It’s been quite a busy – and fruitful – few months for Hayley Scamurra. From capturing her first Olympic gold medal to winning the PWHL’s Walter Cup with the Montréal Victoire, Scamurra is arguably at the peak of her hockey career. Soon after winning the Cup, Scamurra found herself in the midst of the league’s expansion process. Now, she’s headed west as part of PWHL Las Vegas’ inaugural roster – an exciting challenge.
The Ice Garden spoke with Scamurra at her girls’ camp in Buffalo, part of a busy summer for the 31-year-old. This interview has been lightly edited for content and length.
TIG: What was it like to finally win Olympic gold?
Hayley Scamurra: It’s so hard to even find the right words. It’s something I’ve dreamed of my whole life, and to be able to finally achieve that moment… for me, it was seeing my teammates being all excited. My family in the stands got me really emotional as well, and thinking about our journey and how excited they were to see me get that moment. [There’s] just nothing like it. It was just absolutely incredible; I’ll never forget having that medal finally around my neck, I just had a big sigh of relief.
TIG: This was your first season playing in Montréal. How was that?
Scamurra: I loved it. It was absolutely incredible. The fans were amazing, as I expected, and knew… but being on their side, and then feeling the energy from the fans was something different. You know, I would get chills on the regular basis at that rink. You could just feel how excited they were. It was so loud… it just consumes you when you’re on the ice. I’m really grateful for my time there – it was amazing.
TIG: Winning the Walter Cup must’ve been pretty awesome, too.
Scamurra: Gosh, it was so great. I mean, that’s like a dream we didn’t know we had, right? All the young boys got to say they won the Stanley Cup, and for us, I always said I wanted to be an Olympian and win a gold medal. And so now we’re on the same page, we can all win, you know? We want the Walter Cup, they want the Stanley Cup, and so for me to have that moment be Montréal’s first win with the Walter Cup, be a part of history in that way…
You think about how far we’ve come with the professional league and what we did to get to that point. One of my good friends reminded me [that] I almost quit hockey during the PWHPA [era] because it was just, I’m like, this is taking forever, I might have to get on with my life here. Now here I am, and three years later, our league keeps growing, and we won the Walter Cup, so it’s really amazing.
TIG: The parade in Montréal looked incredible.
Scamurra: I think each moment just keeps topping itself. It’s just.. it’s unbelievable. I think that moment at the parade, when we turned down that street, and we’re looking in front [of us], and we see a sea of people just so excited to see us, and they’re all wearing our gear and things like that. I will never forget someone goes, ‘Guys, look behind you.’ We all go to the back of the bus, and we just see a sea of people following the bus, and I think in that moment I was like, this is what I’ve seen in countless parades for men’s sports, and we finally had it for women’s sports. It felt like our moment.
TIG: Very quickly after the season ended and the Walter Cup parade, the PWHL’s expansion process blew open. What are your thoughts about the expansion process, and how that was for you?
Scamurra: It was such a crazy process. I did not expect it to be as overwhelming as it was. I think going into it, I was just kind of like, oh, we’ll see what happens. But all of a sudden, when it was happening, it was just a whirlwind, and it was a lot going on, a lot of emotions. [I’m] sad to leave Montréal, obviously. I really loved my time there, and my intention was to stay. Then things happened with the expansion draft, and I decided to go to Vegas.
I think that decision came with a lot of heartbreak on one side, but then also a lot of excitement to start something from the ground up, and to be a leader in the room, and make my imprint for whatever the culture might want to be. To really take over that leadership presence, I think will be really good for my game and for me as a person. All of that excitement is helping, obviously, but it is amazing how many mixed emotions you can have in one day. It was a lot happening at once.
TIG: I know you’re represented by CAA. Did the connection with Dominique Didia help with your decision? [Didia is a former CAA agent who was named general manager of PWHL Las Vegas.]
Scamurra: Obviously, she was my agent, and I’ve had [her] since after the 2022 Olympics. I was her first client because of the connection with Kim Weiss, funny enough. I worked with Kim Weiss in Maryland;, she was the coach there, and then she was like, ‘hey, my friend Dom is getting into agency stuff,’ and so that’s how I’m connected. [Weiss has been named head coach of PWHL Las Vegas.]
It’s a pretty crazy full-circle moment, but I remember when Dominique told me she got the GM job [in Vegas]. I was really happy for her; she’s been very dedicated to the women’s sports space, and growing it and having it be what the men get, and things like that, especially at CAA. They’re such a huge agency, but they didn’t have any women’s players, and she’s been instrumental in that.
Obviously, I’m very comfortable with her, so the conversations were easy. She saw my value on and off the ice, which I really appreciated, and I think that was a big part of our conversation. She knows how passionate I am about growing the game at the next generation and the next level, and building a community feel to the team. I think she knew that about me, and that’s why they really wanted me there, and that was nice to hear.
TIG: What do you think about the roster that Vegas is putting together so far?
Scamurra: It’s great. I think we have a lot of really great people; we have a lot of really hardworking people. I think it’ll shape out really nicely. I’m really excited to see us all together at training camp and see how it goes.
TIG: I’ve joked a little bit that PWHL Las Vegas is like Western New York West – with multiple Western New Yorkers. How cool will that be to have several local players with you? [Scamurra, a native of Getzville, NY, is joined by Katy Knoll (Amherst) and Maureen Murphy (Buffalo).]
Scamurra: I think it’s amazing how many local girls we have. Now, we get to really rally behind that together and kind of have the Buffalo community maybe follow Las Vegas a little bit. Buffalo didn’t get a team, so maybe they’ll come support us. Maybe in Hamilton too, they can come see us when we play there. So it’s really cool to have some more Buffalo girls on the team.
TIG: You’ve been to Las Vegas before – are you going to Flavor Flav’s SHE Weekend in mid-July?
Scamurra: Yes! I am going for the Flavor Flav party, and I also have been once for the Rivalry Series. Honestly, I saw The Strip a little bit, but that was really it. I’ve heard there’s obviously a lot more than the strip, so I’m really excited to get to learn more about the community. They’re definitely a hockey town. I can’t wait to meet everyone, get everyone even more excited.
TIG: And what does the rest of the offseason look like for you?
Scamurra: A lot of clinics, a lot of events. A lot of training on my own, obviously. I also want to celebrate with family and friends,everything I’ve accomplished this year, and really get to spend time with the people closest to me.
TIG: How about a day with the Walter Cup?
Scamurra: I put in a submission… you have to submit a form. Apparently, by the time I had done it, July and August were already taken. So I picked a weekend in September, so hopefully I get it. I don’t even know how it works exactly, but fingers crossed!
TIG: Hopefully it’ll just show up on your doorstep one day. Truly, Hayley, congratulations on everything you’ve accomplished over the last few months, and good luck in Vegas.
Scamurra: Thank you! I’m excited.
