7 fun facts about new Canucks assistant GM Cammi Granato
Take that, Seattle.
Although the Vancouver Canucks rivalry with the Seattle Kraken hasn’t gotten off to a blazing start, the organization did steal one of their top pro scouts.
Cammi Granato became the first-ever female pro scout in NHL history when she was hired by the Seattle Kraken back in 2019.
Now, she joins a Vancouver front office that has made history by being the first-ever organization with two female assistant general managers.
“It’s a really big day to have two women in management on one team,” said Granato, the Canucks’ new assistant general manager, at her opening press conference.
Granato is used to being a trailblazer, something that’s reflected in these seven facts about the North Vancouver native.
1. Led US to gold at 1998 Winter Olympics
At the debut of women’s hockey at the Winter Olympics in 1998, Granato was one of the stars.
She captained USA to gold after they beat Canada 3-1 in the final.
Granato tied for the team lead with eight points in six contests.
The Downes Grove, Illinois native was a leader for Team USA throughout her international career. When she retired, she held the record for her country with 44 goals and 78 points in 43 international games.
Those records lasted for more than 15 years before they were broken by Hilary Knight back in 2021.
2. First woman inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame
As a pioneer in women’s hockey, it’s only fitting that Granato became one of the first women to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, along with Angela James, back in 2010.
That wasn’t the beginning of her groundbreaking, post-career accolades.
In 2008, Granato was the first woman to be inducted into both the IIHF Hockey Hall of Fame and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
She was also the first woman to win the Lester Patrick Award for contributions to US Hockey back in 2007.
3. Surrounded by a family of athletes
Granato’s father Don was a beer distributor who played amateur hockey.
His love for the game apparently rubbed off on his kids. Three of Cammi’s brothers went on to play hockey at a high level.
Tony Granato had an NHL career. He also had two head coaching stints with the Colorado Avalanche. Tony currently is the head coach for the Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA.
Don Granato played as high up as the ECHL. He’s also had a long coaching career, and is currently the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.
Cammi’s brother Rob also played NCAA hockey.
Perhaps the most well-known part of Cammi’s athletic family is her husband Ray Ferarro, who played 1258 NHL games. Their children, Riley and Reese, have chosen soccer as their preferred sport.
Back in 2019, their eldest, Riley played for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Pre-Academy boys team in the CONCACAF Champions League U13 competition in Costa Rica.
Granato is also the step-mother to Matt and Landon Ferraro. The latter is currently playing for Canada’s men’s hockey team at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
4. Wrote a children’s book at a campground
Just days ago, Granato published a children’s book called “I Can Play Too.”
The book is based on Granato’s experiences as a girl trying to play a boys sport.
The 50-year-old recently mentioned that her inspiration came in the great outdoors.
“I just sat at the campground one day, and I cranked it out,” she told The Athletic.
5. Played boys hockey until she was 16
As the second-youngest of six, Granato’s brothers often tried to make her play goal.
Being a netminder wasn’t her preferred choice.
Granato wanted to be a goal scorer. That determination led her to playing boys hockey for more than a decade, against all odds.
“Growing up, there were hockey dads who went to the coach and said, ‘She shouldn’t be on this team. My boy’s going to quit,” Granato said in an interview with Global Sport Matters.
“Players on other teams harassed me. I had coaches threaten to break my collarbone. Honestly, that stuff to me was laughable. I was like, ‘You can think whatever you think. I know I love this game and no one’s going to take it away from me.’”
6. She was an NHL colour commentator
Granato was the first woman to be employed as an NHL colour commentator, when she joined the Los Angeles Kings radio broadcast team back in 1998-99.
“I feel really honoured to be given that opportunity to break that barrier, knowing that other women might say, ‘Hey, this is what I want to do too,'” a 27-year-old Granato told the LA Times.
She later joined NHL on NBC broadcast team for 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
7. She’s been watching the Canucks closely
Granato’s primary job with the Kraken was to scout the Western Conference, often doing so from the press box at Rogers Arena.
“I am walking in knowing a lot about this team because I did scout the Canucks a lot,” Granato said at her opening press conference.
Aside from her experience with Seattle, Granato also earned masters in sports administration Concordia University.
However, her focus now is to help turn the Canucks into a Stanley Cup contender.
“We have a nice base of young, skilled players and our job is to build a championship team. That’s what we’ll be focusing on.”
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