational and those are important beacons for our young fans. They have to be able to see that. When they see that, they can see themselves. That’s what she’s doing each and every time she’s on the air.”
Creating Currents of Change.
Campbell says she gets emotional thinking about the impact of the work players like Jennifer did to grow the game. She looked up to Botterill as a young player, and now she sees young girls coming to Kraken Community Iceplex looking up to her. They see her coaching on the ice, but they are also there to skate and to play hockey.
“I’d been playing hockey for at least five to ten years before I really knew who the role models were,” Campbell said. “And it was the Jennifer Botterills, and the Caroline Ouelettes…and then meeting them for the first time and seeing what they’ve done for the growth of the game – the time that they put in as pros, all they’ve done. They accomplished everything that our guys do every day and deserve all the respect in the world for that, for that tireless work without any compensation.”
