University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey head coach Vicky Sunohara has been named a 2024 Canada Sports Hall of Fame inductee, as announced earlier this week.
Sunohara, one of nine new members, will receive the Order of Sport at the Oct. 23 induction ceremony at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que.
Hall president and CEO Cheryl Bernard says the class of 2024 was chosen from 237 nominations. Over 740 people and three horses have been inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame since 1955.
Changing the game for women and visible minorities in ice hockey, Vicky Sunohara embodies the values of teamwork, integrity and leadership, on and off the ice. Born in Scarborough, Ontario in 1970, Vicky grew up sharing a passion for ice hockey with her father, learning to skate on a backyard rink when she was two. Inspired by her paternal grandparents who persevered to build a new life as Japanese Canadians after surviving internment during the Second World War, Vicky developed high standards and a tireless work ethic. Rising above discriminatory name-calling she learned to play ice hockey with exceptional kindness and determination, becoming a versatile centre and faceoff specialist. With a mindset that prioritized supportive team play as much as winning, Vicky found a way to make a difference every time she stepped on the ice.
From 1989 to 2008 Vicky made history with Canada's National Women's Hockey Team, scoring a career total of 118 points (56 goals and 62 assists) in 164 games. Serving as Assistant Captain for eight years while she played with Team Canada, Vicky competed in eight International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships, scoring 41 points in 40 games to win seven Gold Medals and one Silver Medal. As part of establishing women's ice hockey in the Olympic program, Vicky helped Team Canada win Silver at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Winter Games, followed by back-to-back Gold Medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games and the 2006 Turin Olympic Winter Games, scoring 13 points in 16 games overall. Retiring from ice hockey in 2008, she attended the University of Toronto, where she received her Bachelor of Physical and Health Education degree. Passionate about developing young players, Vicky returned to the University of Toronto (UofT)where she became the first full-time Head Coach of the University of Toronto's women's ice hockey team. Motivating athletes to work together while playing to the best of their unique abilities, she coached UofT to multiple McCaw Cup Finals, claiming the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women's Hockey Championship in 2019-2020 and 2022-2023. In 2019-2020 Vicky was named OUA female Coach of the Year across all sports, and also took top honours as OUA and U Sports Women's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year for three consecutive years between 2020 and 2023. VIcky coached the team to a U Sports Nationals Silver in 2024, the best result for the program in 23 years. Vicky was named Assistant Coach to the Women's National U-18 Team in 2021-22 and 2023-24, coached Team Canada at the U-18 Women's World Championships winning Gold in Madison, Wisconsin in 2022, and Bronze in Zug, Switzerland in 2024.
Helping young players unlock their potential while becoming better teammates and leaders, Vicky has never stopped leading by example to make ice hockey a more diverse, kind, and inclusive sport for future generations. Recognizing her exemplary leadership, in 2019, Vicky was named Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces. In 2023, she was presented the Sakura Award from the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, acknowledging her exceptional contributions to enhancing awareness of Japanese culture and heritage in Canada.
Committed to promoting diversity and supporting youth development across all sports modelling her own dedication to going beyond her wins, Vicky has worked with many minor ice hockey teams and community initiatives including KidSport, Hockey4Youth, and Youth Assisting Youth. Vicky served as assistant coach for her twins, Jarrett's and Dreydan's minor ice hockey team in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) for five seasons (2018-2024)