She's a gold medalist with the first USA Women's Hockey Team, a trailblazer in the National Hockey League (NHL), and now, an author.
Cammi Granato will donate proceeds of the book to the Craig Cunningham All Heart Foundation. Cunningham had sudden cardiac arrest before an American Hockey League (AHL) game, but lived to tell her incredible story.
Granato knows the answer to one simple question. Is the U.S. - Canada rivalry the best currently going on in sports?
"I think so," Granato says. "I mean, they face off in every big tournament. It's never a dull game, and the teams do really not like each other when it comes to being on the ice. So, I think it's one of the best rivalries in sport."
Granato also knows the previous loss last week to Canada might be a good thing for Team USA.
"I think, I don't know the stats on this, but if you look at the World Championships in the last maybe seven years, when these teams have played each other early on, a lot of times the team that wins first doesn't win second. It doesn't mean they won anything," Granato says.
The captain of the 1998 USA Women's Hockey dream team is now an NHL trailblazer. First as a scout with the Seattle Kraken, and within the week, just named assistant general manager of the Vancouver Canucks.
"It's really cool," Granato says. "It's a position that I never thought I would occupy, because it wasn't a role for women ever. I never thought it was possible for a woman to work with an NHL club in that capacity."
She also continues that trailblazing spirit, authoring a new book, I Can Play Too.
TMJ4's Lance Allan asked Granato if one girl picks up this book, is it a success? Does it open a door that maybe necessarily wouldn't have been there or just encourages someone to do it?
"Yeah, that was my take," she answered. "It was like, you know what? I don't know how it's going to be received, but if one person can be inspired by it, then that's great. It's bigger than just a female hockey player. I really think it appeals to anyone or any person that's ever felt like they don't belong or they look different or they want to pursue something that maybe isn't traditionally like how they look or for them. But they should pursue their passion and that's really the message."
