Hockey hall of famer Angela Ruggiero calls Weston home

Angela Ruggiero was on the ice in 1998 to help secure the gold medal for the United States Women’s National Ice Hockey Team in its first year of existence. This year, when the team earned its third gold medal, Ruggiero was there as a role model and commentator.

Ruggiero, a Weston resident and former defender, is a four-time Olympic medalist for women’s ice hockey. She was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015. Off the ice, she works in sports management with a focus on bringing more engagement to women’s sports.

“I was at one point, the number one hockey player in the world … but no one’s ever heard of me,” Ruggiero said. “I grew up in the wrong era, when women’s sports wasn’t seen that way or elevated in that way. I’m trying to make it better for the next generation of athlete and fan.”

Ruggiero first laced up her skates and learned to play in her home state of California. Her father brought her younger brother to the rink to sign up, but she ended up on the team as well.

“My dad brought my brother to the rink to follow in his footsteps as a goalie, and they said, ‘Do you have any other kids? We really need more bodies,’” Ruggiero said.

She loved the game right out of the gate. She went on to play for Harvard University, where she received both her undergraduate and business school degrees.

Ruggiero retired from playing hockey in 2011. In the ensuing years, she has continued to be active in sports behind the scenes. She served on the International Olympic Committee for eight years and she continues to volunteer on the Committee’s Gender Equality Diversity and Inclusion Commission and the Technology and Technical Innovation Commission.

“I was literally in charge of all the global athletes,” Ruggiero said. “If half of our athletes aren’t getting the same opportunities, we should fix that.”

Ruggiero says her interest in supporting women’s sports goes beyond the fact that she competed in those circles. She is data-driven and the company she co-founded, the Sports Innovation Lab, researches gender inequity in sports.

“It was really telling because it was everything from clothing – why with volleyball shorts there’s a maximum length for women and a minimum length for men – to viewership, why do the women get the bad time slots and men get the prime time?” she said. “All these things trickle into why we haven’t invested and why [women’s] sports isn’t elevated.”

Sports Innovation Lab focuses on fan data, helping sports franchises understand consumer patterns and how to engage audiences. She encourages investing in women’s sports to make them more accessible to the audiences that want access to those games. The company has worked with Women’s National Basketball Association, Athletes Unlimited, the Ladies Professional Golf Association and the National Women’s Soccer League. Ruggiero continues to serve as an advisor at the company, but stepped down as CEO in 2023.

She continues to advocate for women’s sports by connecting figures across industries and speaking at events.

Ruggiero was back at the Olympics this year in Milan-Cortina as a commentator for NBC. While there, she also spent time with members of the U.S.women’s team. Megan Keller, a defender on the team and captain of the Boston Fleet, told Ruggiero she was the first hockey player Keller followed. Ruggiero said seeing the response to the women’s win this year was a celebration for earlier players as well.

“We were the first to win in ’98 and we opened the world’s eyes to women’s hockey, which I’m super proud of. But now, eight Olympics later, I really [feel] like now is the real coming out for women’s hockey,” Ruggiero said. “I know I had an impact in the hockey world and that specific generation … I feel all of us that came from those earlier generations feel good that we had a mentor, role-model impact on the players.”

Conversations about sexism in sports were sparked after the women’s win this year, when President Donald Trump joked about having to invite the women’s team as well as the men’s team to the White House after both brought home gold medals.

Although women’s sports have become more mainstream, Ruggiero said comments like that are still to be expected.

“You have to be eternally optimistic on where women’s sports can head … you anticipate that that still exists, but it doesn’t stop you,” she said. “We’ve all grown up in a male-dominated sport. It’s not a shocker that that’s part of the culture still. I think that’s why it resonated. Any woman in a male-dominated field … you hear it and…that’s wrong … but it’s not going to shake or break you. I was proud of the win and [the women’s team] is focused on that.”

Ruggiero’s focus on creating a better sports environment extends to her home life. She and her wife Sarah Cahill moved to Weston when Cahill was pregnant with their first child. She said she makes sure that both men’s and women’s sports are normalized at home. Ruggiero also coaches her two sons’ co-ed teams. Beyond the fact that Ruggiero is more than qualified to coach, she said it is important for boys to have a woman as a coach because it is rare to see women in that type of leadership role in sports, even at Division 1 levels. Regardless of how long her students play, she wants to make sure they have a good ecosystem while on the ice because the lessons learned from athletics can serve everyone.

“Sport is more than making the NHL or making the Olympics,” Ruggiero said. “It’s about learning about teamwork and overcoming obstacles, setting goals and learning how to fail, learning how to succeed gracefully and putting in the effort.”